Almost There! – Edwin Allen open huge 76-point lead
EDWIN Allen High appear well on their way to their first Girls’ Champs title at widening their lead over defending champions Holmwood Technical after yesterday’s penultimate day of the 102nd ISSA/GraceKennedy Girls’ Championships at the National Stadium.
After coming into the day with an 11-point lead, the Michael Dyke-coached team amassed points throughout the day and gradually moved away to set up what could be a coronation today.
After 18 finals, Edwin Allen led by 76 points, 176 to 100, with St Jago overtaking Vere Technical for third place on 71 to 56, with St Elizabeth Technical in fifth place on 36 points.
Three records were broken on the day, as Wolmer’s Girls’ Shauna Helps set a new Class Three 100m record, while retaining her title; Manchester High’s Chanice Porter set a new Class Three discus throw and Paula-Ann Gayle with a 42.28m throw.
Helps was an easy winner, speeding to 11.50 seconds (1.6ms) to beat the 11.65 seconds set in 1999 by Lisa Sharpe of St Elizabeth Technical, as Tasheca Stanley of Edwin Allen was second in 11.82 seconds and St Jago’s Natalia Whyte third in 11.86 seconds.
Herbert Morrison’s World Youth and World Juniors semi-finalist Seidatha Palmer led a one-two result for the Montego Bay-based school, winning in 11.74 seconds ahead of Kenesha Stephens’ 11.86 seconds with Osheen Erskine of Holmwood Technical third in 11.88 seconds.
Edwin Allen’s Shellece Clarke won Class Four in 11.96 seconds, beating Manchester High’s Sydney Marshall in 12.19 seconds and Kimone Shaw of St Jago (12.39 seconds).
Red-hot favourite Christania Williams of Edwin Allen, the World Youth bronze medallist, won Class Two in 11.54 seconds ahead of Holmwood’s Yanique Thompson (11.76secs) and Clarendon College’s Shimayra Williams (11.78secs).
Manchester High’s IAAF World Youth Championships (WYC) double medallist Porter erased Peaches Roach’s 2003 1.84m mark from the books as she cleared 1.86m on her final attempt then retired, saving her legs for today’s long jump finals.
Porter, who won the gold medal in the long jump at the WYC last year, Jamaica’s first global win in that event, said she was “surprised” at her performance given the preparation time she had missed due to a quad injury she suffered two years ago.
Edwin Allen’s National Junior Record holder Kimberly Williamson took the silver with a season-best 1.84m, while Shanice Hall of Wolmer’s Girls’ took third with 1.67m.
Edwin Allen’s Paul-Ann Gayle broke her won one-year-old Class Three discus record by throwing 42.28m, beating St Hugh’s High’s Aliyah Francis by almost seven metres as she threw 35.36m with another St Hugh’s athlete, Nicole Windross, taking the bronze with 34.86m.
Two of the three defending champions retained their titles in the 1,500m finals, as Spaldings’ Semoya Campbell sprinted away from the field to win the Class One event in 4 minutes 32.50 seconds ahead of last year’s winners, Edwin Allen’s Desreen Montaque (4 minutes 33.44 seconds) with Holmwood Technical’s Petrene Plummer in third place in 4 minutes 3.59 seconds.
Marleena Eubanks of Edwin Allen defended her Class Two title in 4 minutes 42.06 seconds as her teammate Sanikee Gardner (4 minutes 49.97 seconds) won the silver and Chantai Smith of St Elizabeth Technical was third.
Holmwood’s Lisa Buchanan retained her Class Three title, running away from the field to win easily in 4 minutes 44.50 seconds, slower than last year, while Edwin Allen’s Derica Pitters was second with 4 minutes 48.00 seconds with Vere Technical’s Sasha-gay Whyte taking the bronze with 4 minutes 50.02 seconds.
For the second year running, Holmwood Technical’s Janeve Russell failed to finish strongly in the 400m hurdles and lost a spot as last night St Elizabeth Technical’s Adriana Brown got to the tape ahead of her after both athletes hit the final hurdle.
Brown won the gold in 1 minute 03.63 seconds ahead of Russell’s 1 minute 04.42 seconds and Terrian Williams of Edwin Allen (1 minute 04.99 seconds).
Holmwood Technical’s Gleneve Grange, as expected, won the Class Two discus with a 43.32m effort, beating St Jago’s Shannique Waite (4.72m) and Tasha Cross of Edwin Allen took the bronze with 41.66m.
Grange, who won the silver in the shot put Open on Thursday, had set a new record 46.64m in the prelims.
The Vere Technical pair of Shericka Jackson and Olivia James, the Carifta Games Under-20 champion and World Youth Championships bronze medallist, lead the qualifiers for the finals of the Class One 400m.
Jackson won her semi-final heat yesterday with an easy 53.97 seconds, while James, who had to chase the early leaders after 300m, was also a winner in 55.38 seconds.
Yanique McNeil also of Vere, last year’s Class Three winner, was the fastest qualifier in Class Two with 54.03 seconds followed by Petersfield’s Asain Hall’s 54.20 seconds and Edwin Allen’s Camira Haughton (54.23secs).
Papine’s Tiffany James leads the Class Three qualifiers with 55.22 seconds, while Hydel’s Semoy Hemmings (55.55secs) and Edwin Allen’s Davia Smith’s (56.33secs) are the fastest qualifiers.
Samara Spencer of Hydel, the Class Three high jump winner, will go after her second gold medal of the week when she leads the qualifiers for the long jump final today after jumping 5.98m yesterday.
Spencer, who will compete in the long jump for Jamaica at the Carifta Games next weekend, leads Excelsior’s Jody-Ann Petrie (5.76m) and Colestia Baker of Holmwood Technical (5.62m).
St Jago High’s Kellion Knibb will go after her third straight javelin title after easily qualifying from yesterday’s preliminaries held in the morning session.
Knibb, who won easily last year, is however expected to be pushed all the way by Holmwood’s Gleneve Grange, Edwin Allen’s Danniel Thomas, who has won two medals already.