MUNRO, St Elizabeth — Seventeen finals, including the Class Two discus throw which is expected to feature Cornwall College’s Warren Barrett jnr and Petersfield High’s Kevin Nedrick, two of the best in the island so far this year, will be contested on today’s boys’ elimination of the County of Cornwall Athletics Association (COCAA)/Gatorade/ Hanover Co-Op Credit Union’s Western Champs at Munro College.

Thirty-five schools, including newcomers Sydney Pagon High and defending champions Munro College, both of St Elizabeth, will take part in the day’s events which are set to start at 9:30 am.

All three shot put and discus throw finals will be held, as well as the javelin open, all four high jumps and three long jumps — Classes two, three and four, as well as three 1,500m finals, COCAA president Stephen Smith told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

The first round of the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m, as well as the 4x100m and 4x400m relays will also be run today with the qualifiers advancing to the finals set for Saturday at the Montego Bay Sports Complex.

The girls’ eliminations are set for Rusea’s High on Thursday, also starting at 9:30 am.

The top schools led by Munro College, St Elizabeth Technical High School and Herbert Morrison Technical as well as Cornwall College and Petersfield High will all be seeking to score as many points and to qualify as many athletes for Saturday’s final.

The boys’ Class Two throws could steal the spotlight today with both Barrett and Nedrick in good form all season long.

Barrett showed he was peaking well with personal bests in both throws at last weekend’s King of the Rings meet at Excelsior High in Kingston.

Barrett unleashed a monster 54.96m throw in the discus, one of the longest throws ever by a 16-year-old in Jamaica. He then threw 17.16m in the shot put, both meet records and best by any Class Two boy in the island this year.

Nedrick had beaten Barrett in head-to-head competition in the discus at the STETHS Invitational held in Santa Cruz in January, and has gone over 51.00m on more than one occasion this season.

Petersfield’s Glenford Watson, who is expected to be a contender at this year’s ISSA Boys’ Champs, should win the Class One discus throw event.

A new generation of sprinters are expected to present themselves starting today after the likes of World Championships gold medallists Odail Todd, formerly of Green Island High, and Delano Williams, formerly of Munro College, both of whom dominated the headlines over the last four or five years.

Herbert Morrison’s Gawain Williams should start favourite in the Class One sprints despite his low profile in the pre-season so far.

Munro College and Green Island will hope to continue their dominance, however, and this will add excitement to the competition.

After his double win at the STETHS Invitational in January, Cornwall College’s Alrick Ottey will have his eyes on winning both the Class Two long and high jump events today as well, matching his teammate Odail Lewis who swept the jumps last year.