Nedrick improves world-leading mark in shot put
SANTA CRUZ, Jamaica — Petersfield High School’s IAAF World Under-20 representative Kevin Nedrick improved his World Junior- (Under 20) leading shot put mark after he threw 19.05m to win the Boys’ Class One event at the 34th GraceKennedy STETHS Invitational held at the St Elizabeth Technical Sports Complex in Santa Cruz on Saturday.
Nedrick, who has a personal best 19.18m set last June at the JAAA National Junior Championships, was one of several athletes who were double winners at the meet.
Cornwall College’s Kobe-Jordan Rhooms set a sea levelWorld Junior-leading 2.08m in the Class 1 high jump, setting a new personal best in the process.
Despite the absence of most of the top high school teams, defending girls’ national champions Edwin Allen High, Hydel High and Manchester High dominated the meet with multiple victories.
Nedrick, who doubled in both throws at the World Under 20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland last July, dominated his events and looks set to challenge for the gold at the ISSA Champs set for late March.
His 19.05m in the shot put was way better than second-placed Danree Delancey of Munro College, who was second with 15.87m, while a second Petersfield thrower, Courtney Lawrence was third with 14.85m.
The mark beat Nedrick’s previous season best 18.85m set in Mandeville two weeks earlier.
Earlier, he had thrown the discus 56.21m to beat his teammates Daniel Cope (53.87m) and Devar Clayton (44.22m).
Christopher Brown, also of Petersfield, took the Class 2 double with 15.27m in the shot and 48.82m in the discus throw.
Rhooms, who won the silver medal in the Under 17 category at the CARIFTA Games in Grenada last year, had the best sea level mark so far as Mexico’s Roberto Vilches cleared 2.15m at altitude in Ciudad de Mexico on January 21st.
Herbert Morrison’s Antonio Hanson won the Class 2 event with 1.90m, ahead of Cornwall College’s Omari McKenzie (1.85m) and STETHS’s Antwayne White (1.75m).
Hydel’s IAAF World Under-20 championship representative Devia Brown was upset in her favourite discus throw by Edwin Allen’s Fiona Richards, but won the shot put.
Richards threw 49.25m to win the discus throw as Brown could only muster 46.19m with Rusea’s High’s Tiwani Myles third with 41.59m.
In the shot put, Brown heaved the put 14.12m, beating Wolmers’ Girls’ CARIFTA Games gold medallist Aiko Jones- 12.42m and Petersfield’s Shyledeen Smith 12.34m.
Hydel High’s Abigail Brooks lead a clean sweep of the top three places after she clocked an impressive 56.42 seconds to win the Girls’ Class Two 400m, ahead of teammates Charokee Young (57.65 seconds) and Tatten Thawe (58.06 seconds).