MONTEGO BAY, St James — Carifta Games Under-20 men’s 100m champion Deandre Daley says he is ready for the Inter-secondary School Sports Association (ISSA)/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships Class One boys’ 100m, which will be one of the highlights of the five-day extravaganza set for March 28-April 1 at the National Stadium.

The Herbert Morrison Technical runner, who retained his County of Cornwall Athletics Association (COCAA) Class One title at the St Elizabeth Technical Sports Complex in February, says he has been preparing.

“I am definitely ready for Champs, been putting in the work,” he told the Jamaica Observer last week.

Daley, who was third last year and is expected to be part of the medal conversation leading up to the championships, said his 10.50 seconds run on the grass at St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) told him he was where he wanted to be.

“It was 10.50 and on grass, it sets me up really great,” but added quickly, “It was not a full 10.50 so to speak, I was running at only 60 per cent or so.”

He, however, acknowledges that with the likes of Kingston College’s national Under-20 record holder Bouwahjgie Nkrumie and Edwin Allen’s defending champion Bryan Levell expected to be in the race, he will need to be at his very best.

“I just need to stay fit, execute my race, keep my technique, and run a real fast time as the Champs Class One 100m will be real hot,” Daley said.

“I think 10.00 or about 10.05 seconds should win,” Daley added.

His prediction of the winning time would be under the existing record of 10.12 seconds set in 2014 by Zharnel Hughes of Kingston College.

Meanwhile, Claude Grant, the long-time coach at Herbert Morrison Technical, said he was not putting “any expectations or pressure” on Daley or any of his other athletes who will be competing at Champs.

Daley is the latest in a long list of fast sprinters that Grant has conditioned in his 25 years at Herbert Morrison.

“I dont put pressure on athletes, what I do is make sure that I prepare him for the events, whatever he delivers on the day we accept it,” Grant told the Observer.

Grant, who has coached the likes of two-time World Under-20 Championships men’s 100m champion Dexter Lee and World Under-20 200m finalist Nickiesha Anderson, said, “I don’t normally measure my athletes against other athletes, what I do is give them specific or individual programme and then they deliver. I can’t watch another programme as we don’t know what they are doing, I know what I am doing and I have been doing it for awhile with success. My job is to let him end the meet as healthy as possible.”

Grant conceded that Daley, who is expected to forego his final year of Champs eligibility, is at least as ready at this time as he was last year.

“He is basically at the same fitness level as last year… now we are working at specific things. He is more mature now, he has competed at bigger championships and won, and so it is up to him to do his best now and that is good enough for me,” the coach ended.

— Paul Reid