Scores of athletes, coaches, patrons and sponsors turned out for the 13th staging of the Queens/Grace Jackson meet held at 8:30 on Saturday January 25 2014 at the National Stadium.
Scores of athletes, coaches, patrons and sponsors turned out for the 13th staging of the Queens/Grace Jackson meet held at 8:30 on Saturday January 25 2014 at the National Stadium.
The Queens/Grace Jackson track meet serves as a qualifying meet leading up to the ISSA/ Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships.
The first set of races that took place on the track was the 400m heats followed by the 200m heats. Standing out in the 400m heats class 2 was Nathaniel Bann of Kingston College with a time of 49.95secs and Nadesha Wallace in class 3 from Holmwood for the girls with a time of 58.4secs.
MVP Track and Field Club proved that they were true masters of the field when three (3) of their athletes crossed the finish line right behind each other. Kaliese Spencer, Anneisha McLaughlin and Christine Day made MVP a happy club when they brought home the gold, silver and bronze medals respectively in the Women 400 Meter Run Open. Spencer’s winning time was 51.39secs which proved to be a cut above the rest.
No records were broken until Edino Steel from Racers Track Club clocked 46.75secs in the men’s 400m Open. Steel’s effort eclipsed Usain Bolt’s record that was set back in 2008.
The next record for the day came from John Vernon of Monk Street Boys in the male 200m dash class 4 with a superb time of 24.14secs.
Also in progress was long jump under 17 male, high jump under 17 female, shot put under 20/open female discus under 17 and high jump under 17 males.
The opening ceremony began at 2:40pm with the playing of the national anthem. The ceremony included brief comments alluding to the Queens High School celebration of their 60th anniversary. It also included pockets of awards being handed out to honorees who have been with Queens over the years.
“I would like to wish all the athletes best of luck in Champs 2014” said Grace Jackson. She went on to say
“I hope all the contribution to nation building works well with you”.
The usual female competition on the tracks came from Holmwood, St Jago and Dinthill.
From the outset there was clear rivalry among the young men from Kingston College (KC), Jamaica College ( JC), Calabar, St Jago and Wolmers.
St Jago proved to be a force to be reckoned with on just about every run with several athletes copping the 1st place in their respective heats in class one boys 100m.
The day which began bleakly and rainy soon turned into a hot and humid one; no doubt reflecting the heat on the track coming from the competition among the athletes. And with world renowned Olympians like Shelly-Ann Fraser and Nesta Carter set to take the field later in the day there’s no telling what could really happen.
Halfway throughout the meet Kingston College was yet to show their prowess on the field. Nevertheless KC managed to keep their heads above the water in this competition with athletes like Yashawn Hamilton strolling in behind Calabar’s Dejour Russell who clocked the fastest time in the 200m class 3 category. Also helping KC to stay in the game is Nathaniel Bann, Kristoff Darby and Tyreke Bryan all from the boys 400m class 2 categories honing the 1st place position in all their races.
Stalwarts in school Boys track and field Jamaica College did not put up much of a fight either in the Queens/Grace Jackson meets. And patrons are left to speculate on what they might come with at the Grace Kennedy boys and girls champs this year.
On the other hand, defending champions of the Grace Kennedy boys and girls championships Calabar (also proved to be a force to reckon with in school boys track and field) gave KC a hard time and though much was not revealed regarding the strength of their team; they might be able to walk away with a win in champs 2014 again.
The 60m dash lineup was ready by 6:00pm promptly and Olympic Champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ( Sports Woman of the Year for 2013) was in lane 3 alongside rivals like Carrie Russell who represented in Moscow. Fraser-Pryce was up and out of the blocks with the sound of the gun and like a true ‘pocket-rocket’ she found herself way ahead of the field to steal the win once again, clocking 7.11secs.
Next was the 60m male dash including featured athlete Nesta Carter in lane 4. Carter represented in Moscow last year and has been known to be a part of several winning relay teams for Jamaica in the Olympics. Carter faced no struggle in easing across the finish line first with Winston Barnes his partner from MVP coming in right behind him. Carter clocked 6.52secs.
Shadane Walker from KC took the victory for the 60m male dash open in the High School section and he’s one to look out for in the future.
Once again as indicated by previous results over the years St. Jago dominated the field events and gave teams like KC, JC and Calabar a hard fight to the top.
Writer: Andrew Laidley
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