Champs 2014 had impressive final day

Photo: Marlena Eubanks celebrates her resounding victory in the Class 1 Girls 800m at Champs 2014

On Saturday, March 29, 2014 the tension in the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica was electric.  Arguably the greatest high school track and field event in the world, ISSA, Grace Kennedy Boys & Girls Athletic Championship 2014 were in its last day.

Photo: Marlena Eubanks celebrates her resounding victory in the Class 1 Girls 800m at Champs 2014

On Saturday, March 29, 2014 the tension in the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica was electric.  Arguably the greatest high school track and field event in the world, ISSA, Grace Kennedy Boys & Girls Athletic Championship 2014 were in its last day.

In the days preceding this, ardent track and field fans were treated to records in the Class I & II Boys 100 meters in the form of Zarnel Hughes of Kingston College in 10. 12 and Raheem Chambers of St. Jago High in 10.29, both times erasing those set by Yohan Blake.  Christania Williams of Edwin Allen came close to Veronica Campbell’s record in the girls Class I 100 finishing in 11.19 and an impressive World Leading performance by Jaheel Hyde of Wolmers in the Class I boys 400 meters Hurdles crossing the line in 49.49.

The anticipated events for the final day of the championships were arguably the Boys Class I & III 400 meters with Javon ‘Donkey man’ Francis and the young talent Christopher Taylor both of Calabar High. Also on the menu were the 200 meters, hurdles and relays.

The slew of records started with the Boys Javelin Open where Devon Spencer of St. Elizabeth Technical signaled his arrival into the major leagues with an astonishing throw of 64.08 meters bettering is nearest rival, Orlando Thomas of Kingston College by some 4 clear meters.

Christopher Taylor put on an exhibition in the long sprint running the one lap event in winning in 48.80 missing his own record he had set only 3 days earlier of 48.72.  It was an impressive run for the young charge.  

Ever since his amazing run at last 2013 World Championship there has been great expectation from Javon Francis.  He opened his season in an easy 45.94 which gave an indication that the Usain Bolt Champs record of 45.35 was in danger of going.  He did not disappoint and lit up the National Stadium in a World leading and new champs record 45.00 seconds.

There was stiff competition on the hurdles events.  World Youth Champion, Yanique Thompson of Holmwood was beaten to the line in the Girls 100 hurdles by St. Jago’s Peta-Gaye Williams and Jaheel Hyde completed the hurdles double by taking the Class I 110 event in 13.53.

Reports earlier in the day revealed that the anticipated clash between Hughes, O’Hara, Minzie, Manley and Francis in the Class I boys 200 would not materialize as Zarnel Hughes the man touted to break another Usain Bolt record would not face the starter due to injury.  With Hughes out, Javaughn Minzie of Bog Walk High took the half lap event in a time of 20.50, much slower than his semifinal time of 20.30. World Youth 400 meter champion Michael Manley finished second, World Youth 200 champion and Calabar’s wonderkid Michael O’Hara third.  Javon Francis who trailed Minzie into the straight pulled with what was determined later to be a slight cramp.  This would eventually have serious impact on Calabar’s efforts in the 4×400 meters later in the evening.

It is impressive to note that Tyreke Wilson of Calabar High decimated his rivals in the Class III 200 running into a negative headwind of 2.7 m/s winning in 21.72 and claiming the record as his own.  His team mate and quarter miler Christopher Taylor finished second in 22.24, with Gary Gordon of St. Jago a distant third in 22.72

Jonielle Smith of Wolmers Girls turned back the challenge of Saqukine Cameron and Sashalee Forbes of Edwin Allen in the Class I 200.  She took the event in 23.45 a far cry from the record of 22.71 posted by Simone Facey in 2004.

In her last year of Champs Edwin Allen’s Marlena Eubanks continued her dominance of the middle distance events by taking the 800/1,500 double in 2:06.51 and 4:32.90.

Wolmer super jumper Christoff Bryan kept the electricity in the stadium alive as he broke his own High Jump record of 2.19 by clearing 2.23 and but  failed to clear at 2.26 meters

Records were set to fall on the track as the relays got under way.  First up Calabar impressed in Class I with a sprite run of 39.35 erasing the old mark of 39.78, trailed by Jamaica College39.69 and St. Jago 39.86 to the line.  All three teams dipping below the 40 second barrier, an impressive feat for Jamaica’s High School sprinting.  Kingston College was victors in Class II in 40.93, off of the 40.54 mark set by an outstanding Jamaica College quartet in 2013.  Class III was a mere formality for the imperious athletes from Calabar High.  The squad brought the stick around in 41.81 eclipsing the previous mark set by Kingston College of 42.36 in 2013.

The ladies were not going to the let the gentlemen have all the attention in the relays and Edwin Allen and some slick baton passes put on an exhibition in the Class I 4×100.  The impressive quartet broke Holmwood Technical’s 10 year mark of 44.26 by posting 44.17.  St. Jago won the Class II in 45.51, missing their own mark of 45.04.  Hydel High were victors in the Class III in a record 45.33, noticeably faster than the winning time of the Class II squad from St. Jago.  St. Jago were Class IV winners of the event in 47.28.

The final event on the track for Champs 2014 was the ever exciting 4×400 meters.  At this stage both Edwin Allen and Calabar High were already declared champions.   However this event is always about bragging rights for the season so it was all on the line for all teams.  Calabar did not field a full strength team as they rested their two best quarter milers, Javon Francis and Micheal O’Hara, obviously with Penn Relays on the horizon.  So it became a romp in the park for favorites St. Jago who with Nathon Allen and Michael Manley in their squad won in a meet record of 3:08.31, just ahead of STETHS in 3:08.67.  Both finished inside the previous record set my Munro College in 2013.  The ladies of Edwin Allen ended their glorious championships by taking the final event of the meet in 3:35.70 ahead of Vere Techincal 3:37.42.

All in all 2014 Boys & Girls Championships continued to show the world that Jamaica’s track and field dominance is set to continue for many years to come.  At the end of the meet our High School Athletes had registered 22 records, just shy of the 30 set in 2013 and have notched World Lead in their respective disciplines on the Senior IAAF rankings and several top 5 rankings in the Junior rankings.  This bodes well for the upcoming World Junior Championships slated for later this year.

Writer: Dave Graham