Female standouts to clash at Central Champs

The final meet before this Saturday's finals of the Digicel Grand Prix will be held over two days, starting today at 9:30a.m., with the staging of the Central Athletics Championships at the G.C. Foster College.

Following the staging, so far, of the Western Championships, Eastern Champions and Anthrick Corporate Development Meet, the next two days will close off the qualifiers for the Grand final in selected events. This is where the top three teams in both the male and female sections will receive $1 million, $500,000 and $250,000 respectively.

For today's championships, it will be $250,000, $100,000 and $50,000 for the top three male and female teams, while there will also be incentives of $25,000 to individuals who break records in the various championship events.

Defending male champions St Jago High looks a cinch to take home the male title today, while it is a different story among the females, as the five most powerful female high-school teams in track and field in the country will do battle. For fans, this will be a mouth-watering affair, as defending champions, Edwin Allen High will be pushed all the way by Hydel, St Jago, Holmwood and Vere Technical, which finished in that order at the ISSA GraceKennedy Boy's and Girl's Championships a year ago. All five are expected to fight out the finish once again this year.

 

PRELUDE TO CHAMPS

 

It will definitely be a prelude to the big championships in a few weeks, but teams will be hoping for bragging rights and big cash incentives before that grand occasion.

Following some outstanding results at last weekend's Carifta Trials inside the National Stadium, the trend should continue today. On the female side, the likes of Kevona Davis, Annia Ashley, Cemore Donald, Fiona Richards and Saqukine Cameron from Edwin Allen, Nicole Foster are all expected to be on show. Chrisanna May, Shadae Hudson and Shaunette Allison from Holmwood Technical, Trishauna Hemmings, Monifa Green and Shian Salmon from Hydel, Britanie Dixon, Britany Anderson and Amoi Brown from Vere, and from St Jago are Sahjay Stevens, and Gabrielle Bailey are also expected to do very well.

It should be another landslide victory for the St Jago boys, led by the likes of Keenon Lawrence, Roje Stona, Lerone Clarke, Anthony Cox and Timor Barrett.

On today's opening day, there will be 25 finals, 17 in the field and eight on the track.

 

TODAY'S FINALS

 

 

9:30a.m.

 

- High Jump Class 4 Girls

- Triple Jump Class 2 Boys

- Discus Class 1 Girls

 

10:30a.m.

 

- Long jump Class 3 Girls

- Discus Class 1 Boys

 

11:00a.m.

 

- High jump Class 2 Boys

 

11:30a.m.

 

- Long jump Class 1 Boys

- Shot Put Class 2 Boys

 

2:00p.m.

 

- Triple jump Open Girls

- High jump Class 1 Boys

- Shot Put Class 2 Girls

 

3:10p.m.

 

400H Timed finals Girl's Open

 

3:15p.m.

 

- 400H Timed finals Class 2 Boys

- Long jump Class 4 Girls

- Discus Class 2 Boys

- High Jump Class 2 Girls

 

3:30p.m.

 

- 400M Hurdles Class 1 Boys Timed finals

 

3:40p.m.

 

- 1500M Timed finals

Class 3, 2, 1 Girl's

 

4:10p.m.

 

- 1500M Timed finals -

Class 3, 2,1 Boys

 

4:30p.m.

 

- Long jump Class 1 Boys

- Discus Class 3 Boys