Big wins for J'cans on College circuit

Former Holmwood Technical High School star Nicolee Foster hurdled her way to two wins at the Junior College National Championships in Kansas on the weekend. The diminutive Foster was one of seven Jamaicans to win individual titles. That sextet included promising 400m runner Sean Bailey.

Foster gave Central Arizona 20 points by placing first in the 100m hurdles and the 400m hurdles. In the longer event, she was clear at 58.86 seconds, and in the 100m hurdles, she led a Jamaica 1-2-3-4 finish. She won in 13.53 seconds with compatriots Kimisha Chambers, Patrice Moody and Trishuana Hemmings in her wake.

Bailey added the outdoor 400m title to the two indoor crowns he has already won for Western Texas College in 45.52 seconds. Faced with a 0.7-second deficit when he got the baton for the anchor leg in the 4x400m relay, the former St Jago High School athlete zoomed around the track in 44.7 seconds. The outcome was victory for Western Texas in 3:05.48 minutes.

BEST PERFORMANCES

Sanjay Lawrence, Marvin Williams, Devia Brown and Amanda Carty secured their wins with their best-ever performances. Lawrence, the Petersfield High School graduate, boomed a personal best of 18.55m with his fourth throw in the shot put final to cap his career at Barton County Community College. Williams, 2013 World Under-18 champion at St Elizabeth Technical High School, took a chunk off his best to win the 400m hurdles for the ASA Miami College in 49.60 seconds.

Brown, who was a World Under-20 discus finalist while at Hydel High, made her mark for Central Arizona with a last-ditch winner. She edged past Gabrielle Harris of Cloud County by two centimetres with her last throw of 50.36m. By contrast, Carty did her business early in the long jump. Carty, a Hydel standout who finished her high school days at St Catherine High, flew out to 6.25m in the second round to contribute to the Barton County team effort.

Another St Catherine past student stood in El Dorado, the Kansas home of the championships. Shian Hyde took the 100m in a wind-assisted time of 11.25 seconds. Her win helped New Mexico Junior College win the women's team title with 139 points. A key player in that success was former Edwin Allen Comprehensive High distance ace Teresa Jacobs. She was second in the steeplechase, third in the 1500m and fourth in the 5000m.

She also anchored the New Mexico 4x800m team to victory.

H. L.