Blake, Seville on show at Camperdown Classic

Two big meets are on today as the local track and field season continues its buildup to the annual ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships and next summer’s World Athletics Championships.

GC Foster College in Spanish Town will host the Milo Western Relays starting at 10 a.m. while the Camperdown Classic will be staged inside the National Stadium starting at 8:30 a.m.

Yohan Blake, the 2011 World 100 metres champion, and rising sprint star Oblique Seville head the more than 2,000 athletes down to compete at the Camperdown Classic. Blake of Titans Track Club and Seville of Racers will both have their first competitive run this season with Blake down to contest the men’s 60 metres at 5:48 p.m. where he will be joined by teammate Ackeem Blake and the Swept Track Club duo Emmanuel Archibald and Tyquendo Tracy.

Seville, the most improved male sprinter locally, had an impressive showing at last year’s World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon where he finished fourth in the 100m final. He will face the starter in the 400m at 2:55 p.m. Bovel McPherson, Anthony Cox, Anthony Carpenter, Roshawn Clarke and British star Zharnel Hughes will also compete in the one-lap event.

Briana Williams, who ran the opening leg in the preliminary round of the women’s 4x100 metres relay team at last year’s World Championships, will also be making her season debut at the meet. Williams, who now works out locally at Titans Track Club, is down to contest the 60m at 5:45 p.m.

Following their excellent showing a few weeks ago, Hydel High will be hoping for another good display in the high school girls’ events as they will come up against the likes of St Jago High, Wolmer’s Girls, Alphonsus Davis High and Immaculate Conception High.

Jamaica College, Calabar High and St Jago High will be the top boys’ schools at the meet and with the Gibson McCook Relays just two weeks away, they will be using the meet as a tune-up for region’s top relay carnival.

BOUNCE BACK IN STYLE

At GC Foster College red-hot Holmwood Technical and defending inter-secondary girls’ champions Edwin Allen High should set the place on fire. After playing second fiddle to Holmwood a few weeks ago at the Central Hurdles, Relays and Field events meet at the same venue, Edwin Allen will be determined to bounce back in style. At last year’s staging, they swept all the relays and the Michael Dyke-coached team will be hoping to do the same at this year’s meet.

Led by Class One 400m runner Rickiann Russell, Holmwood’s girls have been showing the form of former years when they ruled the roost at the annual Girls’ Championships and they are expected to strongly challenge Edwin Allen this year. Two eye-catching events on the programme are the 4x400m and 4x800m open relays. Both teams are loaded with quality athletes in these relays and fans should see a close contest.

Defending inter-secondary boys’ champions Kingston College showed last week at the Youngster Goldsmith Classics that they are getting back to their best after a slow start to the season and they look set to sweep all the relays at GC Foster.