From left, Facey, and Buckley.
Elton Tucker, Assistant Sport Editor
VERE TECHNICAL High, winners of the Girls Championships trophy a record 22 times, will be among the favourites for the top title when the 2004 championships gets under way next Wednesday at the National Stadium.
The south Clarendon-based school bagged a hat-trick of wins at the turn of the century, capturing the title in 2000, 2001 and 2002 but were dethroned by first-time winners Holmwood Technical last year.
Under astute head coach Dwayne Jarrett, now with a degree in physical education on his résumé, Vere have stepped up their training in recent weeks and could upset the fancied trio of Holmwood Technical, St. Jago High and Edwin Allen High.
"We should be in the top three," Jarrett, who graduated last year from Arkansas State University, said yesterday.
"The coaching staff has been working hard in recent weeks and the girls have been improving with each training session. We do not have the stars of former years so we expect this to be a team effort but we will be coming as determined as ever," he added.
In Class Four, Vere will be looking to the pair of Velma Morant and Jura Levy to score heavily in the sprints.
"The two girls have clocked 12.2 for 100m and 25.3 for 200m and should be among the medals in both events," Jarrett said.
Jarrett also expects to be at least second in the sprint relay where Vere have been runners-up twice to the event favourites Manchester High. Vere and Manchester are the only two Class Four sprint relays teams to go under 49 seconds this season.
Vere will also be looking to Kimberley West and Shenelle Wishart in the long jump to pile up points in this the lowest class.
Class three is a weak area for Vere.
"We are not as strong as former years in the sprints and thus we will be relying a lot more on the field events to gain points," Jarrett said.
The leading class three athlete is Kimberley Williams, who is down for the triple jump open, high and long jumps.
Jillisa Grant, who was disqualified at the start of the 80m hurdles when a hot favourite last year is back in the class and Jarrett expects her to be among the top finishers in the event.
Vere's fortunes at the championships will depend a great deal on their performance in Class Two.
Indira Spence (200m), Shanakay Wright (100m) and Trudy-Ann Clarke (200m) are expected to be heavy scorers.
Wright and Clarke were winners in classes four and three and Jarrett is hoping that they can repeat those victories this year in the higher class.
Stacy Ann Bell could be a surprise package at the meet. She goes in the Class Two 800m and 1,500m.
"She is a hard worker and improving rapidly," Jarrett said. "In recent weeks she has improved on her personal best twice."
Vere are also favourites for the class two 4x100m following their victory at the recent Gibson Relays. Anchor leg runner Shaunette Stewart is nursing an injury but Jarrett is confident she will heal in time for Champs.
A big performance is also expected from Kenisha Thoroughsingh. She is entered for the shot put open, javelin open and class two discus. The Vere athlete set a personal best in placing second overall in the javelin event to national junior record holder Shaneka Parkes of Holmwood at the Carifta Trials. She was first in the Under-17 javelin.
The star athlete as far as Vere are concerned is World Junior Championships 100m silver medal list and relay gold medallist Simone Facey.
"All being well we expect her to win the 100m and have a close battle with Holmwood's Anneisha McLaughlin in the 200m," Jarrett said. Facey will also be on show in the 4x100m and possibly the 4x400m relay.
A lot of Vere's hope for a 23rd triumph also rest on the shoulders of class one 100m hurdles favourite Keisha Brown.
She has been consistent, clocking a personal best 13.61 seconds twice this season (Gibson Relays and Carifta Trials) and is down for that event and the long jump.
Also hitting her best form at the right time is middle distance runner Maris Wisdom. Wisdom ran a personal best 54.02 at the Carifta Trials and acording to Jarrett, "this is a good sign going into Champs."
Jago will be right up there - Hawthorne
ST. JAGO High's male team will enter the 2004 VMBS Boys and Girls Champions-hips as one of the favourites to lift the winning trophy next Saturday night.
G.C. Foster College lecturer Danny Hawthorne has taken over the reins at the school from 1983 world 400 metres champion Bert Cameron who is now at Wolmer's Boys.
Hawthorne has vast experience in preparing teams for the annual championships following a 10-year stint at the Highgate-based St. Mary High School in the 1980s.
While at St. Mary High, Hawthorne helped produce the likes of former world junior 100m champion Nikole Mitchell and former national men's 100m champion Percival Spencer.
Hawthorne expects St. Jago to be 'right up there' along with defending champions Kingston College and Calabar.
"KC are our main dangers. They are strong in the field events and can find a few on the track to give them that critical points edge," Hawthorne said.
St. Jago themselves have tasted success in development meets this season. They won the JC/WATA meet in early January and came back to top the recent National Hurdles and Field events championships.
In what he expects to be a competitive meet, Hawthorne is banking on a possible 190 points which will get his school into the top three teams.
St. Jago are strong in Class One. Markeino Buckley is on target for an 'obstacle double' in the 400m hurdles Open and 110m hurdles Class One.
Buckley, who is also a key member of the school's 4x400m team, ran a personal best 52.36 at the Carifta Trials and goes into the championships as the hot favourite for gold.
Backing up Buckley in the 110m hurdles will be heptahlon favourite Leonard McLeggon. Also expected to do well in Class One are Steve Hammond, ranked second in the discus behind Kingston College's Fabian Morgan and the pair of Jermaine Gordon and Mamar Ellis, who both go in the 800m and 1,500m.
Hawthorne is not expecting much from his class two string of athletes. Romaine McDonald is the leading light in the class. He will run the 800m and 1,500m. Andre Wise in the 200m, Kemar Hyatt shot and discus and the 4x100m relay are expected to score minor points.
Class three sprinters Mario Caesar and Kenrick Rose are highly rated by Hawthorne and he expects both to be among the medals in the 200m and 400m.
The sprinters will get support from the promising pair of Cushin Carter and Shamel Wilson in the 800m.
Hawthrone expects the class three team and the other sprint relay to show marked improvement at the championships.
At the Gibson Relays St. Jago were fifth in 46.05 seconds behind Wolmer's (45.13) in class three.
"We have been making some personnel changes since the Gibson Relays and we should reach all three sprint relay finals and to improve our placing in the 4x400m," he said.
St. Jago are also looking at a top three placing in the 4x400m Open. They won the event at the Queen's meet but were relegated to fourth at the Gibson Relays in 3:20.32 behind winners Wolmer's 3:14.97.
- Elton Tucker
