- RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Sherene Pinnock of Edwin Allen High winning the Sunshine Cereal 400m hurdles grand prix at Saturday's 29th Gibson Relays. Pinnock clocked 59.27 seconds to finish well ahead of St. Jago's Tashan Willock (1:01.20) and Morant Bay High's Jodian Gordon (1:01.41).
Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer
HOLMWOOD TECHNICAL dominated the 29th renewal of Saturday's Gibson Relay festival with sizzling performances in the mile relays.
Apart from winning four relays each in the respective boys' and girls' categories, the Christiana school topped all four High School Championships events.
The girls won the Sherwin Williams/4x100m Class One, Western Union/4x800m Open and closed off with the HD Hopwood mile relay.
The boys' Championships victories came in the Port Authority 4x100m (40.87) over Camperdown (41.03); the Security Administration/4x800 Open and the Comtrex/ 4x400m Open.
The Holmwood girls added the Esso/Class Two 4x100m to their successes, while the boys came up big in taking the Antillean/Class One 4x200m.
Holmwood's boys' 4x400m team clocked a record 3:10.32 to beat Wolmer's (3:12.48) and Kingston College (KC) (3:12.85).
The quartet of Kemar Johnson, Mickel Downer, Kerone Robinson and Romel Lewis erased the old mark of 3:11.63, set by Rudolph Mighty's 1992 JC team.
"The strategy we worked out was just to keep focused ... and combine as a team," said Downer.
Last year, Holmwood were big favourites for both Gibson and Champs, but Wolmer's produced big performances to win on both occasions.
However, this time around, Downer said they wanted revenge.
"The victory means a lot to us because from Champs when we lost it's like we had to replace it and we decided to do anything to replace it and that's what we did tonight (Saturday)."
COACH PRAISED
Downer also gave credit to his coach, Edward Hector, saying "without our coach this wouldn't be possible".
In the 4x800m, Romone Hall, Kerome Robinson, Gregory Hewitt and Davian Parker combined to carry Holmwood to a easy victory in 7:50.06 over St. Jago (7:58.25) and Lewisville (7:59.53).
On the girls' side, Holmwood led off their 4x400m team with Anneisha McLaughlin, who provided Anastasia Le-Roy with a two-metre lead.
Le-Roy extended the lead to about four metres before handing over to Schillonie Calvert, who passed over to Sonita Sutherland some five metres ahead of Edwin Allen.
Holmwood's winning time of 3:37.15 looked easy, but it may have been faster if they had been pressured. They just missed their four-year old record of 3:37.01.
Edwin Allen clocked 3:40.26 for second.
Sutherland described their victory as "excellent", although they changed last year's winning team.
The team that clocked 3:39.24 to win in 2004 had Nyoka Cole and Jerine Bolt, both of whom ran on Saturday's 4x200m team that lost on the line to St. Jago.
"I know all of us got the training to do it ... all of us could do it, so we just went out there, keep focused and do what we were told to do," Sutherland, the World Junior 400m silver medallist, told The Gleaner.
In the girls' 4x800m Open, the Holmwood quartet of Bobby-Gaye Wilkins, Vanessa Boyd, Celia White and Casandra Powell stopped the clock in 9:01.26 to beat Vere (9:04.64) and Edwin Allen (9:07.14).
EIGHT RECORDS
Eight records were broken. They were accounted for by Holmwood girls Class One 4x100m (44.57); KC 4x100m Class Two (41.70) and 4x200m Class Two (1:28.43); Holmwood boys 4x400m (3:10.32); Calabar Class Three 4x100m (44.35); Special Olympics (45.75); University of Technology (UTech) 4x100m (45.43); St. Benedicts Primary 4x60m (34.69).
Lorne Campbell of the High Performance Training Centre (HPTC) won the men's 110m hurdles in a record 14.61.
KC also won four relays, the classes Two, Three, and 4x200m and the Class Two 4x100. However, none were Championships events.
KC's Class Four 4x200m victory came in 1:35.77 over Wolmer's (1:39.84); Class Three was achieved in 1:33.22 over Calabar (1:33.27); Class Two in 1:28.43 over Camperdown (1:29.17).
The North Street boys' fourth victory came in the 4x100m Class Two in 41.70 ahead Camperdown (42.08).
St. Jago girls' won two relays. They won the 4x200m Open in 1:37.63 to beat Holmwood (1:37.90).
The Monk Street-based St. Jago girls also captured the 4x100m Class Four in 48.76 over Manchester (48.78).
The day's other two Championships events, the institutions/clubs men's 4x100m and 4x400m went to MVP track club and High Performance Training Centre (HPTC), respectively.
MVP, with world number one ranked 100m sprinter Asafa Powell on the anchor leg, ran 39.42 to beat G.C. Foster College (39.60).
In the women's equivalent, Athens Olympics sprint relay gold medallist, Sherone Simpson, helped UTech to their victory.
