By Elton Tucker, Asst. Sport Editor
Vere Technical's Petrona Layne
VERE Technical, winners of the girls' title on 22 occasions, are ready to upset favourites St. Jago High and Holmwood Technical when the 2005 Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS) sponsored Boys' and Girls' Championships opens at the National Stadium tomorrow.
Defending girls champions Holmwood, and St. Jago, dominated the action at the prestigious Gibson Relays and appeared all set to have the championships between them this year but Vere have been quietly preparing to lift the winners' trophy come Saturday night.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Coach Dwayne Jarrett said he was aware that 'the public was disappointed' with his showing at the Gibson Relays but he was looking at the bigger picture. Vere had already beaten Holmwood by a wide margin at the Central Championships. In fact Holmwood were third on 266 points with Edwin Allen second with 316. Vere won with an impressive tally of 411.
"We expect to do very well," Jarrett said yesterday, two days before the battle for championship honours begins.
He added: "We have been progressing steadily, having many more good meets than bad meets so I think we will be title contenders and should finish in the top three."
Vere, whose 15 liens from 1979-1993 is the record for the longest winning streak at the championships, were below par at the Gibson Relays but the shrewd Jarrett was not perturbed.
"Gibson did not mean much to me this year. We were having a number of injury problems and we had to make a choice between the Gibson Relays and the bigger picture," Jarrett said.
Vere, second last year with 239.5 points to 269 by champions Holmwood, had also made a decision to put more emphasis on field events this year as that was considered a weak area in recent championship bids.
"This year I have spent a lot more time on the field events and the sprints have suffered a bit. However, we will see a two-fold increase over last year in the field," Jarrett said.
Among his senior girls, Jarrett is expecting a lot from Indira Spence in the Class One 100m, 200m and 100m hurdles. Angella Graham will be a force in the heptathlon and Class One discus while Stacy Ann Bell is among the favourites in Class One 800m, 1500m and the 3000m open.
In Class Three Teneisha Davis will do well in the 800m and 1500m while Jura Levy is listed for the sprints.
In Class Four Lanice Hall, one of the fastest girls over 100m and 200m will be seeking the sprint double. She is also down to compete in the 70m hurdles where her 10.77 seconds at Central Championships makes her the fastest schoolgirl in the event.
NURSING AN OLD INJURY
With top Class Two 200m/400m competitor Sharneter Stewart still suffering from an old injury Vere will be looking to Kimberly Williams, Shantel Thompson and Keneisha Throughsingh to dominate in the field events.
Williams and Thompson will compete in the Class Two high and long jumps and triple jump open.
Williams is the hot favourite for the triple jump having had a season-leading 12.36m at the recent Douglas Forest meet. Her main rivals are Kimora Smith of Morant Bay and St. Andrew High's Latoya Heath. Smith was second last year. Petrona Layne is also expected to be a top contender in the 800m and 1500m for Class Two girls. Layne won the 1500m at Central Championships.
The Vere coach also expects a harvest of points from seasoned competitor Keneisha Throughsingh in the shot put open, javelin open and Class Two and discus.
Past winners
NORTH STREET-based Kingston College with 28 liens have topped the Boys' Championships more times than any other school. They are followed by Jamaica College with 20 and Calabar 18.
Vere Technical from Hayes in Clarendon are the undoubted queens of Girls' Championships. They have won 22 times and are followed by Excelsior and St. Jago with four each.
BOYS:
1910 Wolmer's, 1911-13 Jamaica College, 1914 St. George's, 1915 Wolmer's, 1916 - Jamaica College, 1917 Wolmer's, 1918-19 Jamaica College, 1920 Munro College, 1921-23 Jamaica College, 1924 Wolmer's, 1925 St. George's, 1926 Munro, 1927 Wolmer's, 1928 Jamaica College, 1929 Wolmer's, 1930-33 Calabar, 1934-35 Munro, 1936 Calabar, 1937 Kingston College, 1938-39 Wolmer's, 1940 Jamaica College, 1941 Wolmer's, 1942 Kingston College, 1943 Munro, 1944 No competition, 1945 Munro, 1946 Calabar, 1947-48 Munro, 1949 Wolmer's, 1950-51 Kingston College, 1952 Jamaica College, 1953-54 Kingston College, 1955 Calabar, 1956 Wolmer's, 1957 Kingston College, 1958 Calabar, 1959 Jamaica College, 1960 Excelsior, 1961 Calabar, 1962-75 Kingston College, 1976-78 Calabar, 1979-80 Kingston College, 1981 Calabar, 1982 Clarendon, 1983 Kingston College, 1984-85, 1986 Calabar, 1987 St. Jago, 1994-95 Jamaica College, 1996-97 Calabar, 1998-2000 Jamaica College, 2001-2004 Kingston College.
GIRLS:
1957 St. Hilda's, 1958-60 No competition, 1961 Manchester, 1962 St. Andrew High, 1963-64 Titchfield, 1965-66 Mannings, 1967-68 Vere, 1969 Mannings, 1970-73 Excelsior, 1974-75 Vere Technical, 1978-77 St. Mary High, 1978 Queen's High, 1979-93 Vere Technical, 1994-95 Manchester High, 1996-99 St. Jago, 2000-02 Vere Technical, 2003-2004 Holmwood Technical.
