17 finals to jumpstart Champs excitement

THOUGH THERE were no finals on yesterday’s opening day of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships, Edwin Allen High School’s outstanding Class 2 athlete, Theianna-Lee Terrelonge, had the small crowd expressing ‘oohs and aahs’ after her 100-metre preliminary round run.

Competing in the first heat of the girls’ 100 metres, Terrelonge jogged the entire race, stopping the clock at 12.15 seconds despite a negative wind of 2.7 metres per second to be the fourth-fastest qualifier going into today’s semifinals. The finals are set for later in the day.

In any championships, there will be highs and lows and just a few minutes after Terrelonge’s display, there was disappointment for Lacovia High School’s Sabrina Dockery.

Dockery, who was expected to do well in both the 100 and 200 metres, was disqualified for false starting. Dockery ran in another heat under protest posting 11.90 seconds but the false-start ruling was upheld.

But just as Dockery would have been done mourning and looking ahead to the 200 metres, news came that the false start had been rescinded and Dockery, a real medal hopeful, is back in.

St Jago’s Bryanna Campbell and Shemonique Hazle 12.00s were the two fastest qualifiers.

Hydel’s Teixera Johnson is the fastest qualifier in the girls’ Class 4 100 metres with 12.36, ahead of Edwin Allen’s Tashana Godfrey, 12.46, and Ferncourt’s Rihanna Scott, 12.52.

In Class 3, Adora Campbell of St Jago is the fastest qualifier with 12.20, ahead of Keleisha Bell of St Mary High, 12.25, and Kyla Johnson of Immaculate Conception, 12.42. Pre-race favourite, Natrece East of Wolmer’s Girls’, is fifth fastest with 12.42.

Edwin Allen’s Trezeguet Taylor is the fastest qualifier in girls’ Class 1 in 11.87. She is followed by Habiba Harris of St Elizabeth Technical, 11.89, and Chauvanna Grant of Titchfield, 11.93.

Among the boys, Jamaica College’s Hector Benjamin and Herbert Morrison’s DeAndre Daley, who had question signs coming into the meet due to injury concerns both competed in the Class 1 event, winning their heats convincingly.

Daley clocked 10.75 for sixth overall while Benjamin did 10.81 for eighth overall. Damor Miller of Excelsior is the fastest qualifier with 10.68 seconds.

Johan Ramaldo-Smythe of Mushett High, 10.65, is the fastest qualifier in Class 3, ahead of Tavine Stewart of Herbert Morrison, 10.91, and Nyrone Wade of Kingston College, 10.95.

Wolmer’s Mario Ross, 11.36, is the fastest qualifier among Class 3 sprinters, ahead of Nathan Bryan of St George’s College with 11.39.

Another highlight yesterday came in the qualfying round of the girls’ Class 2 400 metres as Muschett’s Shanoya Douglas produced a lifetime best, 53.39 seconds, to win her heat as the fastest qualifier advancing to today’s semifinals.

Kellyann Carr of Edwin Allen High along with Jody Ann Daley of Hydel and Shagay Sheppy of St Mary High are the next top qualifiers.

Action is expected to heat up on today’s second day of competition with the boys’ decathlon and the 100 metres, among 17 finals to be contested.