Pinnock, Davis primed for big 2020

Wayne Pinnock and Kevona Davis will be on centre stage during the 2020 high school athletics season with good reason. Pinnock, the excellent Kingston College long jumper and hurdler, and Davis, the bright sprint prospect from Edwin Allen High School, won two individual gold medals each at the 2019 ISSA Boys and Girls Athletics Championships (Champs) and will be seeking more of the same. For Pinnock, a bid for a place on the Jamaica team to the Tokyo Olympics might not be out of the question.

Pinnock broke the 26 year-old Champs Class One long jump record of 7.87m with efforts taped at 7.95m then 8.05m mere moments later last March. If he improves in 2020, the 19 year-old could become the first local high school athlete to qualify for the Olympics since Bobbi-Gaye Wilkins helped Jamaica to a silver medal by running in the 4x400m heats in 2008. The Olympic qualifying distance is 8.22m.

In his secondary event, the 110m hurdles, he is the defending Class One champion, having lowered Dejour Russell’s record from 13.10 to 13.06 seconds in the 2019 final.

Productive Davis

Davis has been producing gold medal sprint doubles at Champs since her Class Three days. With her first year in Class One about to begin, the tall athlete will have to hurdle late season injury issues to return to the international scene in time for the World Under 20 Championships in Kenya. The painful sequence seemed to begin when an untimely leg problem jolted her in the 2017 World Under 18 100m final and held her to third.

Since then, though she has the Class Two and Three 100m and 200m records, she could only watch the 2016 and 2018 World Under 20 Championship meets from afar.

Davis clocked 11.18 seconds to defend her Class Two 100m title, but laboured to a 23.21 second victory in the 200m. In 2018, she was pluperfect with record times of 11.16 and 22.72 seconds.

Beyond this pair and US based 2018 World Under 20 100m and 200m champion Briana Williams, the battles between Antonio Watson of Petersfield High School, and Evaldo Whitehorne of Calabar High could turn heads. World Under 18 400m winner in 2017, Watson had some injury issues of his own last season. However, the 2018 Class Two double winner remains a strong candidate over 200m and 400m.

Whitehorne was third last year in a Class One 400m final Watson qualified for but was unable to start.

Similarly, Youth Olympic bronze medallist Ackera Nugent, of Excelsior, headlines a notable Class One 100m hurdles field which should include her friendly rival Crystal Morrison, and 2019 finalist Rosalee Cooper, both of St Jago High, and the girl who preceded Nugent as Class Two champion and record holder, Ray-Donna Lee of Hydel High School.