St Andrew, Portland set to battle again

Defending champions St Andrew are preparing to stave off another strong challenge from rivals Portland as the 27th staging of the JTA/Sagicor National Primary, All-Age and Junior High School Athletic Championship approaches.

The event, slated for May 13-14 at the National Stadium, is expected to be another enthralling affair as some 1,260 athletes representing the 14 parishes battle for athletic supremacy. Fifty-two events are expected to be contested over the two days, with action in the under-nine, under-11, under-13, under-15 and under-17 categories.

Ten finals will be contested on the first day, including girls' long jump, open boys' high jump, girls and boys' 1500m. Some eight records were set at last year's championship where St Andrew dethroned Kingston to lift the title.

St Andrew amassed 297 points, one more than Portland, which finished in second place, with Kingston a distant third with 238 points. St Catherine 226 and St Mary 177 rounded out the top five. St Andrew topped the girls' section with 161 points and finished second in the boys' section with 135.50 points.

Great expectations

Once again, St Andrew, gunning for their 16th title, are expected to put up a formidable showing after furnishing athletes such as the likes of Runique Grey, who was joint champion girl last year with Portland's Amanda Tyrell, who placed second in the shot put, 100m and the 200m. The boys' section should also be interesting, with St Andrew, Portland and Kingston battling for supremacy.

Kingston will have to dig deep to come up with crucial points since they have lost the services of last year's champion boy Rohan Walker, who earned a scholarship to Jamaica College.

Walker, from Central Branch All Age, earned Kingston some 27 points after breaking the record in the 100m and 400m and also securing first place in the 200m.

The championship, which began in 1983, has assisted in the development of a number of outstanding Jamaican athletes, including Olympians Nesta Carter, Shelly-Ann Fraser, Kerron Stewart and world 100m and 200m record holder Usain Bolt.

With such outstanding athletes, the championship has seen a steady growth, with Sagicor Life increasing its sponsorship this year to $4.5 million, which includes scholarships to high school for the champion boy and girl for five years. The championship begins at 10 a.m. each day.