Plenty excitement at Howard Jackson Relays

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

Early showers did not stop spectators from pouring onto Morant Bay High school's Highbury Crescent compound on Saturday, as the Howard Jackson Relays returned 'home' just in time for its 25th renewal, after being staged over the last few years at several other locations.

Several records were broken in the early segment of the meet that continues to be staged in memory of widely-regarded former principal and track aficionado, Howard Jackson.

It had been staged at several alternative venues over the last few years, but Morant Bay High was once again ready to stage one of the biggest early-season meets, having completed renovation work to its track.

Kingston College (KC) sped to a record 1:14.66 in the Class Four boys 4x150m relay, with Wolmer's running second in 1:15.83 ahead of hosts Morant Bay, 1:18.49.

Waterford Primary came to impress and they did just that, waltzing their way into the record books in the Primary School boys and girls 4x150m relays.

The boys produced a powerful run to post a new best, 1:21.09 seconds, to finish comfortably ahead of Central Branch, 1:27.17 and Portsmouth, who stopped the clock at 1:29.64.

Their female schoolmates were clocked at 1:26.56 seconds in their event, while second-place Portsmouth, who also went under the previous record at 1:26.76, were well ahead of third place finishers Ken Wright, 1:32.75 seconds.

Another record came in the Junior High school boys 4x300m, which was won by John Mills in 2:38.88, with Drapass running second in a time of 2:44.02 seconds. Central Branch were third in 2:48.53 seconds.

Wolmer's captured the boys' Class One 4x300m with a 2:27.93 run, while St Andrew College, 2:32.96, and Camperdown, 2:33.03, finished second and third, respectively.

In Class Two, Ardenne, 2:31.70, outpowered KC, 2:32.10, with Morant Bay claiming third place in 2:32.37.

KC returned to winning ways in the Class One and Class Two 4x600m relays, winning Class One in 5:56.08 ahead of Desas Track Club, 5:58.55, and Wolmer's, 6:06.72. Their Class Two team won comfortably in a time of 6:12.37, with Camperdown, 6:22.14 and Seaforth, 6:22.59, taking the other top spots.

The Class One and Open girls' 4x150m was won by St Hugh's High, 1:19.81, which stormed through to pip The Queen's School, 1:20.09, while the University of the West Indies finished third in 1:22.63.

Alpha (A) took the Class Two equivalent in 1:16.96 ahead of The Queen's School, 1:18.71, and Alpha (B), who finished third in 1:22.84.

The Queen's School (A) claimed the Class Three girls' 4x150 in 1:20.44, while St Hugh's, 1:24.34, finished second and Alpha, 1:25.71, finished third.

Something to cheer about

Morant Bay, 1:11.03, gave their supporters something to cheer about in the Class Two boys 4x150m with a classy win over Camperdown, 1:12.89, and Edith Dalton James, 1:13.90. Edith Dalton James, 1:09.92, surprised the field in Class One, winning ahead of Ardenne, 1:10.75 and St Andrew, 1:11.41.

KC took the distance medley in 7:53.71 ahead of the University of West Indies, 7:58.25 and Wolmer's , 8:29.22.

President of the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association, Howard Aris, who was a special guest at the meet, lauded the organisers for keeping the legacy of Howard Jackson alive and underlined the importance of the meet to the sport's development.

"He (Jackson) was a personal friend of mine and colleague for many years. His contribution to track and field, particularly in this area and also in the wider Jamaica, cannot be underestimated so it's only befitting that an event like this be named in his memory," Aris said.

"The impact it (meet) has on the eastern part of the island is unheralded and you see today that although so many other meets are taking place you can see the turnout and enthusiasm shown here speaks to the legacy," observed Aris on Saturday.

Noted journalist Dionne Jackson-Miller, a daughter of Howard Jackson and past student of Morant Bay High, was also delighted with the continued support for the meet.

"I haven't been back here for a while so it's very good to be here. It's really good to see that they have managed to keep it going for all these years because I remember when he started it. It really meant a lot to him as one of the first development meets for the year," said Jackson-Miller.