Seven Jamaicans seek glory

Raymond Graham, Gleaner Writer

Seven Jamaicans will be seeking individual glory today and tomorrow at the NCAA Division One Indoor Championships at the the Gillian Stadium on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station.

Jamaica's best chance for gold will come in the men's 60-metre hurdles where former Kingston College hurdler Keiron Stewart and former Calabar High hurdler Andrew Riley are the two top seeds in this event, and both are expected to have a battle royal.

Stewart, of the University of Texas, won 110-metre hurdles bronze at the 2009 World Junior Championships. He is the No.1 seed in the event with a school record of 7.66 seconds, which came at the Big 12 Indoor Meet in late February, and will be hoping to make up for his disappointment last year, where he was plagued by injuries in his first season. He is very confident going into the event.

Hoping to run best race

"I feel very good and I have not yet run my best race, and I am hoping to do so this weekend as I want to PR and I am very excited," said Stewart. Asked about his clash with Riley, the defending outdoor 110-metre hurdles champion he said:

"I know Andrew is a great competitor and this is a good KC-Calabar rivalry, but I will not be distracted by this as I am really focused and do not want to concentrate on anyone else, as I want to do my best."

It should be a very close affair as Riley, a junior at the University of Illinois, is the second-ranked athlete in the event just behind Stewart with 7.69, done at the Tyson Invitational in early February, and has more experience than Stewart at this level.

Following his surprise outdoor success last summer in the 110-metre hurdles, he will have a lot of confidence going for his first indoor title. Both athletes are unbeaten so far this season, and this should pave the way for an exciting finish.

Former champion in the women's long jump, Vere Technical past athlete Kimberly Williams, will want to end her final indoor competition for Florida State University on a high. Her season-best 6.55 metres sees her as the No.2 seed in the event. The leader is another Caribbean athlete as the University of Texas senior, British Virgin Islands' Chantel Malone, the World Junior finalist in the event. She has a best of 6.65 metres.

Former Kingston College long jumper Tarik Batchelor will be hoping to be among the medals as the University of Arkansas junior has qualified for both the long and triple jumps. He is the No.4 ranked athlete in both, with 8.07 metres in the former and 16.52 metres in the latter. He will be joined in the long jump by former champion in the event, Nicholas Gordon from the University of Nebraska. The former Calabar High jumper has a best of 7.94 metres to be the ninth-ranked athlete in the event.

Contesting individual events

The two other Jamaicans who will contest individual events are Trisha-Ann Hawthorne, who will represent the University of Connecticut, and Riker Hylton from Louisiana States University. Hawthorne, who represented Jamaica at the 2009 World Junior Championships and who competed in the Millrose Games 60 metres in the clash against the Americans, is the eleventh-ranked athlete in the short sprint with 7.26 seconds.

Hylton, the former St Jago High 400m runner, will compete in the men's 400 metres where his season-best 46.30 seconds has him as the 13th-ranked athlete in the event. In this event, there will be three other Caribbean athletes. World Junior champion Kirani James of Grenada, who is in his second year at the University of Alabama, is the top seed with a world-leading time of 44.80 seconds. The US Virgin Islands' Tabarie Henry (45.92) and Demetrius Pinder (46.24) of The Bahamas, who are both representing Texas A&M University, are the fourth and 10th-ranked athletes in the event.