Holmwood's Russell confident of victory

Andre Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

After capturing eight girls' titles on the trot, much has been said about Holmwood's chances of continuing their golden patch at the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/GraceKennedy Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships, with Edwin Allen breathing down their necks.

In fact, most agree that the Christiana-based school will play second fiddle this year. But team captain Janieve Russell, who herself should find things rough at the March 30-April 2 meet, is expecting her team to once again prove their doubters wrong.

Russell, who should struggle against St Andrew's Megan Simmonds in the Class Two 100m hurdles, Kimberly Williamson (Edwin Allen) and Chanice Porter (Manchester) in the high jump, as well as Opal James (St Elizabeth) and Porter in the long jump event, was quite confident of her own chances and that of her school.

Russell, a national representative at several international youth meets such as the IAAF World Youth Championships as well as the IAAF World Junior Championships, believes that the team was at its most vulnerable point last year and having overcome that challenge, are more than equipped to deal with Edwin Allen and every other rival this time around.

Good chance of winning

"My team's chance of winning the Championships this year is very good. I think last year if we won it then we will definitely win it again this year. It is going to be even harder for us to get beaten this year by Edwin Allen or anybody else for that matter," said an extremely confident Russell.

"Our preparation has been very good compared to other schools. We are in a nice spot and it will be left up to us to go on the track and show our talents there," Russell added. "As you can see, we had a number of good performances at Gibson Relays and we did well and we are hoping to carry out that form in the Championships."

As it relates to their rivals Edwin Allen and the other strong competing schools, Russell had this to say: "It was the same as last year with Edwin Allen making up their noise, this year we will set things straight again. Vere are good competitors, especially in the 4x400m, but this year we won't give up on anything or any event; we'll see how it all goes on the day," Russell said with a wry smile on her face.

"We never get tired of winning, it's always exciting when it comes around to Champs. Everybody is looking forward to it, we can't wait to take the track, compete and show off our hairstyles and we are determined to win the Championships once again, we will do what it takes," she added.

As it relates to her own performance, Russell is looking for improvements.

"I'm expecting this year's performance to be better. I've been training hard, I'm fitter and I feel confident going into the Championships," Russell said.