Hydel, Vaz set for hot 3-day battle

Orane Hart, Gleaner Intern

Defending champions Hydel and perennial rivals Vaz are set to tussle for top honours at this year's Bigga/Jamaica Independent Schools' Association (JISA) Inter-Prep Schools Track and Field Championships at the National Stadium, starting today through to Saturday.

The meet was originally scheduled for June 3-5, but was postponed due to the inclement weather the island experienced at that time.

Hydel will be looking to extend their five-year hold on the champion-ship trophy, and make it six wins on the trot this year. Vaz, however, seem set to halt this period of dominance.

"This year, we are placing emphasis on making our athletes more rounded and not necessarily on winning champs," said Marlon Tucker, a coach at Vaz.

Tucker further stated, "I think once we do this and give our absolute best, this will subsequently put us in position to win it all."

Endurance work

Coach Tucker said in order to achieve his goal of having more rounded athletes in his camp this year, strength and endurance work have been placed as top priority in the team's training programme.

Hydel had to pull out all the stops to capture last year's championship with a combined score of 274 points, sealing victory with just a few events remaining, and Raymond Levridge, coach of the Wolmer's team, feels that this edition of champs will be much closer.

"This year it (the championship) will definitely be between Hydel and Vaz. I think it might go down to the last event to determine a champion," Levridge commented.

"Realistically, I think if all goes in our favour, and some of our injured athletes recover, then the highest we can finish is third."

Tucker also listed Wolmer's, along with Lannaman's, Quest and Ardenne as the main players in this year's champs.

Last year, Vaz finished 37 points behind Hydel, followed by Ardenne 157.50, Wolmer's 115, Quest 103.50, and Lannaman's 89 to complete the top six.

Action begins at 8 a.m. on the first two days of the meet and 10:45 on Saturday.