Red-hot 200m favorite Delano Williams of Munro College and the Turk and Caicos Islands zoomed from behind to take the Class 1 Boys (ages 16-19) 100m ahead of Bridgeport’s Jazeel Murphy, the defending champion, at the 2012 Jamaica Boys and Girls Athletics Championships in Kingston last evening. Running into a headwind of 0.5mps, Williams, the 2011 Carifta champion, clocked 10.37secs to Murphy’s 10.39 and the third-place time of 10.54 by Jevaughn Minzie of Bog Walk.
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From left: Skeen, Murphy and Williams at Champs 2010.
DPalmer photo
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Williams, like Murphy, is not a fast starter, and both have great acceleration. But Murphy was not match for Williams, who stormed the field with his top-end speed, which will be on show again today when he enters the straightaway in the 200m final. He goes into the race with the fastest time of 20.75, which is below his season best and world leading youth time of 20.53.
He is also expected to anchor Munro’s sprint relay team as well as the 4x4 Open, on which he did lead-off duties last night in the last qualifying race of the day. The team clocked the fastest time of 3mins, 16.70secs.
Williams’s win quickly overshadowed the exit of Odean Skeen (Wolmer’s) from the lineup of that race as the 2011 World Youth Olympic champion was disqualified for picking the start. Expected to do damage in both short sprints, even though there has been much talk that he has not had enough races leading up the Championships, Skeen placed fourth in the 200m qualifier on Thursday and did not make it through to the final.
Prior to that race, Raheem Chambers of St. Jago High School erased the Class 3 Boys (ages 10-14) 100m record with a sizzling 10.86 (1.9w) run. St. Jago holds the record in all three classes.
The girls were not to be outdone in the evening’s conditions just right for good sprinting. Just before Chambers’s accomplishment, defending champion Shauna Helps of Wolmer’s Girls School broke Lisa Sharpe's Class 3 (ages 13-15) 100m record set in 1999, clocking 11.50 with a legal tail wind of 1.6mps. However, it was not smooth sailing in the Class 2 (ages 15-17) 100m as favorite Christania Williams of Edwin Allen seemed well on her way to break the record also, when she flinched and threw up her arms in pain several meters from the tape but still managed to win in 11.54 (0.1w). Second was Yanique Thompson of Holmwood in 11.76.
Diana Johnson, one of Holmwood technical's top runners, did not finish.
One major blow to Holmwood, the girls defending champions, was the exit of their Class 2 400m ace Chrisann Gordon, who collapsed soon after leaving the blocks. An 800 medal prospect and key member of their 4x4 squad, Gordon entered the competition less than 100% fit, having sustained an injury at the Carifta Trials a month ago. The status of her condition has not yet been determined.
Points Standing
At the end of the fourth day of competition, Calabar High School, with 118.5 points, were ahead of early leaders Kingston College with 102. However, it is still too soon to call a winner. Trailing the two were defending champions Jamaica College (89), Wolmer’s Boys (48) and Munro (36).
The girls’ case is a different story. Away out front is 2011 runner-up Edwin Allen with 167 points and holding off Holmwood at 100. In third place is St. Jago with 71; fourth is Vere Technical (56); and fifth is St. Elizabeth Technical (STETHS) with 36.
Action resumes today, the final day, in anticipation of major fireworks, especially in the relays. The continuous call of the drums in the background and the worming of giant school flags in the stands will help pump the adrenalin in the National Stadium as the curtain comes down on the 102nd championships.
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