Western Ja athletes record memorable Penn
BY PAUL A REID Observer West writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com
Thursday, April 29, 2010
PHILADELPHIA, USA - St Elizabeth Technical High School's (STETHS) Rochelle Farquharson retained her high school girls' triple jump title at last weekend's 116th Penn Relays Carnival, underscoring a brilliant record of performance by western Jamaica athletes at the oldest track and field meet in the United States.
Three western schools, STETHS, Munro College and Herbert Morrison were among the over 30 Jamaican schools that took part in the meet that ended in a blaze of glory on Saturday as a Jamaica 'Gold' team comprising runners from the Racers Track Club and including two former William Knibb Memorial runners Usain Bolt and Marvin Anderson, ran 37.90 seconds -- the fastest time in the world so far this year-- to win the 'USA vs The World' men's 4x100m while Wolmers Boys on two High School Boys Championship of Americas finals, breaking the year-old record in the 4x100m and subsequently adding the 4x400m.
The STETHS boys' team won the consolation 'Small schools' 4x100m finals on Saturday while Munro College once again disappointed in a 4x400m final despite a great early showing.
Herbert Morrison who left behind several top runners who were denied visas, made it to two finals, one each in the boys' and the girls.
On Thursday's opening day of full competition, Farquharson who had won back-to-back titles at Girls Champs this year and was second in the Under-20 girls event at the CARIFTA Games in the Cayman Islands over the Easter weekend, battled lower body injuries, to her groin and ankle but responded well to take her second gold watch.
Farquharson posted what was for her a "disappointing" 12.56m to win the event, the ninth best ever here and slightly better than the 12.54m she used to win last year.
This mark was the shortest for her this year however after she jumped over 13.0m on three occasions.
"It is good to win" she told reporters afterwards, "but I am disappointed as I wanted to get past the 13.0m mark."
Her winning jump came on the 5th of six attempts after Melia Cox of Long Beach Poly, California had passed her with a 12.41m attempt on the fourth round.
Peter-gay Reid failed in her bid for a record-tying third straight high jump title after she finished third clearing 1.76m, beaten for the first time by Barbados' phenomenon Akela Jones, the CARIFTA Games Under-17 champion who cleared 1.81m.
Girls Champs Class 3 champion Opal James of STETHS was fifth in the long jump in her first trip to the meet with a best mark of 5.76m.
STETHS boys ran 41.24 seconds to win the consolation 'Small schools' final with the team of Ronell Dear, Jamie Dennis, McKoy Simms and Chadic Hines while Herbert Morrison was third in 41.79 seconds behind Trinidad and Tobago's Queens Royal College with Manchester High fourth, Old Harbor High sixth and Bellefield High seventh.
The Herbert Morrison girls had come into the meet touted as dark horses to win the Championship 4x100m but the absence of the influential Ramona Burchell and despite a gallant anchor leg run from Antonique Campbell, they were second to Holmwood Technical, running 45.81 seconds.
After a breath-taking anchor leg run in the 4x400m where he humbled the highly-touted Trinidadian intermediate hurdler Jehue Gordon, Munro College's Dexter McKenzie had to sit out the final due to injuries and the team finished sixth in 3:19.55 seconds.
McKenzie had the capacity crowd on its feet in the morning's eliminations as after taking the baton saw Gordon, go by him before they were mid-way the curve.
The former Mannings School runner/long jumper who is heading to the University of Nebraska next year, trailed Gordon until, with 150m to go, he blew past him and won in what was the fastest-qualifying time of 3:12.54 seconds.
Munro College's Patrick Campbell was the best finishing Jamaican in the 400m hurdles in third place in 54.27 seconds while his team mate, Boys Champs gold medal winner Jodi Rae Blackwood had problems negotiating the first few barriers and finished a disappointing 12th place in 55.74 seconds.
Despite a personal best 18.82m from Munro College's Emmanuel Oniya, he placed fourth in the boys' shot put, the best-placed Jamaican as Calabar's Randale Watson was 11th with 16.15m.
Munro College's Rajae Gayle was 6th in the discus with 53.34m as Calabar's National Junior Record holder Chad Wright won with a record 58.50m throw, Herbert Morrison's Tevaskie Lewin was eighth in the long jump with 6.82m, allowed just one attempt as he also ran the anchor leg for the 4x100m. In the high jump,Munro's Wendrico Seymour was ninth with 1.96m
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