CAN EDWIN ALLEN BE DETHRONED?
The Edwin Allen dynasty has won 7 girl championship titles on the trot and 2022 should make it 8 in a row. At the 2022 championships, their main rivals will again be Hydel and St. Jago. Both Hydel and St. Jago have impressive squads, but are not strong or deep enough to dethrone Edwin Allen.
There are number of other squads that have shown marked improvement over previous years, and also a few that have lost ground. No one can fail to notice the improvement of Immaculate and St. Catherine. Immaculate will look to challenge Excelsior and Wolmers girls for the title of top urban school, while St. Catherine will look to score over 100 points and force themselves into a top five position.
On a different note, Vere Technical seems to have had internal problems and have lost some of their top athletes. They will drop out of the top five. Russea on the other hand have lost their influential coach, who now operates from William Knibb. A few of Rusea’s top athletes have followed him to William Knibb and the Rusea’s program seems to be almost nonexistent.
We will now take a look at the schools expected to be in the top five, outlining their strengths and weaknesses.
Edwin Allen….351 points
Edwin Allen has a deep and talented squad and should retain the girl’s championship title. They are particularly strong in class one, where they expect to score over 100 points. On the track, the Clayton twins are expected to score heavily in the sprints, while Rushana Dwyer and Jessica McLeod will do the same in the middle distances. In the field events, Serena Cole and Ashareah Enoe should continue that trend in the jumps, while Damali Williams and Rochelle Solmon will score valuable points in the throws. Edwin Allen is not as strong in the lower classes, but is expected to be quite competitive with athletes like Theianna-Lee Terrelonge in the sprints, Rickeisha Simms in the middle distances, Dionjah Shaw in the throws and Asia McKay in the jumps.
But although Edwin Allen will score points all across the board, they are vulnerable in the hurdling events. However, their dominance in the other events should allow them to overcome this weakness.
Hydel…322 pts
Hydel has played second fiddle to Edwin Allen for a number of years. Last year, they placed third at the championships, beaten by both Edwin Allen and St. Jago. This year they again hope to be victorious and win the coveted title, but they may have to be satisfied with a second place finish. Hydel has always been strong in the sprinting and hurdling events, and this year is no different. The Hydel squad boasts national junior sprinters Brianna Lyston, Oneika McAnnuff, Alana Reid and Alliah Baker, as well as national hurdlers Kericca Hill and Oneka Wilson.
But Hydel has traditionally been weak in the throwing and middle distance events and this year is no exception. Although they have shown improvement in these areas, they still lag behind their main rivals Edwin Allen. But Hydel hopes that they will overachieve in these areas and if Edwin Allen underachieves, they will be able to win their first championships.
St. Jago…278 pts
St. Jago placed second last year, but realizes that this year they may drop back to third place. They sorely miss top athletes like Shantae Foreman and Sancia Smith who were quite instrumental in last year’s success. This year, senior athletes like Kayla Gaye Clarke, Alesia Douglas, and Safia Hinds are expected to lead the St. Jago Challenge. Although St. Jago has a good all round team, they do not have the depth of their main rivals. They are quite strong in class three with sprinters s and Hurdlers like Camoy Binger, Bryana Davidson, Poshanna-Lee Blake and Olivia S. John.
But their main weakness is in class two, where they will struggle to compete successfully against their main rivals.
Holmwood…194 pts
Last year, Holmwood was seriously affected by the Covid pandemic, and training started quite late. The same thing seems to have happened this year but the team seems to be now coming into some semblance of form. The Holmwood squad is not a balanced one, and most of their points will come from middle distance runners like Jody Mitchell, Andrene Peart and Samantha Pryce. Holmwood is also strong in the Class three 400m, where central champs medal winners Rosalee Gallimore and Abriana Wright are expected to continue their domination of the event. But Holmwood is extremely weak in the field events and in class four.
National junior representative Cedricka Williams is the top junior discus thrower in the country and she is expected to break the class one record in the event, giving her the unique status of holding the record in all three classes.
St. Catherine…144 pts
In the last couple of years, St. Catherine has been the most improved team at the girl’s championships. In 2019, St Catherine placed 10th, with 44 points. In 2021, they placed 6th with 75 points and in 2022 they are expected to placed 5th with over 100 points. They are now expected to take over the fifth position from Vere Tech who have lost a number of their top athletes.
St Catherine does not have the depth of the top teams, but they will score points in all classes in both track and field events. In class four, central champs winner Ackeelah White is expected to score points in the sprints, while in class two and three, Ashariah Ulett and Michaelann Lindo are expected to do the same in the sprints and hurdles. In the open Javelin event, Natalie Albert and G’Nea Pitt are expected to vie for the major medals.
Of course, the girl’s championship is never just about the top schools. There will be a quite a bit of talent on show at champs, and a lot will come from schools outside the top five. Here are a few athletes outside of the top five schools that we may need to pay special attention to:
Petersfield’s sprint hurdler Alexis James won the U20 event at the Carifta trials. But on the big day in previous championships, James has had problems navigating the hurdles and that has caused her to lose critical races. Hopefully she will have a flawless race at champs, because her clash with national representative Oneka Wilson of Hydel and former class III champion Gabrielle Matthews of Queens should be one of the highlights of the championships
Ferncourt’s Abigail Campbell has not lost a 400m race over two seasons. Last year in class three, she won the event at Central champs and then at the girl’s championships. This year in class two, she has won the Carifta trials U17 and central champs events. She is the top ranked athlete in her class and is expected to continue her winning streak.
Immaculate Conception unbelievably won all the 100m sprints at the corporate championships and although they will come up against tougher competition at the girl’s championships, they are expected to do very well. The top sprinters to look out for are Kedoya Lindo (Class 4), Shevi-Anne Shim (class 3) Mickaila Haisley (class two) and Gabrielle Lyn (Class 1)
Carifta trials U17 200m winner Sabrina Dockery of Lacovia could be the revelation of these championships. Dockery is expected to compete in the 200m and 400m events, where she could win both gold medals.
Wolmerian sprinter Natrice East won the 200m and placed second in the 100m at the corporate champs. She could be on course to win the class four sprint double.
Former Hydel sprint/hurdler Gabrielle Mathews, who now represents Queens, is finally getting back to her old form. She will challenge for a medal in both the class one 200m and 100m hurdles.
Last year, St. Mary High’s Shone Walters placed 3rd in both the class two 800m and 1500m. This year, she is ranked third in the 1500m event and could surprise the field by winning gold in both events.
Vere Tech star Kaylia Kelly is in her final season and intends to win her first set of championship medals in the class one 200m and 400m events.
written by Oliver Harris