Camperdown High led all qualifiers to the Championship of America High School Boys 4x100m final as the 2022 Penn Relays continued at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Friday.
The team of Roshawn Clarke, Rimando Thomas, Junior Harris and Nickoy Drummond sped to 40.96 to advance as the fastest qualifiers.
Saturday’s final will also see the likes of St. Jago (41.06), Jamaica College (41.20), STETHS (41.48), Calabar (41.73), St. Catherine High (41.78), Excelsior (41.84) and Herbert Morrison (41.90) in the field.
Jamaica College was the fastest qualifier for the High School Boys 4x800m final. The team of Khandale Frie, Omarion Davis, Handal Roban and Kemarrio Bygrave ran 7:53.41 to be the only Caribbean team to advance to Saturday’s final.
In the field, Edwin Allen’s Trevor Gunzell (61.79) and Jamaica College’s Raquil Broderick (59.43) were the top two finishers in the High School Boys discus. Bergen Catholic’s Benjamin Shue was third with 58.82m.
Carifta U-20 champion and record holder Keyshawn Strachan of the Bahamas won the High School Boys javelin with a throw of 72.48m representing St. John’s College. Jose Santana of Eugenio Guerra Cruz in Puerto Rico was second with 60.29m while Wyoming Area’s Drew Mruk was third with 58.60m.
Jamaica once again got the top two spots, this time in the High School Boys shot put thanks to Edwin Allen’s Christopher Young (19.87m) and Calabar’s Kobe Lawrence (19.68m). Joe Licata of Gill St. Bernard’s was third with 18.75m.
Dejone Raymond of STETHS cleared 2.05m to win the High School Boys high jump ahead of South Brunswick’s Damarion Potts (1.99m) and Kingston College’s Aaron McKenzie (1.99m).
Jamaica College’s Uroy Ryan was second in the High School Boys long jump with 7.54m behind Lawrenceville School’s Gregory Foster (7.59m). Altoona’s Jake Adams was a distant third with 7.08m.
Kingston College’s standout long and triple jumper Jaydon Hibbert jumped out to 15.94m to win the High School Boys triple jump ahead of Valley Stream North’s Ryan John (15.02m) and Brandon Hutchinson of St. Augustine’s in the Bahamas (14.93m).
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Ricketts opens season with 14.50m to win triple jump at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts provided her home fans with a solid performance to win the women’s triple jump at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
The two-time World Championships silver medallist produced a best jump of 14.50m on her first attempt that proved to be enough to win in the end.
American Jasmine Moore had a best jump of 14.28m for second while Dominican World Indoor Champion Thea Lafond jumped 14.22m in the sixth and final round to clinch third.
“I feel exceptional. I usually get started with my season much earlier but this year we decided to get a few things corrected before coming into competition,” Ricketts said following the competition.
“Competing with world class athletes who have been doing well indoors as well really pushed me and gave me a good implication of where I’m at this season,” she added.
The 2022 Commonwealth Champion also spoke on competing in Jamaica.
“It’s always a pleasure to compete in Kingston. Usually, I try to do a meet here before going overseas to compete in the Diamond League. The crowd has warmed up to the jumps because of how well I’ve been doing overseas over the years. I’m always grateful for the support,” she said.
Great Britain’s Hughes, Asher-Smith get 200m victories at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes and Dina Asher-Smith took victories in the men’s and women’s 200m events at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
Hughes, a bronze medallist in the 100m at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, produced a season’s best 19.96 to win ahead of American Fred Kerley (20.17) and France’s Pablo Mateo (20.20).
“I feel really good. I think this is my second 200m race of the season. When I opened up I wasn’t ready so tonight I was just testing out the waters. We’re starting to sharpen up but not as much because it’s a long season,” Hughes said after the race.
“To run 19.96 now, I’m very happy. I just need to stay healthy and continue to execute my races accordingly and everything will be okay,” he added.
2019 World Champion Asher-Smith narrowly won the women’s event in 22.51 ahead of the Ivory Coast’s Jessika Gbai (22.53) with Jamaica’s Lanae-Tava Thomas running 22.84 for third.
Asher-Smith says she was hoping for a quicker time and has some things to work on.
“I’m in really good shape so I was hoping to get a quicker time today. Clearly, I’ve got some stuff that I’ve got to work on so I’m going to go back to Austin and work on them but I’m happy to have won here in Jamaica,” she said.
USA’s Holmes, Great Britain’s Hudson-Smith win 400m races at Jamaica Athletics Invitational
American Alexis Holmes and great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith emerged as the winners of the women’s and men’s 400m races at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
Holmes, a member of the USA’s gold medal-winning mixed relay team at the World Championships in Budapest last year and the World Relays this year in Nassau, ran 50.31 to lead an American 1-2-3 with Brittany Brown running 51.21 in second and Naasha Robinson running 51.81 in third.
“I had a lot of fun. The energy was great,” Holmes said after the race.
“I was expecting a smooth race and just trying to get the win. I just try to stay relaxed and poised because I know I have a strong finish,” she added.
The men’s race saw World Championship silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith produce 44.69 to take the win ahead of American Matthew Boling (44.98) and Jamaica’s Zandrion Barnes (45.41).
“I’m a lot more healthier this year. I’ve got the best team in the world. My coach Gary Evans is a man with a plan and this year it’s all about being healthy when it matters,” he said after the race.
“It was a good executed race. We just wanted to come home strong and be composed. I’ve got Oslo, Europeans, Monaco and London so I’ve got a lot more races and training,” he added.
The Brit also gave props to World Champion Antonio Watson who ran 45.61 for fifth.
“Listen, he’s the reigning World Champion so I’ve got to give him respect. He came out here in front of his people and raced. He delivered when it mattered,” he said.
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