Hydel High School has been doing well at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but their achievements might not have been possible save for the intervention of Express Canteen, whose last-minute efforts got the team on a plane to the USA earlier this week.
Hydel High's athletes have been blazing a trail of success and their girls’ team placed second at the recently-concluded ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships at the National Stadium.
In a media interview after the meet, Hydel’s head coach Corey Bennett revealed challenges that the school faced in securing funding for Champs and getting to the Penn Relays, noting that due to a financial shortfall they had to cut the number of members on their team.
Express Canteen, which caters to the school as its concessionaire, answered the call as they had done before and Bennett said it is testimony to the company's commitment to the development of some of the nation's finest athletic talent.
"The fact that the Express Canteen franchise has answered the call to lend their support to the Hydel High School team travelling to the Penn Relays shows once again their commitment to invest in Jamaica’s youth and the continued nurturing of their talents," Bennett said.
"We are sincerely appreciative of Express Canteen’s financial contribution towards our team, affording them the opportunity to compete amongst some of the best teams internationally.
"We would like to publicly thank the Express Canteen’s Management for their consistent and unwavering support towards the Hydel High School track and field programme."
The largesse was not lost on Hydel’s star sprinter Briana Lyston, who expressed her gratitude.
“The support for sports, and in particular the Hydel High’s Track and Field program, is truly important to us and most appreciated by us,” she said.
“The fact that some members of the corporate world continue to understand their importance to our development in the sport is simply great!”
Two of the events in which the Hydel High girls team will be participating are the 4x100 metres and 4x400 metres relays, in which they are favoured to battle for top honours, especially in the 4x100 metres where they came face to face with arch-rivals Edwin Allen and Ryan Foster, Chairman of Express Canteen, views their contribution as an investment in the next generation of athletes.
"Express Canteen is extremely proud of the exploits of all our schools at the recent Boys' and Girls' Champs. We believe in a holistic approach to our partnerships in schools, so when we saw the need of Hydel High to attend the Penn Relays it was an easy decision to support them," said Foster, who is also he is also the General Secretary/CEO of Jamaica's apex sporting body, the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA).
"We are extremely proud of Corey and his achievements with the Hydel track programme and believe this investment is not only an investment in Hydel but also the next generation of athletes that will become our future Olympians.”
The Hydel High School team has also secured support from Florida-based SupaJamz radio and a perennial sponsor for Jamaican high schools competing at Penns, Team Jamaica Bickle.
Lyston through to 100m final at SEC Outdoors; Pryce becomes eighth-fastest Jamaican ever to advance to 400m final
Brianna Lyston secured a chance at the sprint double at the SEC Outdoor Championships in Gainesville, Florida after booking her spot in the final of the women’s 100m.
The LSU sophomore, who ran 22.31 on Thursday to secure her spot in the 200m final, came back a day later to run 11.09 to be the joint-fastest qualifier for Saturday’s final alongside collegiate leader Jacious Sears of Tennessee.
Bahamian Florida junior Wanya McCoy and Jamaican Georgia freshman Jehlani Gordon advanced to the men’s 100m final as the second and ninth fastest qualifiers with 10.09 and 10.17, respectively.
The women’s 400m prelims saw Arkansas senior Nickisha Pryce become the eighth-fastest Jamaican ever in the event.
Pryce, who is Jamaica’s reigning national champion, ran a personal best and collegiate leading 49.72 to advance to the final as the fastest qualifier ahead of teammate Kaylyn Brown who ran 49.86.
LSU sophomore Jahiem Stern produced 13.45 to advance to the final of the 110m hurdles.
In the field, the Jamaican Arkansas pair of Romaine Beckford and Wayne Pinnock won gold in the high jump and long jump, respectively.
Beckford had a best clearance of 2.22m to win ahead of LSU’s Kuda Chadenga (2.19m) and Ole Miss’s Arvesta Troupe (2.14m).
Pinnock, a sliver medalist at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, jumped 8.09m to successfully defend his SEC title.
Georgia’s Micah Larry produced 7.80m for second while Florida’s Caleb Foster was third with the same distance.
Lawrence produces personal best to win shot put at ACC Outdoor Championships
Jamaican Clemson junior Courtney Lawrence produced a personal best 19.75 to win shot put gold at the ACC Outdoor Championships in Atlanta on Friday.
The former Petersfield High standout and 2021 NACAC Under-23 champion produced three throws over 19m throughout his series to take the title ahead of Notre Dame’s Michael Schoaf (19.38m) and Wake Forest’s Thomas Kitchell (19.16m).
Jamaican Florida State sophomore Jordan Turner jumped 7.90m for second in the men’s long jump behind teammate Jeremiah Davis who jumped 7.97m for the win. Miami’s Russell Robinson was third with 7.82m.
Moving to the track where Lawrence’s schoolmate, Oneka Wilson, produced a personal best 13.00 to advance to the final of the women’s 100m hurdles as the fastest qualifier.
Another Jamaican Clemson standout, senior Tarees Rhoden, made it through to the final of the men's 800m with a 1:49.17 effort to finish second in his heat.
Bahamian Gardiner, Ja's McLeod register wins as Grenada's Peters cops third in men's javelin throw in Doha
Bahamian 400m Olympic Champion Steven Gardiner, and Jamaica’s World Championships long jump finalist Carey McLeod, stood out among the Caribbean performances as they topped their respective events at the Wanda Diamond League in Doha, Qatar on Friday.
McLeod, who was fourth at the Xiamen meet, displayed mark improvement on this occasion to top the event with a wind-aided leap of 8.52m. He recovered from a failed attempt at the start to cut the sand at 8.14m, before achieving the winning leap on his fourth attempt in a positive 5.2 metres per second wind reading.
The 26-year-old topped a stacked field which included Greece’s Olympic and World champion Miltiadis Tentoglou, who had to settle for second on this occasion with a season’s best leap of 8.36m. Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer (8.30m), was third, while Jamaica’s 2019 World champion Tajay Gayle (8.01m) was fifth, and Bahamian LaQuan Nairn (7.59m) eighth.
For Gardiner, it was a case of picking up where he left off, as he continued his rich early season form in the 400m with another classy display. He went out hard from lane five and quickly covered rivals on the outside at the 250m mark, before pulling away in the latter stages to win in 44.76s.
Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga, closed fast for second in a season’s best 45.07s, while Botswana’s Leungo Scotch (45.29s) was third.
Also in the field, Grenada’s two-time World champion Anderson Peters placed third in an intriguing men’s javelin throw, which saw India’s World and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra beaten into second.
Czech Republic’s Olympic silver medallist and last year’s Diamond League winner Jakub Vadlejch (88.38m) outlasted his Indian rival, who fell just short with a throw of 88.36m, while Peters’ best mark of 86.62m came on his final attempt. All three men hit season’s best marks.
Meanwhile, in arguably the performance of the night, Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos romped the men’s 400m hurdles event in a breathtaking World Lead and Meet Record 46.86s. He bettered his previous Meet Record of 47.24s set in 2022, while reaffirming his status as one of only five men to break the 47-second barrier in the event.
Elsewhere on the track, Jamaican Natoya Goule-Toppin attempted a late rally in the women’s 800m, but she had to settle for sixth in a season’s best 1:59.74.
The event was won by Kenya’s world champion and 2022 Diamond League winner Mary Moraa, who kicked off 2024 campaign with a season’s best 1:57.91, just lowering the 1:57.96 she clocked a few weeks ago at the Kip Keino Classic on home soil.
Britain’s world indoor silver medallist Jemma Reekie (1:58.42) was second, while Benin’s Noelie Yarigo, the indoor bronze medallist, placed third in a season’s best 1:58.70.
In the men’s 200m, Jamaican Oshane Hudson clocked a season’s best 20.53s, which was only good enough for seventh, as American Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek threw down the gauntlet where his Olympic title ambitions are concerned.
Bednarek clocked a personal best and World Leading 19.67s to win the half-lap event in a positive 1.7 metres per second wind reading, and also smashed Noah Lyles’ previous Meet Record of 19.83, set in 2018. His compatriots Courtney Lindsey (20.01s), the previous world leader, and Kyree King (20.21s) were the runners-up.
The women’s 100m was won by Britain’s Daryll Neita, who followed up her 200m in Suzhou with another strong performance on her seasonal bow in the event. She closed fast to win in a season’s best 10.98s, ahead of the American pair of Tamari Davis (10.99s) and Celera Barnes (11.02s) in a blanket finish.
Jamaica’s Natasha Morrison was seventh in a season’s best 11.37s.
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