The highly anticipated Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) will begin on March 25. We have our eyes on 10 female athletes who have been making their mark on the track and in the field. Here are our 10 athletes to watch at Girls’ Champs.
SABRINA DOCKERY
A starlet from the breadbasket parish, Lacovia High’s Sabrina Dockery is expected to make waves once again at this year’s Champs. Stepping up into her first year of Class One, Dockery has already cemented herself as one of the favourites for the sprints as she has laid down the gauntlet with a thrilling 11.30-second clocking to win the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) Carifta Trials U20 title recently.
SHANOYA DOUGLAS
Waving the Muschett High flag proudly, Shanoya Douglas looks to be an emerging talent for Jamaica’s athletics for the years to come. Matching strength with speed, Douglas boasts a personal best of 52.96 seconds over 400m, 22.59 over 200m and 11.28 over 100m – all set last year. We anticipate a scorcher of a clash when she lines up against Dockery as the duo have been at the top of their game.
RIHANNA SCOTT
Ferncourt High’s Rihanna Scott turned heads last season in her brilliant debut year in high school athletics as the precocious talent showed pace. She has continued her fine form into this season and has likely booked her place in her first-ever Carifta team after she won the Carifta Trials U17 200m title in a time of 24.13.
ROHANNA SUDLOW
Having already claimed the Class One girls’ long jump title last year, St Catherine High’s Rohanna Sudlow is taking on this season with the confidence befitting a reigning champion. With a personal best of 6.30 metres, which she set last year at the Carifta Games, Sudlow will be hoping to rule the sand pit yet again.
ZAVIEN BERNARD
At just 16 years old, breaking records is a familiar feeling for the Class Three girls’ high jump record holder, Zavien Bernard of Hydel High. Yet, the high jump is not her only event as Bernard has proven to be a triple threat, also competing in the long jump and triple jump events.
CINDY ROSE
Holmwood High’s Cindy Rose stands as one of the best middle-distance runners around. With a personal best of 2:09.78, she edged out her younger sister, Jovi Rose — also a Holmwood student — to claim the Carifta Trials U20 800m title. If one Rose is impressive, then two make for an even greater spectacle, as Jovi is no stranger to dominating the field. Another top middle-distance runner, Jovi is in the form of her life, setting a new personal best of 2:10.54 in the 800m just weeks before Champs, offering a glimmer of hope for the past champions.
NAJHADA SEYMOURE
Excelsior’s High captain and the school’s deputy head girl, Najhada Seymoure is a leader both on and off the field. Also standing as the reigning Class One girls’ discus champion, Seymoure will be front and centre as she leads the line for her school’s quest for a top-five placement. She will go up against Shamoye Morris of Edwin Allen, last year’s second-place finisher, who is certainly one to look out for this year having already claimed the Class One girls’ discus Central Championship title with a meet record of 50.34 metres.
ADORA CAMPBELL
St Jago’s Adora Campbell may just be 16 years old, but with her staggering season’s best of 11.59 seconds in the 100m, she is set for a dominant year on the track ahead of Champs. Yet to be beaten in an individual race this year, Campbell is certain to shake things up come the five-day national high school track and field showpiece.
TIANA MARSHALL
Hailing from Marescaux Road in the maroon and gold of Wolmer’s Girls, Tiana Marshall is definitely one to watch at Champs. While quick in the flat 100m, Marshall truly comes to life in the 100m hurdles, where she enters as one of the favourites for the girls’ Class Two title.
JAEDA ROBINSON
With a Carifta gold medal for the under-17 girls’ triple jump already under her belt from last year, Immaculate Conception’s Jaeda Robinson will be hunting gold at Champs this time around when she lines up for the girls’ triple jump open. She looks to be in gold-medal winning contention after her impressive mark of 12.92 metres to win the Carifta Trials U20 title just a few weeks before Champs. She will go against defending champion St Jago High’s Jade-Ann Dawkins, who has a season’s best of 12.12 metres and won the girls’ under-20 triple jump title with a jump of 13.07 metres at last year’s JAAA National Senior and Junior Championships at the National Stadium.
