Goule rules at Central Champs

TEN-TIME Carifta Games gold medallist Natoya Goule established two of the seven records to fall at press time on yesterday's first day of the 51st Milo Central Athletics Championships at GC Foster College in Spanish Town, St Catherine.

The Manchester High standout clocked 10 minutes 31.82 seconds to win the 3000-metre final and shaved 0.28 seconds off the 2009 mark of 10:32.10 set by schoolmate Neisha Morgan.

The petite middle-distance dynamo who has never lost a final at the ISSA Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships, returned two hours later to post 2 minutes 12.01 seconds to break the 800m record in the heats.

Her time bettered the old record of 2:12.83 established by Holmwood's Bobby-Gaye Wilkins in 2008. Goule was later ruled the winner of the 800m on the basis that the event was a timed final.

"I'm feeling great because I never expected to break any records (today), so to see that I established two makes me feel very good," Goule told the Observer.

The Jerry Holness-coached athlete returned to the island on Monday after representing Jamaica at the NACAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday.

"To tell the truth, I'm a little bit tired because I didn't get a lot of rest on the returning flight... but I'm looking forward to do my best at 'Champs 100'. I aim to get three gold medals in my individual events (800m, 1500m, 3000m) and a medal in the 4x400m," she added.

The other five records came in the Girls 400 hurdles Open, the Boys Class Two and One 800m, the Class One Boys 100m and the Boys Class Three high jump.

National World Youth representative Nikita Tracey of Edwin Allen returned 58.80secs to win the Girls Open 400m hurdles, beating the 2008 mark of 58.9 sec set by Manchester's Shana-Gay Tracey.

Another National World Youth rep, Kemar Bailey Cole of Old Harbour, clocked 10.58secs to smash the Class One 100m record of 10.75 established by Glenmuir's David Dunn in 2008.

Bryan Smith of Clarendon College returned 1:57.53 to better the Class Two half-mile mark of 1:57.92 set by Garnette Gordon of Vere Technical in 2007, while Kevin White of Holmwood posted 1:52.00 to erase the Class One 800m record of 1:53.00 set by Edwin Allen's Conroy Crossman in 2008.

Shane Griffiths of Knox College was responsible for the Class Three high Jump record, leaping 1.67 metres to eclipse the previous mark of 1.63m done by Jovaune Gordon of St Jago in 2008.

Meanwhile, defending champions St Jago High lead the Boys' standing with 123.5 points ahead of Holmwood, 68, and Edwin Allen, 53.5.

On the Girls' side, Edwin Allen lead with 143 points ahead of title-holders Holmwood, 130, and St Jago, 129. Thirty finals are scheduled to be contested today.

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