Top performers at JC Meet target Champs
KAVEON Smith of Jamaica College and St Elizabeth Technical’s Rochelle Farquharson were awarded trophies for the outstanding boy and girl performers at yesterday’s award ceremony for the 17th staging of the WATA/Powerade/JC meet.
Smith clocked a meet record 10.27 seconds (hand-timed) to win the Class One boys 100m, while Farquharson leaped a record 6.16 metres to win the Class Two girls long jump.
The John Mair-coached Smith shaved 0.24 seconds off the two year-old mark of 10.51 established by Omar Johnson of Claude McKay.
Farquharson, meanwhile, improved Kimberly Williams’ five year-old record of 5.88m by 0.28 centimetres.
Smith, who expressed satisfaction with his early-season form, is hoping to do better at the 100th staging of the GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships between March 24-27.
“I’ve been training hard, so I expected anything at the meet,” said the athlete whose previous personal best in the 100m was 10.55secs from last season.
“It feels excellent to run that fast and I’m just hoping it will continue throughout the rest of the season because I want to bring home the gold and help Jamaica College capture the 2010 Championship trophy,” he added.
Farquharson is hoping to improve her mark in the long jump at champs.
“I think I have more in me, but it’s just the start of the season, so I guess that was a good start to the year,” Farquharson said.
“My targets this season is to get the record in the long and triple jump because this is… my final Champs, so I want to leave my name there,” she reasoned, noting that she will graduate at the end of the season.
Farquharson is the reigning silver medallist in the Class Two long jump from Champs 2009.
In the meantime, a total of 10 records were broken at the WATA/Powerade/JC meet — five on the boys’ side and five on the girls’ side — while an 11th was equalled.
The overall champion girl and boy of the meet were Thrishana Griffiths of Glengoffe, who secured wins in the Class Two 800m and 1500, as well as Abraham Robertson of Wolmers, who won the Class Three high jump, placed third in the long jump and took fourth spot in the 100h hurdles.