Tyrell lands athletic scholarship to US college
FORMER Titchfield High and Kingston College athlete Kemardo Tyrell was scheduled to leave the island on Sunday to take up a track scholarship at Northeastern University in Boston, USA.
The 20-year-old, who was fourth in the Class One long jump at the 2009 Boys’ Championships in a wind-aided 6.98m (3.3m/s) and who represented Jamaica at the Central American and Caribbean Senior Games in Puerto Rico in July, was part of the Kingston College team that won Champs by 1.50 points over arch-rivals Calabar.
He was also a member of the 4x100m team that placed fifth in the final and clinched the title.
Tyrell started track and field in 2003 and later transferred to Kingston College from Titchfield to continue his education in sixth form and to further develop his talent.
Despite being plagued with injuries in the last year, he managed to have an injury free 2010 season and jumped 7.38m at National Senior Trial in late June for second place and a trip to the CAC Games.
He described the experience in Puerto Rico as “awesome” and said, “there is so much pride in representing your country at the highest level and just to hear the National Anthem being played signifies the love and unity that exist with each other.”
Tyrell is hoping his experience in Puerto Rico and competing for NU will help propel him to the top of his event.
“James Beckford and Trecia Smith were dominant around the globe for quite sometime, so it has helped in shaping the younger minds that are involved in the non-traditional events,” he said.
He is also inspired by the younger set of jumpers such as Alain Bailey, Julian Reid, Tarik Batchelor, Nicholas Gordon and Kimberly Williams who made their marks on the American College scene, and he hopes to follow in their footstep.
Things were not always easy for Tyrell as besides the spate of injuries, track was not a big sport at Titchfield,.
“It’s not a school that was doing well at that particular time. The facilities weren’t amazing, but the support from the staff there was excellent amidst the rough times,” he recalls.
He singled out coach Orel Dunstan as one who “fought hard” and set the foundation and said moving to Kingston College helped him to expand his horizons.
“I met so many inspiring teachers who supported me in every aspect. The coaches played a major role in my development, especially Jeremy Delisser and Courtney Harrison.”
Looking ahead, Tyrell says he is “really excited in getting this opportunity to further realise my true potential on the track and academically and want to say thanks to Sherman Hart and Adam Carpenter from Northeastern University”.