While no points will be scored on today’s opening day of the 103rd staging of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletic Championships, the action is expected to be hot from the start at 2:30 pm as schools jockey for early placements.

Fourteen preliminary events will be held today, which will be free to patrons, including the Class One boys’ long jump and the first round of all seven sprint hurdles events, four for girls and three for boys.

The boys’ open javelin throw, girls’ Class Two shot put, and Class One discus, as well as the first round of the boys’ steeple chase Open will also be held today.

Kingston College, who will be seeking their first Champs title since 2009, will hope to stamp dominance in the Class One boys’ long jump, as they will put forward the top two finishers from last year, Keneil Grant and Clive Pullen.

Pullen has had a good start to the season with a series of wins, including at the Milo Western Relays and the CARIFTA Trials two weekends ago.

Jamaica College’s Gavin Gibson and Calabar’s Julanie Walker, who were also first and second in Class Two last year, will also be seeking to make it to the finals, set for Wednesday evening.

St Jago’s Tamoya Walters, who was third in the Class One high jump last year behind Manchester High’s Chanice Porter and Edwin Allen’s Kimberly Williamson, will start favourite for the gold that will be decided on Friday afternoon.

Bridgeport’s Orlando Tomas was the bronze medal winner in the javelin Open behind Munro College’s Rolando Reid, and will go up against Kingston College’s Zaavan Richards, and St Elizabeth Technical’s Devon Spencer, who won at Western Champs with a throw of 56.10m.

The Class One boys’ 110m hurdles will see a clash between Wolmer’s Boys’ Yannick Hart, last year’s silver medallist, Kingston College’s Omar McLeod — who was fourth while running for Manchester High — and Jamaica College’s Tyler Mason, who was second in Class Two.

The Class Two race should be between Calabar’s Michael O’Hara and Wolmer’s Jaheel Hyde, while in the girls’ Class One, St Jago’s Chrisdale McCarthy, St Elizabeth Technical’s Cherifa Bartlett, and Holmwood Technical’s Osheen Erskine should be the athletes leading the charge.