PETERSFIELD, Westmoreland

IN a few weeks discus thrower Glenford Watson will start the next phase of his life, when he enters GC Foster Sports College in St Catherine.

And, if his high school track career is anything to go by, the future seems bright for the former Petersfield High athlete.

He finished 16th overall in the men’s discus throw at the recent IAAF World Junior Championships held at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. And, while not enough to get into the top 12 and qualifying for the finals, it was a good end to his season and his junior career.

A few days after throwing 56.30m, his best late in the season, and second best after his personal best 57.50m set at the County of Cornwall Athletics Association’s (COCAA) Western Champs at Munro College in February, Watson told Observer West the he was happy with his time at Petersfield High.

“Looking back, high school was great, I spent seven years at Petersfield and started track and field in grade 8 and never regretted it a minute,” he said.

Watson was fortunate to have come under the guidance of coach Machell Woolery, who is slowly making a name for himself as a spotter and groomer of talent.

After starting his career trying to be a sprinter and moving through all the running events up to 800m with little success, just returning a discus to one of the throwers at training one day changed the course of his life.

In January 2008, a few months before Western Champs, he told Observer West that a discus landed close to where he was training and as it happened, coach Woolery was watching as he returned it, mimicking the actions he saw the throwers use.

The coach came over to him immediately and asked him to throw the discus a few more times and impressed with what he saw, immediately moved him to the throws.

The switch changed what could have been yet another very ordinary high school career that saw him make his national debut this year when he won the CARIFTA Games Under-20 title in Martinique. Despite being a last-minute addition to the team, after placing second at the ISSA Boys’ Championships, he claimed his first medal there.

Watson’s résumé at Western Champs is nothing short of spectacular.

He won Class 3 discus, was a two-time champion in Class 2 and won gold, silver and bronze at Class 1, setting new records at every age group.

“This has been my best year and making two national teams, to CARIFTA Games and the World Juniors made it very special,” he said.

Despite throwing only 52.00m to win the gold at CARIFTA, Watson said that championships was the highlight of the season for him. “I was a late addition to the team and to go there and prove my worth was a big deal for me,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Watson who is eyeing a career in sports science stressed that his education comes first and getting a degree will be his primary goal while at GC Foster.

He said he was successful in five subjects at the CSEC level last year and expressed confidence that he has done well in three others that he sat earlier this year.