BY PAUL A REID

Observer writer

reidp@jamaicaobserver.com

HOLMWOOD Technical’s Tamara Moncrieff is finally the owner of the girls’ open triple jump record with a leap of 13.92m to retain her title at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Girls Champs yesterday morning at the National Stadium in Kingston.

Moncrieff, who will be attending Northern Illinois University next year after completing her Champs eligibility, says she was “more than happy, I am overwhelmed”.

On her first attempt, Moncrieff said she tuned out everything and just jumped, landing in the sand at 13.63m, surpassing the 13.52m set in 2007 by Vere Technical’s Kimberly Williams.

Moncrieff, who won with 15.31m last year, also had a wind-aided 13.92m (6.8m/s)m beating the 2013 champion Shardia Lawrence – 13.14 (2.1m/s) — into second place for the second straight year, with Manchester High’s Shanique Wright taking the bronze in 12.92m.

After coming within a centimetre of the record last year, Moncrieff told the Jamaica Observer she did not change anything this year. “I just cleared my mind and hopped, stepped and jumped, and I got the record, so I am happy.”

A knee injury had limited her competitions leading up to Champs, but she said she had no doubts she would be ready to perform well.

After getting the record on her first try, she passed on the next two rounds, then had the 13.92m effort and finished with 13.50m.