CALABAR High and Edwin Allen High are favourites to retain their ISSA/ GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championship titles respectively as action in the 106th staging of the prestigious event starts today at 1:00 pm at the National Stadium.

Calabar High are fancied to win their fifth consecutive lien on the Mortimer Geddes trophy and their 26th overall, while Edwin Allen looks a shoo-in for their third consecutive hold and their fourth overall.

The Michael Clarke-coached green and black lions from Red Hills Road are the second most successful school and are just six titles behind Kingston College’s 31.

Clarke, who is one of, if not the most successful coach at the school level, will be hunting his 15th title, having won seven times with Jamaica College (JC), six with Calabar and one with St Jago High.

And the successful coach believes Calabar is ready to defend their title. “We have been training all season and I think we are ready to give of our best. As to whether we defend our title successfully, only time will tell,” said Clarke.

Two of his main stars, Christopher Taylor and Tyreke Wilson missed the Carifta Trials last week, prompting speculation that all is not well. But Clarke quickly made it clear that all is good.

“There is nothing at the moment that will affect us critically. We are ready and raring to go,” he noted.

KC, having last won in 2009, will be trying once again to stop the Calabar juggernaut, and head coach, Neil Harrison, in his second year in charge, remains optimistic.

“I am optimistic, I know Calabar is the favourite, but you just have to come and execute on the day and I am just hoping that our best will be good enough,” said Harrison.

The popular Champs magazine predicts that Calabar will get 292 points, which is 11.5 points more than last year and KC should accumulate 258, which is seven points less than last year which would give Calabar 34 points victory.

Jamaica College, winners on 21 occasions, the last in 2011, are expected to finish third on 229 points ahead of St Jago with 188.

Meanwhile, having flattered to deceive a number of years, Edwin Allen girls are looking to establish a dynasty hunting by another title.

All indications are that they will win easily, having showed tremendous all-round depth throughout the season and it’s a matter of how far they will win. Last year, the Michael Dykecoached girls amassed 321 points and won by 100 points.

This year, they are predicted to get 341 points. However, it will be a tight battle for second with many-time winners Holmwood Technical, St Jago and Hydel High fighting for the spoils.

Action will get under way at 1:00 pm with the boys Class One long jump preliminaries with the likes of Obrien Waysome and Paketo Dudley of JC; Jordon Scott of Campion College; Alrick Ottey of Cornwall College and Shown-D Thompson of St Jago; Calabar’s Leroy Paige and Gabriel Allen and the KC duo of Dameon Creary and Shammawi Wellington.

That will be followed by the boys’ javelin throw open; the girls Class Four, 70m hurdles and girls Class Two shot put.

The 400m for classes One, Two and Three are set to begin at 5:30 pm and the opening day will be concluded with the running of the steeplechase preliminaries at 7:20 pm.

No finals are set for today On today’s opening day, entrance is free, while tomorrow and Thursday children will pay $100 and adults $500 at the bleachers and grandstand, respectively.

Friday bleachers tickets cost $500 and $350 for students in uniform.

Grandstand Friday tickets cost $3,500. Saturday’s final day students will pay $1,500 for bleachers and adults $4,500 for grandstand.

Grandstand season tickets will cost $9,000 for category one and $8,000 for category two.