MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica — Shannon Kalawan and Nigel Ellis, individual medallists at last year’s International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Under-20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, are to be recognised at the 39th staging of the Milo Western Relays for their outstanding 2016 seasons.

Both athletes, who won their events at the ISSA National High School Athletics Championships and the CARIFTA Games, were unbeaten until their participation in the IAAF Championships last July.

Stephen Smith, president of the County of Cornwall Athletic Association (COCAA) and long-time coach at Grange Hill High, will be the patron of the meet set for February 11th at the Montego Bay Sports Complex.

Meet Director Raymond Harvey told the Jamaica Observer he was pleased with the organising committee’s decision to honour the trio.

“We are very comfortable with the persons chosen to be honoured this year,” he said.

“Stephen has been a stalwart here in the west and has been a champion in ensuring the maintenance of the high standards of track and field, particularly through the organising of the Western High Schools Track and Field Championships”.

Harvey said the choice of Kalawan and Ellis was “an easy one”, as “both of these outstanding athletes had very good seasons last year and we are continuing our tradition of highlighting their exploits”.

Kalawan, who attended Edwin Allen High and is now a student at the University of Technology, won two silver medals in Bydgoszcz as, after taking silver in the women’s 400m hurdles, she was part of the women’s 4x400m relay team that placed second.

After winning the event at Champs, she broke compatriot Camille Robinson’s 13-year-old record of 56.61 seconds in the Girls Under-20 400m hurdles at the 45th CARIFTA Games in Grenada, when she ran 56.29 seconds.

Ellis, representing St Elizabeth Technical, won the Boys’ Class One sprint double at Boys Champs, after he retained it at Western Champs. He then lowered his personal best while setting a then World Junior-leading 10.16 (1.3m/s) seconds to win the Under-20 boys’ 100m title at the CARIFTA Games.