The best of the best in high school track and field will bring an explosive climax to the 2017 Digicel Grand Prix Athletics Championship, as they chase the top prize of $1 million in gym and sporting equipment at the fifth and final event in the GC Foster Classic today at the National Stadium beginning at 8:30 am with the heats.

The finals begin at 5:00 pm.

Fiercely competitive battles are expected in the eight-discipline meet, which pits the top two qualifiers from regional championships — Western, Eastern, Corporate and Central — against each other in classes one and two among boys and girls.

Unlike previous years when points tallied in the Grand Prix Championship events at the regional meets would count towards the overall title, only points won today will decide the champions.

The Digicel Grand Prix Championship events are the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 4x400m Open, long jump, high jump and discus for classes one and two boys.

Last year, Central Champs schools Edwin Allen High among the girls and St Jago High boys shared the distinction as overall winners.

Their defence appears to be on solid ground based as they have virtually loaded the bases with some of the top qualifiers in each event. The challenge to St Jago’s reign will come from Corporate Area winners Kingston College (KC) and runners-up Calabar High, along with Western Champs’ third-place finishers, Petersfield High, which also have quality finalists.

Central Champs’ numbers two and three, Hydel High and Holmwood Technical, along with Corporate Area winners Excelsior High, also appear threatening in the girls’ race, where two-time champions Edwin Allen hold a very strong hand.

In Class Two, they have sure winners Kevona Davis in the 200m and Cemore Donald at 800m, top-three long jumpers Akelia Brown and Lotavia Brown, plus Janique Burgher and Kadine Brown at high jump and discus, respectively.

They are not as strong in Class One, where Hydel especially are good, with the 4×4 favourites, plus 800m champion in wait, Charokee Young, Isheena Brown in the 400m and Shian Salmon in the high jump.

For St Jago’s girls, Class One discus champion in wait, Gabrielle Shaw, sprinters Aneka Brissett and Kimone Shaw, will headline their charge, while Excelsior, with qualifiers all round, will test powerful Central region dominance that is backed up by Holmwood Technical.

The latter has a number of quality qualifiers, including 100m finalists Sashieka Steele, the Class Two favourite and Michae Harriott in Class One, the fastest over 400m in 54.45, Nicolee Foster, plus Chrissani May, who will battle Young for 800m honours, as well as the second best 4×400 team. Despite the quality of their finalists, however, Holmwood may be found wanting where depth is concerned.

After winning the Corporate Area title, Michael Vassell, who is the head coach of Excelsior’s girls’ team, said: “The girls were hungry. The girls wanted it and they came and they executed.

“We’re trying to ensure that we’ve enough people in the Grand Prix finals to make a serious challenge for the million-dollar prize.”

Among the boys, St Jago, KC and Calabar have qualified athletes in most events and the defending champions remain optimistic.

What could work in St Jago’s favour is they have qualified two athletes in five finals and in most instances, one of their boys rank among the top three, including Class Two sprinters Taiwane Garriques and Jamar Treasure, plus Class One athletes, Leon Clarke in the 800m, Roja Stona (54.97), number two in the discus and joint number one in the high jump, Lushane Wilson (2.05m).

“We know that the best of the best will be on show at the finals on Saturday. We know that the teams from the west, the STETHS’, the Rusea’s, the Corporate Area teams will also get involved, the Calabar’s, the KC’s and also the Eastern schools’, so it will be the best on show. It will be a very difficult task to win the overall title,” said St Jago High boys’ coach in charge of sprints, hurdles and relays, Rahnsomn Edwards.

“However, we’re working assiduously, we definitely want to win the overall title and it will be a plus to our programme in terms of the financial assistance that is well needed,” added Edwards.

Edwin Allen never ran out some of their biggest stars at Central Champs and missed key qualifications, including the 4x400m, but coach Michael Dyke remains full of belief.

“I think we maybe fell behind by a few athletes to the Grand Prix finals, based on my calculations. But it’s one of those things, I believe at the end of the day the athletes are the ones who will prevail because we came out of these championships without any injuries or anything like that, which is key at this point in time,” said Dyke, who has guided Edwin Allen to the Digicel Grand Prix’s main prize two years in a row.

“It might be a little more challenging than previous years, but I am still very optimistic that we can pull it off on the day,” he added.

One of his major drawbacks is the fact that they failed to qualify for the 4x400m, which could prove decisive.

“It is always important to be in the 4×4 because you may never know how it will boil down in the end. If it requires that the 4×4 will decide the finals then we will not be there,” reasoned Dyke.

That race could provide the lynchpin for Calabar, which has been running sparingly all season but turned out its aces at the Corporate Area meet to unveil 200m Class One winner Christopher Taylor, powerful 400m runners Anthony Carpenter and Shemar Chambers, plus a 1:52 800 Class Two boy, Kimar Farquharson.

Petersfield’s Kevin Nedrick will take the Class One discus and they are also well poised in a number of other events, including the 4x400m Open, while KC are also strong all-round and will take the Class One long jump with Carey McLeod and finish one-two in the Class Two long jump with Shaquille Lowe (7.05) and Wayne Pinnock (7.03) well ahead of the field.

After winning the Anthrick Corporate Area title, KC’s head coach Neil Harrison noted the benefits of competing in the Digicel Grand Prix Athletics Championship.

“It is very attractive in the Grand Prix. You compete at the Corporate Area championships and at least you can go home with $250,000. You’ve at stake $25,000 if you break a Grand Prix record and that can do so much as it relates to athletes and your sports programme and a lot of schools look forward to the Digicel Grand Prix Championships,” he said.

Now, the first place bounty is four times greater for the $1-million prize, with $500,000 for second and $200,000 for third, both boys’ and girls’ schools.

Schools get $5,000 for each athlete participating at the Digicel Grand Prix Finals, top coaches earn $50,000.