FORMER champions Excelsior High will take on Meadowbrook High as the 2019 Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) urban high school junior and senior league competitions get underway this afternoon across several venues.

The junior matches are to begin at 2:30 pm, while the seniors are slated for action at 3:30 pm.

The Christopher Smart-coached aggregation should easily get the better of their opponents, and are also one of the contenders for the Senior League title.

Norman Manley, another of the fancied teams to make it to the second round, will host Eltham High today.

Defending junior and senior league champions Gaynstead High, coached by Dalton Hinds, are scheduled to open their season on September 27 when they journey to play Edith Dalton-James High.

St Catherine, hot favourites this season, will not be in action until September 23 when they travel to face Pembroke Hall High.

Last year, the St Catherine aggregation finished second to Gaynstead High in the senior league.

The Phyllis Thompson-coached St Catherine have dominated this year’s pre season tournaments and should be in contention for high school title honours.

They captured the 2019 INSPORTS Summer Challenge Cup, and last week came out champions in the annual ISSA High School girls Netball Rally, winning both the junior and senior finals.

Dalton Hinds, coach of Gaynstead, said he has lost a number of players from both the junior and senior teams but he believes they will advance to the second round of the competition.

Zone A – Ardenne High, Campion College, Holy Childhood High, Immaculate Conception, Innswood High, Papine High, Spanish Town High, St Mary’s College

Zone B – Dunoon Park Technical, Haile Selassie High, Merl Grove High, Northern Technical, Oberlin High, The Queen’s School, Tarrant High, Tivoli High

Zone C — Excelsior High, Eltham High, Hydel High, Meadowbrook High, Norman Manley High, St Hugh’s High, Vauxhall High.

Zone D – defending champions Gaynstead High, Bridgeport High, Charlie Smith High, Cumberland High, Edith Dalton-James High, Mona High, St Andrew High

Zone E – Camperdown High, Alpha Academy, Jonathan Grant High, Kingston Technical, St Andrew High, Waterford High, and Clan Carthy High.

Zone F – St Catherine High, Greater Portmore High, Jose Marti High, Wolmer’s Girls’, Pembroke Hall High, and Holy Trinity High

Today’s matches

Zone C

St Hugh’s vs Vauxhall

Norman Manley vs Eltham

Excelsior vs Meadowbrook

Zone D

Cumberland vs St Andrew High

Charlie Smith vs Edith Dalton-James

Mona vs Bridgeport

( Home teams named first)

— Gerald Reid