Former Vere Technical athlete Marie Forbes was a double winner at the Midwest Classic hosted by Emporia State University in Kansas on Saturday, taking the women’s shot put and discus throw titles as well as taking third place in the hammer throw event.

The Cloud County Community College athlete, who was named the Kansas Jayhawks Community College Conference (KJCCC) indoor athlete of the week ending February 17, was one of six Jamaican winners at the meet as her former Vere Tech teammate Nickisha Pryce, now of Iowa Western Community College; Michael Buchanan, Dyandra Grey, Andrew Betton, Courtney Lawrence and Daniel Cope all scored victories.

Forbes won the discus throw with 45.26m, winning by over three metres and then took the shot put with a throw of 13.40m with another Jamaican, Shania Parkinson of Iowa Western, taking second with 12.82m.

Forbes then threw 48.25m in the women’s hammer for third place.

Former Petersfield High throwers Lawrence and Cope continued their good first outdoor season with wins in the men’s shot put and hammer throw, respectively.

Lawrence, the NJCAA indoor shot put champion, won his event with 18.38m, while Cope took the hammer throw with 53.07m.

In the men’s discus throw, Cope was third with 45.46m and Lawrence eighth with 40.71m

Pryce ran a personal best 23.41 seconds (1.7m/s) second best in the NJCAA so far with teammate Tirecia Walcott taking second place in 24.46 seconds.

Michael Buchanan won the 110m hurdles with a wind-aided 14.45 seconds (2.1m/s), while Dyandra Grey topped the women’s 400m hurdles field in 1 minute 04.31 seconds.

Cloud County’s Andrew Betton won the men’s high jump with a clearance of 1.91m; Iowa Western’s Alliyah McNeil was second in the women’s long jump with 5.50m (2.0m/s) while Cloud County’s Faithlyn Irvin was also second in the women’s triple jump with 10.63m (1.8m/s).

— Paul Reid