Cornwall College’s Tio-josh Mowatt, the County of Cornwall Athletics Association (COCAA) Western Champs Class 1 discus thrower has accepted a scholarship to attend Cloud County Community College in Kansas in the United States, starting in August.

Mowatt won the Western Champs title at the St Elizabeth Technical Sports Complex in Santa Cruz, throwing a personal best 50.10m, the third time this year he was improving on his previous best.

He was fifth at Western Champs last year with a then best of 41.58m but he improved on that with a 44.75m at a meet held at Excelsior High in early March before throwing 47.99m at a meet again in Kingston two weeks before Western Champs.

Mowatt, who also placed eighth at the Inter-secondary School Sports Association (ISSA)/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships last month, will join one of the best throws programme in the National Junior College Athletics Association (NJCAA), and will follow in the footsteps of a number of top Jamaican throwers.

He will hope to replace former Petersfield High thrower Daniel Cope who set records in the indoors weight throw and the discus and hammer throw outdoors this year.

NJCAA schools offer two-year courses at the end of which students earn associate degrees before moving on to universities to complete first degrees.

— By Paul A Reid