AFTER easily defending her Class One girls’ high jump title at the Anthrick Corporate Area Development Meet, Malika Cunningham is now taking aim at the CARIFTA Trials set for this weekend at National Stadium, in Kingston.

The Wolmer’s Girls’ student went virtually unchallenged in defending the title she won at the last staging of the event, but she wasn’t totally happy with her performance in doing so.

“I am not satisfied with the result. It’s a pretty low result but I know that I can jump much higher. I just need to fix up some stuff over the bar but I know I will be ready for [CARIFTA Trials] and for Champs, so I am not too concerned with not jumping 1.75 — but I am not happy with the 1.7,” she disclosed.

Making the team to the CARIFTA Games to be held in Jamaica next month is high on the list of priorities for Cunningham.

“For the trials my ultimate goal is to represent Jamaica, so I would like to make it in the top two that gets selected to represent the country.

“I am hoping to get a PB [personal best] there so I just have to fix up some stuff and be ready for [trials].”

Cunningham has already represented Jamaica at the Games, but to do so on home soil would be very special to her.

“It would mean a lot to me to be able represent Jamaica in front of my family and friends, because it’s a really great honour to represent your country but it’s an even greater honour to do it here on the track that we compete on all the time, in front of family and friends, so I am excited for that,” she said.

Later this year will be the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, and competing at this event is the ultimate goal for the Wolmer’s sixth former in 2022.

“That’s the goal of the PB. I am trying to get to 1.81m, which is the standard for the World Junior Games. I have already gotten 1.79 this year so I just want to get the extra edge to get over 1.80m,” she explained.

The Carifta Trials will run from Friday March 11 to Sunday March 13.

— Dwayne Richards