High expectations for 45th Milo Western Relays
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Meet Director Ray Harvey is expecting outstanding competition — boosted by the addition of throwing events to the schedule — when the 45th staging of the Milo Western Relays is held at GC Foster Sports Complex in Angels, St Catherine, on Saturday, February 10.
The meet, which is traditionally held in Montego Bay, was moved to the St Catherine venue because of the poor state of the all-weather running track at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in St James, is expected to attract a number of the top high schools, colleges, and club teams from across the island.
In addition to the throwing events, which will be held for the first time, Harvey said during Tuesday’s media launch at the Holy Trinity auditorium in Montego Bay that invitational men’s and women’s 60m races “add tremendous excitement to the day’s activities”.
The 60m races, he later told the Jamaica Observer, were a request from some of the top clubs which will be using the meet as a platform to qualify for the World Indoor Championships that is to be held in early March in the United Kingdom.
The meet is also a qualifier for the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association Boys’ and Girls’ Championships set for late March.
“For years we have been getting requests from the high schools for the throwing events, and this year we decided that it was full time that we added that dimension,” he told the Observer when asked about the addition to the schedule.
There will be competition in the shot put and discus throw in all the high school classes as well as Open competition for the senior athletes in both genders, the media launch was told.
The meet will have its traditional events from which high schools can earn cash rewards for finishing in the top four in the Class One 4x100m and 4x400m Open.
The winners will pocket $40,000, second place will get $20,000, third place $10,000, and fourth place $5,000, the lead organiser said.
There will also be competition in the 4x200m and sprint medley relays as well as individual events: 100m open, 400m open, 800m open, 1500m, 3,000m, and the long and high jumps.
Meanwhile, Western Championships gold medallists Deandre Daley of Herbert Morrison and Alexis James, formerly of Petersfield High, will be recognised for their outstanding 2023 seasons, while sports administrator Chester McCarthy has been named the meet patron.
— Paul A Reid
