WHILE refraining from making any definitive predictions about his team’s chances of winning this year’s ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships, Errol Messias, assistant coach at Calabar, said he is anticipating some noteworthy performances from his squad.

Calabar, renowned for having one of the most successful track and field programmes on the island, last secured the Boys’ Championships title in 2018, under former Head Coach Michael Clarke, concluding a seven-year reign which was broken by rivals Kingston College (KC) in 2019.

They took third place in last year’s championships with 207 points, trailing champions KC (366 points) and Jamaica College which secured second place with 299 points. Corey Bennett, now in his second year in charge at the Red Hills Road-based institution, assumed the role from Clarke and will be looking to continue the rebuild and get closer to the top.

Messias believes his team has performed well in their preparations for this year’s championships and, therefore he is expecting some excellent performances from his charges — both on the track and in the field — during the five-day event which takes place at the National Stadium from March 19-23.

“The team is in high spirits and I know that the boys will go out there and do their best,” Messias said.

“The development meets have been good for us but there are some little niggling injuries here and there that we have been dealing with. But, they are back now so let’s see what happens come [the hosting of] Champs.

“I know that the boys will be going there to do their best at the highest standard but I cannot predict their final position because, as you know, everybody aspires to win and everyone will be going all out,” Messias added.

The Calabar team will be led by athletes such as Shaquan Gordon, Nickecoy Bramwell, Ched Brown, Adrian Brown and Chevonte Grant at this year’s championships. Messias emphasised that while the team is young, they possess quality in all areas and he is anticipating outstanding performances from all athletes during the event.

“Calabar is in a rebuilding stage because we have a well-rounded team and most of the boys are still fairly young this year. Going into Champs, we are not aiming to deliver weak performances; instead, we are going out there to give quality performances,” he asserted. “We will do well in the sprints and certain parts of the middle distances. This is a balanced and well-rounded team so there should be some surprises from us. Fans can expect good performances.”