Edwin Allen High’s Joel Morgan will be confident of earning a place on the Jamaican team to the World Athletics Under-20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, in August after he cruised to a win in the Under-20 Boys’ 800m semi-finals the opening day of the JAAA National Championships at the National Stadium.

Morgan, the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association Boys Championships Class 1 champion and Carifta Games bronze medalist, is so far the only Jamaican under the qualifying time of 1:50.00 for the World Under-20 Championships.

On Thursday at the National Championships, Morgan clocked 1:54.25.

Jamaica College’s Rasheed Pryce was next best with 1:54.91, followed by William Knibb Memorial’s Thywaine Sterling (1:55.37) and Port Antonio High’s Anthony Dillon (1:55.63).

Titchfield High’s Ratieo Walters led the Under-18 Boys’ 800m qualifying with 2:01.41, ahead of Port Antonio High’s Tyrece Whyte (2:01.83), St Jago High’s Phillip Palmer (2:01.48), and Luke Plummer (2:02.20) of Sydney Pagon.

Jamaica College’s Dontae Watson and Holland High’s Johan-Ramaldo Smythe lead the Under-20 Boys’ 100m qualifying after the first round.

Watson won his heat in 10.65 seconds (-2.2m/s), while Smythe topped his heat in 10.70 (-0.6m/s). St George’s College’s Tyreece Foreman ran 10.71 (-0.25m/s).

James Harrison of Excelsior High; Nathaniel Martin of Jamaica College; Ainsley McGregor of Wolmer’s Boys’; and United States-based Justin Stewart, son of Olympians Raymond Stewart and Beverly McDonald, also made progress to the semi-finals.

Hydel High’s Robert Miller, the Carifta Games champion, leads the qualifiers for the Under-20 Boys’ 400m hurdles after he ran 52.21 in the semi-finals.

Jahvanie Tyrell of Kingston College ran 52.62, followed by Rojay Black (52.35) of Jamaica College and Joshua Wint (52.75) of William Knibb.

Lacovia High’s Nicholas Jones led the Under-18 section with 53.05, with Kingston College’s Rahiem McIntosh next with 53.63. Jamaica College’s Oneil Lawrence registered 54.45 and Malik Thompson of Camperdown High ran 55.53.

Zavien Bernard of Hydel High won the Under-18 Girls’ triple jump with a mark of 12.75m, just under her personal best if 12.76m. Her effort, however, remains shy of the Under-20 qualifying mark of 13.00m.

Bernard’s teammate Sabrina Atkinson won the Under-20 triple jump with 12.66m (1.2m/s).

Vere Technical’s Ramona Freemantle won the Under-20 Girls’ javelin throw with 44.07m, beating the Immaculate Conception pair of Zoelle Jamel (41.31m) and Dacia McDonald (33.06m).

Excelsior High’s ZoeyAnn Plummer won the Under-18 Girls’ discus throw with a best of 46.71m, beating Katya Christie (45.39m) of Vere Technical and Jamie Lee Tulloch (40.13m) of Immaculate Conception.