Adrian Frater, News Editor
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World 100 metres record holder Asafa Powell crosses the finish line well ahead of the field as his MVP Track Club smashed the meet's Club/Institution men's 4x100m record at yesterday's Milo Western Relays at the Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay. – Adrian Frater Photo
WESTERN BUREAU:
IN ARGUABLY the most fascinating day in the annals of the Milo Western Relays, 14 records were smashed and one established yesterday as the cream of the nation's athletic talent thrilled fans at the 28th staging of the popular one-day championship at the Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay.
"We have never seen anything like this at the championship," said meet director Ray Harvey. "This has surpassed all previous relays in terms of records, quality and spectator excitement"
RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCES
While the record-breaking performances generated much excitement among the patrons, Holmwood's fantastic 44.88 in the Class One Girls 4x100m took pride of place, as the time run by the quartet of Anastasia Leroy, Rosemarie White, Sonita Sutherland and Schillonie Calvert is the fastest time done by any local girls' high school team.
World 100m record holder Asafa Powell and his MVP track club team were also in dazzling form, shattering the Club/Insti-tution 4x100m with a sparkling 38.87.
The MVP 4x100m women's team, which featured Olympian Sherone Simpson, was also in record-breaking form with a fine 43.85 clocking.
Other records for the MVP team came in the latter stages of the day when both their male and female 4x400m teams broke records. The women's team won in 3:32.14 while the male team, which featured Powell, sped to 3:13.52.
TOP SCHOOL
In addition to the Class One girls' 4x100m feat, Holmwood also registered records in the Omar Brown-anchored Class One boys' 4x100m team, which ran a blistering 41.14; the 4x800m girls' Open, in 8:47.26 and the 4x200m Open girls, in 1:35.74.
Edwin Allen, one of the rising powers in local track and field, was also in rampant record-breaking form as after Sherene Pinnock smashed the 400m women's open hurdles with an imposing 59.31, the Clarendon school went on to secure another record as its Class Two girls smashed the 4x100m record, upstaging the fancied Holmwood with a superb 46:13.
Top quarter-miler Jermaine Gonzalez of the High Performance Centre and Vere Technical's Sharnetter Stewart destroyed both the old male and female 400m records with great performances. Gonzalez ran a blazing 49:94 while Stewart clocked 52:81.
PREPARATORY, PRIMARY RECORDS
The records were not limited to the club/institutions and high schools as three records were shattered in the preparatory and primary school section.
In the preparatory school section, Mt. Alvernia first broke the boys' 4x100m record with a cracking 54:48 and, in the girls' section, they also smashed the old record, running 55:99.
Ocho Rios accounted for the girls' 4x100m primary school record with their 51:88.
Kingston College, which showed good all-round strength, walked away with the outstanding High School boys' title while Holmwood took the girls' equivalent.
MVP's Michael Frater was adjudged the outstanding male athletes while Leroy took the female award.
