MANCHESTER HIGH'S coach, Jerry Holness, says: "Our preparations have been going good so far this season. At the Gibson Relays, we are looking forward to the girls' and boys' 4x800m, two events in which we have been showing good form. In the boys' section, they have only been beaten once - by UTech. At the high school level they are No. 1. We are hoping to hold that form into the Gibson Relays and then to the Penn Relays.
On the girls' side, we posted 9:02.0 at the Milo Western Relays beating the fancied Holmwood and Edwin Allen. We know they will be coming strong at the Gibson Relays, so we are looking forward to the challenge.
Holness expects the girls' sprints to be very competitive among Edwin Allen, Holmwood, Vere Technical and Manchester High.
"We are hoping to continue our dominance in the Class Two girls' 4x100m and we are looking to also top the Class Three sprint relay."
Natoya Goule is the star athlete in the Manchester High team.
"Without a doubt, Goule is our No. 1 competitor in the girls' 4x800m. At the Milo Western Relays she had an anchor leg of 2:07 and I think that is very good at this time," Holness said.
The other leading members of the 4x800m squad are Niesha Morgan, Charlene Brown and Kimberly Brown.
Manchester's Class Two 4x100m team has been together since Class Four. Denesha Morris, Leslie-Ann Mitchell and Chantelle Simms are the top three competitors.
Holness has a balanced boys' team in the 4x800. According to him, they are all hard-working, confident athletes. The squad includes Jermaine Morris, Ajai Robinson, Darren Lindsay and Alwayne Green.
- E.T
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EDWIN ALLEN High's Michael Dyke expects a strong peformance from his team despite a sluggish start to the season. "WE EXPECT to do well in the 4x800 Open, 4x400m Open and the sprints, especially in the Class One 4x100m.
Dyke said his team's slow start was as a result of last year's hurricane which left the school's training ground in a "really bad condition". "It took a long time for us to get going. We had to be on the road for much longer than normal," he said. Dyke expects great performances from Gayon Evans, who went to last year's World Youth Championships, Naffene Briscoe, a member of the World Junior Championships team in 2006, Shawna Anderson and Shakeeri Cole.
- E.T.
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MAURICE WILSON, the coach who has produced several quality female athletes at Holmwood Technical over the past ten years, is looking to take things to a new level this year.
"This is the first year that we have had youngsters who have excelled so well. It is a new dimension to the programme and I think that my approach as a coach has also been different with these youngsters and it has been bearing fruit," Wilson said.
Wilson is expecting a repeat of last year's performances when Holmwood's girls won all three Championship events, 4x100m Class One, 4x800m Open and the 4x400m Open. Today he expects three tough battles.
"This year in the Class One 4x100m, it is going to be difficult for us. I think the fancied teams are Edwin Allen and Vere Technical but we still believe we can defend our title.
"In the 4x800m, Manchester and Edwin Allen have shown a lot of consistency but we also believe we are going to turn the tables this time around as we have not run our best team as yet.
"The 4x400m is going to be very interesting. Edwin Allen have won two out of two but we believe we are going to turn the tables."
In the lower classes, Wilson expects to smash the current sprint relay records. "I think once the baton goes around we should break the Class Three and Class Four records," Wilson said.
On an individual level, Wilson will be keeping a sharp eye on Sherika Moulton in Class Three. "She should be the new sensation," he said. He also expects good performances from 'new find' Sashane Gayle in Class Two.
- E.T.
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DANNY HAWTHORNE, coach of the crack St Jago High boys team was in an upbeat mood when The Gleaner spoke to him on Thursday.
"I think my team is properly prepared, for this meet, so I expect nothing but some excellent performances from them.
"We have all-round strength so I am not going to single out any specific relay team. I think all the (St Jago) teams will be doing well this weekend."
Hawthorne expects his Class One 4x400m quartet to go well under 40 seconds and break the Gibson Relays record. Yohan Blake, the fastest schoolboy, Nickel Ashmeade, Rykert Hylton and Andre Walsh, the quartet which clocked a record 39.80 at last year's GraceKennedy/ISSA Boys and Girls Championships, are still together.
"I would like to see the record go for this 4x100m," Hawthorne said.
"If team performs at its best, the rest should be history."
- E.T.
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THE VERY experienced Michael Clarke said confidence is high in the Calabar camp following their productive showing at number of development meets, including the Milo Western Relays, Queen's/Grace Jackson and Camperdown Classics.
The Red Hills Road-based school's charge will be led by World Youth 200m gold medallist Ramone McKenzie.
According to their coach, fans can expect a lot of exciting performances from his team.
"People can expect quality performances from Calabar at the meet because 'Champs' is two weeks away and we are going to go out there to see where we are against our competitors," Clarke said.
He added that they are using the Relays to prepare themselves for the March 12-15 Champs.
"One of our biggest hopes for this Gibson Relays is to leave the meet without major injuries," said Clarke.
The Calabar coach will be taking a keen interest in the sprint relays.
"We hope to do well in all the 4x100m and the 4x800m because this will give us an idea of where our middle distance programmes are at the moment," he said.
- R.B.
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KINGSTON COLLEGE'S coach, Michael Russell, said his team would be using today's Gibson Relays as a stepping stone in their build-up for this year's Boys and Girls Athletics Championships. "What we are trying to do is to field a team that is very sound," said Russell. "We are, however, expecting a good all-round showing." Russell said KC would not be relying on any one individual because at the Gibson Relays four persons are needed to run a relay. "We are depending on our team to take us through this meet," he said. Russell also noted that there are no major injury concerns. However, there is a minor problem with leading Class One sprinter Cawayne Jervis.
- R.B.
JAMAICA COLLEGE'S John Mair said his team is gunning to upset their main rivals at today's Gibson Relays.
"JC are coming to give a good showing. The guys have worked hard all year and the season is now upon us.
"We have a complete team from Class One to Class Four and this makes us strong right across the board," Mair said. The Olympian said JC did not have any special individuals on their team. "I expect everyone to show up and give a good account of themselves and to perform to the best of their ability," said Mair. "I would like our spectators to come out and support us because it is going to be a very exciting meet."
- R.B.
