The Mountain View Avenue-based Excelsior entered the backend of the championship two points behind Wolmer’s Girls on the final day of action, but registered victories in the Sprint Medley and 4X400m relays to turn the tables on the Heroes Circle rivals at Jamaica College’s Ashenheim Stadium.
Excelsior tallied 360 points to Wolmer’s Girls’ 356 points, with Immaculate (298 points), The Queen’s School (200 points) and St Andrew High (163 points), completing the top five.
On the boys’ side, Kingston College, who copped their 10th hold on the crown, were always a cut above the competition at 452 points, 80.5 points ahead Calabar (371.5 points). Jamaica College (316.5 points), Excelsior (195 points) and STGC (146 points), made up the top five.
Both Excelsior and Kingston College pocketed $150,000 for their efforts.
After an exciting first day in which they swept three of the four 100m races, Wolmer’s Girls, who have won the Corporate Area title three times, continued to apply pressure on Excelsior to the point where it came down to the relays to decide things.
The shift in momentum came when Excelsior anchored won the Sprint Medley Relay in 4:26.01, ahead St Hugh’s (4:32.78) and Wolmer’s (4:34.55).
Calabar won the boys’ event in 3:32.23, followed by Jamaica College (3:32.78) and Kingston College (3:33.26).
Excelsior, anchored by Diandra Kelly, later copped the 4X400m relay open in 3:44.73, leaving Wolmer’s Girls (3:45.91) in their wake, with The Queen’s School (4:00.80), in third.
Kelly in her final year, expressed delight with her performance.
“It feels really good because this is our eighth time winning and so it feels great to know that I am leaving with another championship title. This is very good for us because now we know we are in the top five heading into the (ISSA Boys’ and Girls’) Champs and so we just have to go out there and give it our best when that time comes,” she said after catching her breath.
Meanwhile, Marcinho Rose, anchored Kingston College to victory in the boys’ 4X400m where they clocked 3:08.82, the fastest time by a high school team this year. Excelsior (3:11.86) and Calabar (3:12.32), were the runners-up.
Informed sources have indicated that the athlete will have separate training schedules with Walcott ‘going to’ Thompson-Herah in a private setting after he completes his duties with Elite Performance at the Ashenheim Stadium at Jamaica College each day. Walcott reportedly shared the news with the athletes in group on Thursday morning.
Prior to the recent developments, Thompson-Herah, who owns her own gym equipment, trained at the National Stadium at Kingston’s Independence Park.
Andi Sports Management, the agent representing Thompson-Herah, who won a historic 100/200m double at both the Rio 2016 and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, announced on Monday that the 31-year-old athlete will now take instruction from Walcott.
“Out of difficulties grow miracles. Happy Monday,” the sprinter posted on Instagram as if in celebration over the development.
The move represents a quick-turnaround from her much-publicized separation from Coach Shanikie Osbourne after both parties could not agree on terms of compensation for a long-term arrangement.
Osbourne had assumed coaching duties for the five-time Olympic gold medallist after the Jamaica National Athletics Championships in July and shepherded the injury-plagued sprinter to her best times of the now-concluded 2023 track season.
After Thompson-Herah finished fifth in the 100m final at the championships in a relatively pedestrian 11.06, Osbourne had got her running fast again clocking times of 11.00, 10.92, 10.84 and 10.79 in consecutive races to end her season on a high.
Following her split from Osbourne, Thompson-Herah’s husband, Derron, revealed in an interview on Sportsmax late last week that a new coaching appointment was not far off. The surprising announcement came on Monday morning.
The news of the choice of coach was a surprise given Thompson-Herah’s contentious relationship with five-time World 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who has been coached by Walcott since early 2020. The relationship between the former good friends became increasingly strained while both were members of the MVP Track Club and was what eventually triggered Fraser-Pryce’s departure from the club to join what eventually became Elite Performance.
The curtains fittingly came down on the day with the much-anticipated 100 metres, where three records were broken, two by Wolmer’s Girls representatives Natrece East and Tiana Marshall in Classes three and two respectively.
It was those performances that assisted in pushing the Heroes Circle girls to the summit on 150 points, three ahead of defending champions Excelsior on 147, with Immaculate High (133 points), The Queen’s School (77 points) and St Andrew High (61 points), complete the top five heading into Saturday’s final day.
On the boys’ side, Kingston College, on 146 points, opened up a 25-point gap on rivals Calabar, on 121 points, with Jamaica College in third on 109 points. Excelsior (56 points) and Wolmer’s Boys (52 points) occupy the other top five positions.
Earlier, East gave the 100m series an explosive start when she stopped the clock in a new meet record of 11.67s to top the girls’ Class three event. Immaculate’s Kayla Johnson (11.93s) and Tashika Thompson (12.43s) of Excelsior, were second and third respectively.
Marshall, also of Wolmer’s Girls then topped the girls’ Class two event in a meet record of 11.94s, in a negative 1.3 metres per second wind reading. Tashay Faulkner (12.32s) of Alpha Academy was second, with Immaculate’s Shevi-Anne Shim (12.33s) in third.
The Wolmer’s Girls sweep of the top three classes was completed by Mickayla Gardener, who successfully defended her Class one title and secured her ninth Corporate Area Championship medal. She recovered from a stumbling start to win in 12.21s, ahead of Excelsior’s Sharlla Whittaker (12.56s) and Abigail Watt (12.56s) of St Andrew High.
Meanwhile, Mario Ross of Wolmer’s Boys, became the first Class three athlete to clock a sub-11 time at the championship, when he stopped the clock in a meet record 10.99s. His time ran in a negative 1.1 wind reading, saw him finish ahead of Kingston College’s Orandy Campbell (11.41s) and Naethan Bryan (11.42s) of St George’s College.
The soft-spoken Ross expressed surprise at the time.
“I am very surprised that I ran that fast because I have been trying hard to get there since the start of the season and it wasn’t happening. But my teammates believed in me and told me I could do it and I finally did it, so I am happy,” he said shortly after catching his breath.
The boys’ Class two event was won by Excelsior’s Malike Nugent, who clocked a personal best 10.75s in a negative 1.2 wind speed. Nugent upset his more fancied rivals Nyrone Wade (10.79s) of Kingston College, and Tyreece Foreman (10.90s) of St George’s College.
Finally, Kingston College’s Yourie Clarke, signalled a return to form, as he clocked a personal best-equalling 10.55s to win the boys’ Class one 100m, ahead of Calabar’s Shaquane Gordon (10.59s), who is contesting his first year in the class. Damor Miller (10.63s) of Excelsior, was third.
NB: Action of Saturday’s final day of the Corporate Area Championships will be live on SportsMax and the SportsMax App.
