With some at least two of his star athletes matriculating to college this fall, Hydel High School Head Coach Corey Bennett will be hard-pressed to fill those massive shoes when the new high school track season rolls around.

 However, he is optimistic he can find his next set of starlets from within remaining members of team that won their first girls title at the ISSA GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Championships in Jamaica earlier this month.

Over the past few seasons, Hydel High School has seen a number of their top athletes matriculate to colleges in the United States or have gone pro. Athletes like Oneka Wilson, Shardia and Shadae Lawrence, Charokee Young and others have gone on to further their studies, testament to the school’s emphasis on finding balance between academics and athletics.

Meanwhile, others like Commonwealth Games silver medallist and NACAC Champion Shiann Salmon and Ashanti Moore have gone pro. Young subsequently chose to forego her college eligibility to sign a professional contract last summer.

In 2022, Hydel lost 2022 World U20 200m champion Brianna Lyston to Louisiana State University (LSU) on a scholarship and World U20 sprint hurdles champion and world record holder Kerrica Hill chose to go the professional route.

This coming fall, Alana Reid and Onieka McAnnuff will be the next to leave. Reid, who set a new championship and national junior record of 10.92 at Champs, will begin classes at the University of Oregon while McAnnuff, the talented 400m hurdler and team captain, will take up a scholarship to the University of Kentucky.

Losing them will undoubtedly have significant impact on Hydel’s ability to defend their historic Champs title but Bennett remains optimistic.

“When you have a world-record holder last year leaving prematurely and a record holder at Champs – Brianna and Kerrica leaving – it does set you back and that’s why we take the pressure of winning off the team,” he said.

“It’s just a matter of who else can we put out there that can excel. I thought we had some good performances (at Champs). I want to highlight Jody-Ann Daley, who won the 400m and the hurdles even when at one point she didn’t want to do the hurdles and I said ‘no, come on, you can do it’,” Bennett said.

“And Shemonique Hazle in the 200 when nobody gave her a chance, we believed. We are a small team about 34-members strong and we believe that no matter what, each one can go out there and give of their best and we delivered.

“Let’s hope that next year the girls will come inspired to give of themselves, train hard to be the best versions of themselves and with trust in God with the process.”

Bennett’s comments are in line with his over-arching philosophy of how to build strong teams with limited resources and personnel at Hydel. He revealed that with a four-member team in 2010, Hydel’s first year at Champs, they finished 11^th.

 For him, the focus has always been on quality than quantity.

“I am still going to build individuals. If I can make the individuals better, then ultimately the team will be better. I am not going to just go and throw persons into events just to win a championship. It is about being very individualistic and getting the best out of persons,” he said.

“Alliah Baker is our top high jumper. She high-jumped in Class IV and got a medal but she is a runner. We want to focus on where we think she will be better so we are not going to seek points, points will seek us. We want to maintain excellence in our girls.”

The ability to overcome adversity, hard work and a commitment to excellence led Hydel High School to their first-ever title at the 2023 ISSA GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Championships that concluded at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday, April 1.

After five days of intense competition, the Ferry-based academic institution scored 279 points to dethrone eight-time defending champion Edwin Allen by just two points.

As the team celebrated on Monday, Hydel High’s head girl and track team captain Oneika McAnnuff, delivered an emotional and inspiring speech to her fellow students that encapsulated the essence of the spirit that galvanized the 34-member team and propelled them to the historic achievement.

“The road to this victory was really bitter-sweet. In 2019, we lost champs by a mere seven points. It was a gut-wrenching feeling knowing all the hard work we had put in,” said McAnnuff, who will depart Hydel for the University of Kentucky this summer.

“With the feeling coming so close to the victory that year sparked something among the team and for 2020 we worked tirelessly.”

That work was in vain as the onset of the pandemic caused Champs to be cancelled in 2020, which was a significant blow to the school and its athletes.

“The Covid-19 virus led to all sporting events being canceled for that year. 2021 was by far the hardest year for us both as a team and a school,” she said, adding that despite the setback they managed to rise above it all.

“After finally recovering from the damage Covid-19 had done to us something tragic happened. Our school’s head office caught fire and we lost everything inside. And as you can see we’re still trying to recover from those damages.

“2022 was a spectacular year for our track team we broke a total of five records at Champs that year.  We won five of six hurdles races (and) won the 4x4 for the fifth consecutive year.

“We had six persons on the national CARIFTA team and six persons on the World U20 team that went to Cali, Colombia. And our very own Mr. Corey Bennett was the head coach of both teams.

“Our 4x400m quartet of Alliah Baker, Oneika McAnnuff, Kerrica Hill and Brianna Lyston also went on to break the Penn Relays record that was held by Garriel White, Shiann Salmon, Ronesha and Charokee Young also of Hydel. So regardless of the fact that we placed second at Boys and Girls champs we accomplished a lot as a team.”

The hard work and sacrifice finally paid off in 2023 said McAnnuff, who won the 400m hurdles and won silver in the 400m during the championships.

“Now, many persons might ask what we did differently this year? Well the answer is found in Isaiah 40:31 that says, ‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. We have been faithful and putting in all the work,” she said.

“Our coach has never put the pressure on us that we must win Champs but he believes that we must produce quality performances and we did just that. I must say the entire team did an excellent job and every single person that gave a point it made a difference.”

McAnnuff singled out one particular teammate, whose performance characterized the team’s resilience in the race to the title against the Edwin Allen juggernaut.

“I must talk to the performance of the championship from Kaydean Johnson. While competing in the 2000m steeplechase Kaydean fell over the last barrier and was passed by her competitor but instead of staying down she rises back up and sprinted to the line to claim victory for the team…that is the type of passion and guts that it took for us to take this championship,” she said.

“Many persons doubted our abilities even we ourselves sometimes felt a bit unsure but the unwavering support of all our coaches and support staff kept us grounded. It has been a long time coming and this victory just goes to show that delayed does not mean denied.”

Defending champions Edwin Allen High and Kingston College are the respective girls' and boys' leaders at the end of action on the penultimate day of the 2023 ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston on Friday.

After 22 completed finals on Friday, Edwin Allen has scored 147 points with their fierce rivals Hydel High on 131.5 points. Holmwood Technical have so far amassed 92 points while St Jago High (80) and St Catherine High (47) rounding out the top-five girls schools.

Among the boys, Kingston College, after 21 finals has scored 190 points, 30 clear of Jamaica College (160).  Calabar High have 95 points. St Elizabeth Technical (54) and St Jago (37) complete the top five schools.

In the finals completed on Friday, Shameer Blake and Oneika McAnuff proved too strong for their rivals in the Class I 400m hurdles.

In the Class II event, Jamaica College’s Deandre Gayle lived up to his favourite tag to win a keenly contested race.

Blake of St. Elizabeth Technical took command of his final from the get-go and enjoyed a comfortable lead up to about 350m when Edwin Allen’s Tyrece Hyman began to close with every stride. Hyman was on Blake’s shoulder as they cleared the final hurdle but the STETHS athlete dug deep to hold Hyman off and win in 50.76.

Hyman was a close second in 51.04. He had to hold off a fast-finishing Antonio Forbes of Kingston College, who clocked 51.09 for the bronze medal.

It was the opposite for McAnnuff, the defending champion who found herself in fourth place as the hurdlers made their way down the home stretch. However, she surged to get by Tonyan Beckford of Edwin Allen and win comfortably in 56.46.

Beckford won the silver medal clocking 57.14. Hydel’s Alliah Baker, who was also ahead of McAnnuff late, faded to third in 58.37.

The Class II event was a battle royal between Gayle, Requel Reid of Calabar and Taj-Oneil Gordon of Kingston College. All three were within close proximity with just over 80m to go when Gayle surged to separate himself from the now chasing pack.

He managed to hold on and win in 52.75 over Reid who ran 53.24 for the silver medal. Gordon had to settle for the bronze having run 53.70.

Ainsley Campbell of Kingston College won the 2000m steeplechase in 6:13.57, almost five seconds ahead of Nellie Ambriton of Jamaica College, who crossed the finish line in 6:18.56. Adriano Brown of  Calabar High ran 6:22.33 to claim the bronze medal.

The girls’ event went to Kaydeen Johnson of Hydel High who ran 7:15.01 to win the gold medal over Terrica Clarke of Holmwood Technical, who clocked 7:17.04 and Sanyae Gibson of Edwin Allen High, who stopped the clock at 7:27.51.

In the field, Dionjah Shaw of Edwin Allen High threw 46.27m to win the Girls Class II discuss over her teammate Shamoyea Morris, who flung the disc out to a mark of 44.95m. Marla-Kay Lambert of Clarendon College threw 43.15m for the bronze medal.

Gabrilla Treasure of St Catherine emerged the victor in a closely contested Class IV high jump for girls with a clearance of 1.55m. Campion College’s Stefvanco Henry also sailed over 1.55m but finished second on the count back.

Meanwhile, Adajah Drysdale of Wolmer’s Girl finished third after clearing 1.50m.

The Class I Girls high jump was won by Vere Technical’s Torian Caven who sailed over 1.82m. Edwin Allen’s Rasheda Samuels won the silver medal with her clearance of 1.79m and Richelle Stanley of St Elizabeth Technical picking up the bronze medal with 1.70m.

Trevon Hamel of Jamaica College picked up a valuable nine points in the Class I triple jump leaping out to 15.61m to take the gold medal.

Javar Thomas of Kingston College jumped 15.37m for the silver medal and seven points while Kesean Rhoomes of Cornwall College who established a mark of 14.50m.

Kerrica Hill set a new championship record as Jamaica pulled off a 1-2 finish on the final day of the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia on Saturday, August 6.

On a day when Jamaica celebrated the 60^th anniversary of its independence, Hill, the gold-medal favourite uncorked a blistering time of 12.77 to fulfil expectations.

It was her second gold medal of the World U20 Championships as she was a member of Jamaica's 4x100m team that set a world record 42.59 on Friday night.

Her compatriot Alexis James was also impressive securing the silver medal in a new personal best of 12.87. It was her third lifetime best in a matter of days. She ran 13.04 in the heats and 12.94s in the semi-finals.

Hungary’s Hannah Toth ran a national U20 record of 13.00 for the bronze medal.

Jamaica won two more medals on the final day following silver medal runs in the 4x400m relays.

The team of Dejanea Oakley, Abigail Campbell, Oneika McAnuff and Alliah Baker ran a season-best 3:31.59 to finish second to the USA who ran 3:28.06 for the gold medal.

Great Britain (3:31.86) took the bronze.

Jamaica’s men aided by an outstanding anchor leg from Delano Kennedy, powered their way into a podium spot in 3:05.72, finishing behind the USA, who won in a season-best 3:04.47.

Shemar Palmer, Shaemar Uter and Jasauna Dennis were the other members of the team.

Canada finished third in a national U20 record of 3:06.50.

Kennedy was fifth on the final handover and surged past the field to win Jamaica a national record 16^th medal of the championships, the most by any team in Cali.

It was the highest number of medals ever won by Jamaica at the World U20 Championships topping the 12 medals won at the 2018 championships in Tampere, Finland.

Jamaica won six gold, seven silver and three bronze medals at the championships, one more than the United States, whose 4x400m victories saw them win seven gold, four silver and four bronze medals.

Jamaican national junior 100m champion Tina Clayton showed fine form to advance to the semi-finals of the Women’s 100m at the World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Cali, Colombia on Tuesday.

Clayton, who ran 11.09 to win the World Junior title in Nairobi last year, cruised to 11.38 to win the first heat. The Edwin Allen High standout sped to a personal best and national junior record 10.96 to win the Jamaican junior title in June.

Lirangi Tejada of the Dominican Republic finished fourth in heat one in 11.66 to advance as a fastest loser.

Joining her in the semis will be high school teammate Serena Cole, who was equally impressive in heat two, running 11.38 for victory. 

Barbados’ Kishawna Miles ran 11.58 for third in heat three to advance.

In the 400m, Jamaica’s Dejanea Oakley won heat four in 53.70 to advance. Her teammate Rickiann Russell ran 54.63 to finish fifth in heat five and advance as a non-automatic qualifier.

Javonya Valcourt of the Bahamas also advanced as a non-automatic qualifier after finishing fifth in heat three in 55.31.

On the Men’s side, Jamaica’s Delano Kennedy and Shaemar Uter both safely got through to the semi-finals. Kennedy ran a personal best 46.24 for third in heat two while Uter finished second in heat three in 46.66.

Moving to the 400m hurdles, Michelle Smith of the US Virgin Islands was the second fastest qualifier to the semi-finals after running 58.33 to win the third heat. Jamaica’s Oneika McAnuff will also be in the semi-finals after a third-place finish in heat five in 59.45.

In the field, Jamaica’s Brandon Pottinger cleared 2.08m to advance to the final of the Men’s high jump.

Camperdown High School’s Roshawn Clarke smashed the championship record and exacted revenge on Kingston College’s Rayon Campbell in the finals of the 400m hurdles on Day 4 of the ISSA Boys and Girls Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston on Friday.

Clarke, beaten by Campbell at the recent Carifta trials exploded over the final 200m of the race to surge past Campbell and pulled away down the home stretch to win in 49.50, breaking the record set of 49.86 set by Jamaica College’s Javier Brown in 2021.

Campbell, who ran 49.52 to beat Clarke at the Carifta trials struggled over the final half of the race and was a distant second in 50.54 while his teammate Antonio Forbes took the bronze medal in 51.48.

Oneika McAnnuff of Hydel High School won the Girls’ Open equivalent in a personal best of 57.68 over Safhia Hinds of St. Jago High, who ran 59.33 for the silver medal. Tonyan Beckford of Edwin Allen was third in 1:00.07.

Daniel Wright of Excelsior High School won the Class II event in 52.83 ahead of Calabar High School’s Zacre Braham (53.31) and Kingston College’s Jordan Mowatt (53.70).

In action in the field, Michael-Andre Edwards of Jamaica College soared out to 6.55m to win the Class III long jump over Courtney Kinglock of Kingston College (6.18m) and Deandre Jennings of St Jago (5.94m).

In the Class IV high jump for girls, Hydel High School’s Zavien Bernard cleared 1.64m to win gold over her teammate Kaira Wright (1.55m) and St Jago High School’s Alexia Williams (1.50m).

Ahshareah Enoe of Edwin Allen won the Class I event with 1.76m over Malaika Cunningham of Wolmer’s Girls, who cleared the same height but lost on the countback. Chenessa Davis of Excelsior High School was third with a clearance of 1.65m.

Excelsior had better fortune in the Class II discus where Najhada Seymoure won gold with a mark of 45.14m. Shamoyea Morris of Edwin Allen won the silver medal with her best throw of 43.49 while Victoria Christie of Camperdown High was third having thrown 43.09m.

Jafar Moore of Kingston College won the Pole Vault Open event with a clearance of 4.00m. He won comfortably over Nicholai Blossom of Jamaica College who cleared 3.60m for the silver medal and Mark Phillips of Wolmer’s who cleared 3.40m.

Samantha Pryce of Holmwood Technical claimed gold in the 2000m steeplechase after crossing the finish line in 7:10.52 more than eight seconds ahead of Taiefa Gowe of Hydel High, who clocked 7:18.77 and Sushana Johnson of Edwin Allen High, who was third in 7:19.73.

The boys' race was won by Kingston College’s Gianni Henry (6:10.78) over Nellie Ambriton of Jamaica College (6:25.33) and Jalen Brown of St. Jago High (6:30.76).