Rising sprint sensation Natrece East of Wolmer’s Girls is among this year’s Pocket Rocket Foundation Scholarship recipients, who will receive a significant financial boost towards their academic and sporting pursuits.

Through donations and fundraisings, the foundation, which is the brainchild of Jamaica’s sprint icon Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, offers financial assistance to high school student athletes, between second form and sixth form, who represent their school in any sporting discipline.

This year, East, who won the Class three 200m title at ISSA Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships earlier this year, and is also a national representative, is among 11 recipients from various high schools.

Tshani Armstrong of St Catherine; Tyrone Lawson of Jamaica College, Lysander Taylor of Papine; Karissa Kelly of Wolmer’s Girls; Nickayla Russell of Holmwood Technical; Kenrick McFarlane of Excelsior; Jaheim Jackson of Knox College; Joel Lamm of Wolmer’s Boys; Jordyne Grant, also of Wolmer’s Boys, and Streme Cha of Campion College, are the other recipients.

Each recipient will receive $100,000 towards their high school expenses to include, tuition, books, uniform, lunch and travel, which is to be redeemed annually, provided their exemplary academic standards and disciplined behaviour remain intact.

This brings the number to over 66 student athletes across more than 22 different high schools competing in 11 different sporting disciplines that have benefited from Academic Scholarship, since the foundation's inception in 2013.

Scholarships are awarded based on exemplary performance in both academics and athletics.