All eyes on Walcott as he chases javelin gold

Keshorn Walcott will be seeking yet another title and hopefully another record at the two day National Junior Track and Field Championships which gets underway at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo from 9 o’clock this morning. Athletes will be vying for national titles and spots on T&T’s National Central American and Caribbean (CAC) and World Junior teams.  The CAC Juniors Championships are set for San Salvador, El Salvador from June 29 to July 1 while the World Juniors meet will take place for Barcelona, Spain from July 10 to 15. Walcott is enjoying his best season ever with a series of national and regional records in the Boys Under-20 javelin, culminating with a massive 80.11 mark in Cuba last weekend. The Toco athlete is now the T&T junior and senior and Pan-American Junior record holder. In addition, he also set a new standard in the North American and Caribbean (NACAC) and Central American and Caribbean (CAC) junior divisions. Walcott has surpassed the CAC Junior s (60.00) and World Junior (66.50) in every meet he has competed in for 2012. He opened his season with his season with 67.12 at the Carifta trials and won at the Southern Games (71.34) and the Falcons Games (77.53). The Rebirth Club athlete took his third straight Carifta boys under 20 title with 77.59m and continued his winning ways with the Quantum Classic title (78.94) and his most recent triumph at the IAAF International Centennial Meet in Havana, Cuba with 80.11. Walcott’s event is set to begin tomorrow at 2 pm. Carifta selectee Akim Phillips (Speyside High/Zenith) will be seeking to get over the CAC Standard and will have to improve on his pb of 57.68m.

 

Another Carifta gold medallist Mark London (Bishops High/Zenith) will be aiming to capture the boys under 20 800/1500 double.  London has been in top form since taking the Carifta 800m title running personal best times in his last two local meets, getting under the CAC Junior standard of 1:54.00. At the Mannie Ramjohn Games, the Plymouth resident stopped the clocked at 1:52.08 and then lowered that mark to 1:51.99 at the Quantum Classic, missing the 1:51.00 World Junior standard.  Kyle Johnson (Belmont Boys/Air Bonics) will be seeking to upstage the 2010 double Carifta champion as he did at last year’s Secondary Schools Champs.  In the 1500m London got under the 4:01.30 with a pb run of 3:59.69 at the Carifta trials and also 4:00.20 at the Mannie Ramjohn Games. The boys under 20 100m is expected to be a close contest. Though none of the top sprinters have sparkled the rivalry with Jonathan Holder (QRC/Concorde) 10.54, Jesse Berkely (Simplex) 10.59, John-Mark Constantine (Concorde)10.65, and Ashron Sobers (Signal Hill/Zenith (10.69) should results in them getting under the 10.60 CAC and World Junior standard. Breon Mullings (Fatima/Memphis) will among favourites in the boys under 18 and will seek to dominate the 16 year old duo of Jonathan Farinha (QRC/Abilene) 10.50 and Nicholas Douglas (Mason Hall/Zenith) 10.69. The standard CAC standard is 10.75. Jereem Richards (Asja Boys/Quantum) will be the one to beat in the boys under 20 200m.  The 2012 World Indoor 4X400m relay bronze medallist sailed past the CAC Junior (21.40) and World Junior standards (21.20) with time of 20.82, 20.92 and 21.00 at the Quantum, Falcon Games and Carifta trials respectively.  Ian Thomas (Memphis) 21.36 and Ayodelle Taffe (Presentation-S’do/PAP P’Seco) 21.75 will also be contenders.

 

Richards may be attempting  to win the 400m gold as well and is ahead of pack with his 47.17 pb at Carifta trials, getting under the 47.50 (CAC Junior) and 47.30 (World Junior) qualifying marks.  World Youth finalist and Carifta bronze medallist Hezekeil Romeo (St. Anthonya/Memphis) will head the field in the boys unde 20 shot put with his 18.50 effort at the Carifta trials getting over the CAC Junior 17.00 and World Junior 18.00 barrier In a correction in the under 18 division Carifta champions Shervonne Worell (Bishops/Zenith) and Kenejah Williams (Scarborough Sec/Falcons) will be the ones to beat as they have already surpassed the 15.60 CAC Junior standard in the shot put with Worell getting out to 16.76 and Williams 16.75 already for the season. In the discus Williams is well ahead of 45.00 mark with his Carifta gold medal throw of 50.36. Atiba Wright (UWI-Tobago) will be the pick for the boys under 20 long jump after his 7.22 Carifta boys medal leap getting over the 7.20 CAC Junior standard.  Akeel Ewards (Toco Sec/Toco TAFAC) will be aiming for the boys under 20 triple jump standard of 14.90 after getting out to 14.88 at the Carifta trials. In the Under-18 boys Kevin Roberts (St. Benedicts/Pt. Fortin New Jets) got past the 13.90 qualifying distance with a 14.05 effort at the Secondary Schools Champs. Brandon Benjamin (St. Augustine/Memphis), 52.07, and Kern Alexis (Carapichima East/Neon Trackers) 52.68 should feature in another match up in the boys under 20 400m hurdles as both has already sped under the CAC (53.00) World Junior (53.34) standard.

 

In the girls under 20 100m Lisa Wickham (St Francois/Concorde) 11.78, Chelsea Charles (La Romaine/Simplex) 11.87 will be going all out for the gold.  Wickham starts as favourite after getting past the 11.80 CAC/World Junior standards. Peli Alzoli (St Francois/Memphis) should be one to be watched. Kernesha Spann (St Francois Girls/Neon Trackers) will be targeting 400m hurdles standards of 1:00.50 (CAC Jr) and 1:00.75 (World Jr) after setting a pb of 58.61 at the Falcons Games.  The Carifta silver medallist will seek to add the 400m flat mark of 55.30 after clocking 54.73 earlier in the season. Dominique Williams (San Juan North/Burnley) and Marissa Gayle (Air Bon Sonics) should also factor for the medals.  Williams will be seeking to reign in the 800m but will have to content with Dawnel Collymore (Mucurapo East/Memphis), the favourite for the 1500m and 3000m distance events. Shauna Downey (El Dorado East/Burnley) and Cherisse Murray (Toco Sec/Toco TAFAC) will battle yet again for the girls under 20 shot put and discus in an effort to get the respectively CAC Junior standards of 13.75 and 41.50.

 

Day one schedule

9-10am: Javelin (girls under 20), shot put (boys under 20), long jump (girls under 18), 100m hurdles/high jump (Girls under 18/20 heptathlon), 100m/110m hurdles (all age groups), 100m (boys under 18 Octathlon/boys under 20 Decathlon), discus (boys under 18).

10-11am: 100m prelims (boys under 18/girls under 18/boys under 20), long jump B U18 Oct/B U20 Dec), 400m prelims (G U18)

11-12 noon: 400m prelims (B U18/GU20/B U20), Javelin (G U20), Triple jump (G U20.

Noon to 1:00pm: Shot put (G U18/20 Hep, B U18 Oct, B U20 Dec).

1-2pm: Discus (G U20), Long Jump (B U18), 100m semis (all age group), 1500m (all age group), High jump (B U20 Dec), Shot put (G U18)

2-3pm: Shot put (G U18), 400m (all age group), javelin (B U18), long jump (B U20), 200m (G U18/20 Hep), 400m (B U18 Dec).

3-4pm: 400(B U20 Dec), 100m finals (all age group).