By ELTON TUCKER, Assistant Sport EditorDEFENDING GIRLS CHAMPIONS Holmwood Technical are in a buoyant mood after three finals on yesterday's opening day of the 2004 Boys and Girls Championships.
They lead the standings with 21 points and, manager Chester McCarthy last night said they were right where they wanted to be.
"We were factored in to be second at this time and we are in the lead so that's a plus, the Holmwood manager said.
"Our people performed as expected. Peta-Gaye Beckford was expected to win the Class 1 discus and she did, we were looking to Althea Duncan to take the triple jump open and she also won. Tomorrow we should do well and maintain the lead if we are able to get the athletes to continue to perform well."
Defending boys champions Kingston College are tied with Morant Bay on nine points after one final.
Duncan got Holmwood off the mark as she shrugged off a knee injury to post a winning leap of 12.65m. The injury, she said, prevented her from aiming at the 13.43m record set by Meadowbrook's Shelly-Ann Gallimore in 1999.
"My knee started to hurt me from the second jump (12.28). I had to ice it at every break," the 18-year-old athlete said.
Female final
Later in the afternoon hot favourite Beckford (38.32m) defeated St. Hugh's Nadia Alexander (37.43m) and Monique Edwards of Wolmer's in the discus.
The third female final went Manchester High's Geneva Greaves with a winning throw of 34.13m in the Class 3 discus. Vere's Kimberley Williams (31.76m) was second and pre-meet favourite Venese Simms of The Manning's School third. Simms went into the meet with a season-leading 35.24m.
In a thrilling boys Class 1 long jump which had spectators off their feet on numerous occasions Wilbert Walker of Morant Bay (7.69m) turned the tables on St. George's Adrian Wilshire (7.58m) while KC's Alain Bailey (7.22m) was third.
Walker, who was second in the the event last year as Wilshire won with 7.53m, had just one legal jump in five attempts and it was good enough to defeat the opposition. The second was the golden leap for the Morant Bay High student who passed on his fifth attempt as he sought to conserve some of this energy for the gruelling seven-event heptathlon.
On the track, Holmwood, Manchester High, Edwin Allen, St. Andrew High and St. Jago are featuring among the girls while Calabar, Kingston College, Camperdown, St. Jago and Jamaica College are putting athletes in the semi-finals.
Calabar's Josef Robertson was impressive in winning 400m hurdles open heat three and advanced to the final with the fastest time of 53.1 seconds. Next best was Munro College's Oliver Cargill 53.5 and Tywayne Buchanan of Wolmer's 53.6. The high fancied Markeino Buckley of St. Jago took things easy in winning heat one in 54.3.
Favourite Sherene Pinnock of Edwin Allen High romped her 400m hurdles open heat in 59.64. Next best was St. Andrew High's Trishana McGowan, 59.98.
One of the more impressive performers on the day was Camperdown's Renaldo Rose in the Class 2 200m heats.
Looking silky smooth Rose who was second in the 100m last year won the fourth of seven heats in the fastest qualifying time of 21.6 seconds. Barring injury it is difficult to see anyone denying him the Class 2 sprint double.
Second best
Jamaica College's Winston Barnes, last year's Class 3 champion, and Mevkel Downer of Holmwood had the second best time of 21.9.
Triston Palmer of Central High posted the fastest time, 23.23 seconds, in the Class 3 200m heats ahead of the Calabar pair of Demar Ricketts 23.63 and Tesfa Hamilton 23.81.
The fastest semi-final qualifiers in the boys Class 1 200m were Vere's Kawayne Fisher 21.44, Holmwood's Arnaldo Elliot 21.64 and Manchester High's Nester Carter 21.69.
YESTERDAY'S FINALS
Girls
Class 3 discus: 1. Geneva Greaves (Manch.), 2. Kimberly Williams (Vere) 31.76m, Venese Simms (Mannings) 31.48m, 4. Annakaye Robinson (St. Jago) 30.52m, 5. Kimberley Levy (Holy Child.) 27.31m, 6. Tissan Riley (M'brook) 27.30m.
Class 1 discus: 1. Peta-gaye Beckford (Holm) 38.32m, 2. Nadia Alexander (St. Hugh's) 37.63m, 3. Monique Edwards (Wol) 36.64m, 4. Shannika Johnson (Manning's) 36.54m, 5. Samantha Thomas Ed. Allen) 33.92m, 6. Nicola Whyte (Ed. Allen) 31.47m.
Triple jump open: 1. Althea Duncan (Holm) 12.65m, 2. Kimora Smith (Mt. Bay) 12.43m, 3. Kimberley Williams (Vere) 12.40m, 4. Lataoya Heath (St. Andrew) 12.40m, 5. Andrea Linton (St. Jago) 12.23m, 6. Andrene Miller (Holm) 11.84m.
Boys
Class 1 long jump: 1. Wilbert Walker (Mt. Bay) 7.69m, 2. Adrian Wilshire (St. George's) 7.58m, 3. Alain Bailey (KC) 7.22m, 4. Tarik Edwards (Wolmer's) 7.10m, 5. Jaysen Wright (B. Port) 7.05m, 6. Doran Coley (KC) 6.87m.
