By Richard Bryan, Star Writer

FLASHBACH : Natoya Goule of Manchester High (left) taking the Class Three girls 1,500m final in 4.45.88 from Vere Technical's Tenisha Davis (4:46.00) at the National Stadium yesterday. St Andrew High's Sanchia Lee (right) was third in 4:49.03. file

If there is any fear gripping the heart of any athlete being pencilled at this time to lace up beside Natoya Goule of Manchester High at next month's GraceKennedy/ISSA Boys and Girls Championships, then it is understandable. For in her class, there is hardly any equal.

This little dynamite has never lost at Champs and is being geared not just to win, but break records in Class Two. At this stage, the Manchester High camp is still keeping a tight lip as far as her events are concerned.

Coach Jerry Holness was not prepared to specify when he spoke to Star Sports, earlier this week.

"She'll run anything between 400m and 3,000m but nobody can get me to say (which events) right now," Holness said.

Part of the current planning involves Holness' calculation of how many points he could earn, as he will carry a smaller delegation this year, and does not sound confident he can get the 226.5 points the school earned last year in placing third.

The truth is, Goule's potential is such that when her individual events are combined with her expected participation in the relays, she could mine close to 50 points for her school. Barring a catastrophe, she is a cinch for the 800m for which she has remained unchallenged all season, while establishing the record of 2:13.0 at the recent Central Champs. She has been sparingly used in the longer distances this year, to that extent she will forego the NACAC cross country championships but she is unlikely to be topped in the 3,000m Open.

Goule, who started out as a road racer and distance runner, has been able to improve on her speed in the past two years. She did a 53 seconds split in Manchester's remarkable 4x400m run at Gibson Relays and Holness might well be toying with pencilling in her for a first time run in the flat 400m. Whichever events she runs, Goule will be key to Manchester's chances of earning a top four finish at this year's championships.

Her sights will be set on breaking both the Class Two 1,500m and 3,000m records held by Vere's former long distance star Evette Turner. She is closer to the 1,500m record. Last year, she did 4:33.26, just outside the 4:32.10 Turner set in 1993. The 3,000m record is 9:48.06, Goule won in 10:19.46 last year.