Raymond Graham, Star Writer

Ichama Dawkins

Jamaica performed extremely well at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a number of local-based stars but high school athletes are still making the trek to American Colleges.

Over the years, Jamaican athletes have played important roles at North American institutions with many of these track-and-field stars, helping their teams win junior college and university division championships.

Several leading local male and female athletes have gained athletic scholarships to the United States this year. Division I schools like Auburn University, Louisiana State University, Arkansas University, University of Texas, Florida University and Texas A&M have benefited significantly while Division II teams like Lincoln in Missouri, coached by Jamaican Victor 'Poppy' Thomas, Abilene Christian and St Augustine College have done well with the Jamaicans.

Boys team up

Danzeto Cephas

Kingston College's Tarik Batchelor and Danzeto Cephas are two top athletes among the boys who have made the trek to Division I universities. Batchelor who has done well over the years in the jumps for the North Street-based KC and who was a member of the Jamaica team to this year's World Junior Track and Field Championships will team up with former teammate Alain Bailey at the University of Arkansas. Cephas, a middle distance runner, will be hoping to play a crucial role for North Carolina's A&T University.

Make mark

Nyoka Cole - file photos

Several girls will be hoping to make a big mark in Division I teams led by Immaculate Conception High's Danielle Jeffrey. Jeffrey, who has been plagued with injuries during her career and who was a member of the World Junior team this year, is at Florida State University. Her teammates Terriann Grant, the Class Two high jump winner at Boys and Girls Championships this year and triple-jump open bronze medallist Janelle McLeod are at Georgia Technical University.

National Under-20 high jump champion and silver medallist in Class One at Champs this year, Claudia Calder of Alpha Academy, will be representing Hampton University in Virginia. Hampton will also have in their ranks G.C. Foster College sprinter Petrice Richards. Calder's former Alpha teammate, high jumper Khadine Issacs, is now at North Carolina's A&T University.

St Andrew High's top hurdler and triple jumper Todea Kay Willis will be hoping to continue her good progress at the University of Minnesota.

Lincoln University, which has a number of Jamaicans on register, will be strengthened with the inclusion of former Holmwood Technical star Nyoka Cole. Cole, a very good sprinter, has transferred from the University of Technology.

Junior College teams have made the biggest gains this year. Essex County College in New Jersey has attracted six Jamaicans this year. Five athletes from St Jago High, including the outstanding 400m runner Riker Hylton, are now at the New Jersey institution. Other former St Jago athletes at the college are middle-distance runner Brenton Roach, Candice Walker, Jonique Daye and Girls Championships javelin open champion Ichama Dawkins. Jamaica College's middle distance runner Bengallo Morrison is also attending Essex.

St Jago's middle-distance runner Roshane Boreland, who did well at Girls Championships this year, is now attending Rend Lake Community College in Illinois.

Junior colleges

Former Edwin Allen High sprinter Shawna Anderson (left) and Kayon Robinson, past student of Vere Technical.

Edwin Allen's trio of Shawna Anderson, Shakera Cole and Marva Lewin have also gone on to junior colleges. Anderson, a member of Jamaica's silver medal winning 4x100 metres team at this year's World Junior Championships, is at South Plains College in Texas along with Cole. Middle-distance runner Lewin is at Cawley Community College in Kansas.

The former Vere Technical duo, 400m runner Kayon Robinson and middle-distance runner Petrona Layne are at Barton Community College and New Mexico Junior College, respectively.