Top high schools to feature in big clashes at Puma East Coast meet
Published:Sunday | April 13, 2025 | 12:13 AMRaymond Graham - Sunday Gleaner Writer
Top Jamaican high school track and field athletics teams, including Girls Champs winners Hydel High and Boys’ Champs runners-up Calabar High, along with Excelsior High and Vere Technical will compete at the fourth staging of the Puma East Coast International Showcase.
One of the premier high school meets in the United States, the meet will be held at a new venue this year when it gets underway on Saturday, May 3. The event has moved from the Prince George’s Sports and Learning Complex to Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Meet organiser Sanjay Ayre, a former Jamaican Olympian who specialised in the 400 metres, explained the reason for the venue change.
“The change of venue was done to give more prestige to the event, competing on a university site, as it has better potential for long-term growth – and the kids will love this,” said Ayre.
“The goal is to give the Jamaican high school athletes more mobility at this level, as there will be more interest in them for NIL college benefits and from shoe companies,” continued Ayre.
Ayre also spoke about expectations for this year’s competition.
“My meet is about clashes, and there will be some exciting ones among athletes from Jamaica and the United States. I’m looking forward especially to the 400m clashes among the boys and girls,” he said.
TOP CLASH
The Hydel duo Nastassia Fletcher, who won the Class Two event at Champs, and teammate Abigail Campbell, who won in Class One, have both gone sub-53 seconds this season. They will face two of the United States’ top high school runners – national runner-up Sophie Rambo of Grass Field High School and champion Sydney Sutton from Bullis High.
Sutton’s teammate among the boys, Quincy Wilson – who was a part of the United States 4x400m relay team at last year’s Olympic Games in Paris – will headline the male 400m. Wilson, who opened his outdoor season with 45.27 seconds, will be defending his title.
He will clash with Jaydon Mims of Philadelphia, the high school national champion who has gone 45.47 seconds, along with Andrew Salvodon of Virginia Beach, who has a season best of 45.84 seconds.
Shaquane Gordon, the ISSA Boys and Girls’ Championships Class One 110m hurdles champion, will lead Calabar’s charge. He will be joined by the likes of Jamal Stephenson, winner of the high school boys’ 100m at the Grand Slam meet, along with Junior Gallimore.