Sun | Feb 1, 2026

Champs fever heats up: Ted Dwyer, STETHS meets take centre stage

Published:Saturday | January 31, 2026 | 12:12 AMRaymond Graham/Gleaner Writer
Veteran coach Mike Olivierre (centre) is flanked by Latonel Willams (right), his 1994 Boys Championships Class One 200m/400m runner and Winthorp Graham, the 1984 Boys’ Championships Class One 400m/400m hurdles open winner as they watch proceedings at the
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Veteran coach Mike Olivierre (centre) is flanked by Latonel Willams (right), his 1994 Boys Championships Class One 200m/400m runner and Winthorp Graham, the 1984 Boys’ Championships Class One 400m/400m hurdles open winner as they watch proceedings at the 2024 STETHS Invitational.

The build-up for this year’s ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) continues today with the staging of two JAAA-sanctioned track and field meets.

The Ted Dwyer Classics will be held at Stadium East in Kingston, while in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth Technical High School will host the 41st renewal of the STETHS/Olivierre/Smith Invitational meet. Both meets are scheduled to start at 9 a.m.

A large number of schools from the western end of the island will be in attendance at the STETHS meet today, where they will be given special attention.

“Entry fees for teams from the western region which suffered extensively from Hurricane Melissa will be waived, and care packages will also be handed out to those teams today,” said meet chairman Keith Wellington in a recent interview with The Gleaner.

It will be the first competition this season for most of these teams, as their preparations were severely affected by the hurricane. Edwin Allen High will also be competing at the meet.

As usual, there will be the Championship 4x400m and 4x800m relays for boys and girls with $50,000 going to the winning schools in each event.

The 400m hurdles open for girls will get the meet under way and the programme will close with the 4x400m open for boys. Other track events to be contested include the 100m, 400m and 1500m. In the field, athletes will compete in the discus, high jump, long jump, triple jump and shot put.

Following their fine performances at last Saturday’s Central Hurdles, Relays and Field Events meet at GC Foster College, Excelsior High will lead the teams in competition at Stadium East, as their athletes hope to continue their good form. St Jago’s girls’ and boys’ teams will also be in attendance.

Athletes preparing for the heptathlon and decathlon at Champs will also get a chance to warm up, as the pentathlon for both males and females will be contested today. The events include the 200m, 400m and 800m on the track, along with the shot put and long jump in the field.

Other individual events to be contested include the 100m, 400m and 800m open, discus, shot put, javelin, long jump, high jump and pole vault.