JC, Hydel among five Jamaican schools in Baltimore for East Coast Showcase

BALTIMORE, Maryland:

Athletes from five Jamaican high schools, led by ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) winners Jamaica College (JC) and Girls’ runners-up Hydel High, are in Baltimore for tomorrow’s fifth staging of the Puma East Coast International Showcase at Hughes Memorial Stadium, Morgan State University.

The meet, set to begin at 10 a.m., is regarded as one of the premier high-school track and field events in the United States and is the brainchild of Jamaican Olympian Sanjay Ayre.

The East Coast International Showcase will feature more than 1,200 elite high-school athletes from across the United States and the Caribbean, competing in sprints, relays, and field events.

Joining JC and Hydel in representing Jamaica are Excelsior High, Holland High, and St Andrew High School.

JC arrive in Baltimore with strong momentum after their gold-medal performance in the 4x100m Championship of America at the 130th Penn Relays in Philadelphia last Saturday. The quartet of Makaelan Woods, Nathaniel Martin, Elijah Smeikle, and Kai Kelly combined to clock 40.03 seconds.

Also in the JC squad is standout thrower Joseph Salmon, who produced a national junior and Champs record of 67.55m to retain his Boys’ Class One discus title. He followed that performance with victories at both the Carifta Games and Penn Relays. The team is further strengthened by Rojay Black (400m hurdles), Omary Robinson (200m and 400m), and DeAndre Gayle (100m and 200m).

Hydel will also be well represented, featuring three members of their Penn Relays 4x400m Championship of America team. Nastassia Fletcher, Aaliyah Mullings, and Sashana Johnson were part of the squad that clocked 3:32.85, the third-fastest time ever recorded at the championships. Fletcher and Mullings will contest the 400m hurdles while Johnson is entered in the 200m.

They are joined by Zavien Bernard, who claimed the high school girls’ triple jump title at Penn Relays, adding to her double gold medal performance at Champs and high jump success at the Carifta Games.

Holland High will be spearheaded by Shanoya Douglas, one of the region’s brightest sprint talents and a triple Carifta Games gold medallist. Douglas delivered one of the standout performances of the Games earlier this month, defending her 100m and 200m titles, including a world-leading 22.11 seconds in the 200m at the time. The mark erased a long-standing Games record and placed her joint third on the world Under-20 all-time list while also lowering her own Jamaica Under-20 record.

Excelsior High’s team includes Jaeden Campbell, who produced a meet record 50.87 seconds to win the Class Two Boys’ 400m hurdles at Champs, along with Class One bronze medallist Kishawn Hoffman and Malike Nugent, who anchored his team to 4x100m gold. The coaching staff has also confirmed entries in both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.