STETHS meet joins the Melissa recovery train

When the 41st staging of the STETHS-Olliviere-Smith Invitational meet gets under way this Saturday at St Elizabeth Technical High School, western teams who have been struggling since Hurricane Melissa will once again be the main beneficiaries.

Meet organiser and principal of St Elizabeth Technical High School, Keith Wellington, stated that the focus will again be on western schools that were affected by the impact of the hurricane.

“Focus will be on helping the western schools through the recovery process. There will be no entry fees for western schools, and we will be handing out a few care packages to these schools as well,” stated Wellington, who is also president of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association.

This will be the first time this season that fans in western Jamaica will be witnessing a track and field meet in this part of the country, and Wellington is expecting a large turnout.

“Normally we have over 60 teams in attendance and we expect the same or more this time, and with the cancellation of the Queen’s-Grace Jackson meet scheduled for the same day, we could see a rise in entries here,” commented Wellington.

As usual, there will be cash incentives for male and female teams in the championship 4x400 and 4x800 relays, where the winning teams will each receive $50,000.

On the female side, Edwin Allen High, who normally dominates the 4x800m relay in the female section at the meet, should have their hands full this time around from the vastly improved Alphansus Davis team. Last Saturday at the JAAA Puma Fuller Anderson Development meet at the G.C. Foster College, the Megan Wilson-Copeland-coached team destroyed their opponents, and the stage is set for an intriguing battle.

All eyes will be on Sydney Pagon High in the boys’ 4x800m, as their athletes have been creating waves all season in the flat 800m at the various development meets and will be hoping to lower the colours of the home team in the event.

The meet will start at 9 a.m. with the running of the boys’ Class 2 400m hurdles and will close at 5:40 p.m. with the open boys’ 4x400m relay.