JAAA names strong team for NACAC
THE JAMAICA Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) has selected a powerful 47-member team -- 21 females and 26 males -- for the NACAC Senior Track and Field Championships, to be held in Freeport, Bahamas, August 15-17.
The contingent features a mix of experienced senior athletes and rising stars who excelled at the recent National Senior Championships.
Heading the list among the females is Tia Clayton, who will contest the 100 metres. Clayton, the fastest qualifier for the final with a personal best of 10.86 seconds, failed to finish the final after pulling up mid-race with a hamstring injury. She will be joined by Jodean Williams, who finished fourth at the National Senior Championships.
Ashanti Moore in the 200m, and Kelly-Ann Beckford in the 800m, are two other individual event winners who will compete. Moore will be joined by Gabrielle Matthews, the second-place finisher in the half-lap, and both, along with Beckford, will be hoping to attain the World Championships qualifying marks in their events.
Seven-time national triple jump champion Shanieka Ricketts will lead the women in the field events. Samantha Hall, winner in the discus, and Nayoka Clunis, the hammer throw winner, will also make the trip.
Dejanea Oakley and Stacy-Ann Williams will compete over 400m while Amoi Brown and Kerrica Hill, who were third and fourth, respectively, in the women's 100m hurdles, will also compete.
The JAAA has selected a very strong group for the women's 4x400m relay, as they aim to secure a World Championships qualifying time after failing to do so at the World Relays. National champion Nickisha Pryce will lead the team, which includes Williams, Oakley, Leah Anderson, Shaquena Foote, and Roneisha McGregor.
Rusheen McDonald, national record holder and 400m champion at the National Championships, will contest the one-lap event. He will be joined by runner-up Delano Kennedy, with both aiming to achieve the World Championships qualifying standard of 44.85 seconds.
Christopher Taylor and Adrian Kerr, who finished second and third, respectively, in the 200m, will also compete, both seeking to hit the qualifying mark for Tokyo.
Jordan Scott, Carey McLeod, winners of the men's triple jump and long jump, will headline the men's field event athletes.
Jamaica will also make another attempt to qualify for the men's 4x100m relay after falling short in their last outing at the Barbados Grand Prix. Taylor, Kadrian Goldson, and Bouwahjgie Nkrumie, who were part of that team, will be joined by Adrian Kerr, Rohan Watson, and Ryiem Forde for this effort.