Four-way battle for Class One girls’ discus title

One of the most anticipated field events in the girls’ competition at next week’s ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) will be the Class One discus throw.

Defending champion Najhada Seymoure of Excelsior High will be aiming to retain her title but faces stiff competition from Edwin Allen High’s Shamoyea Morris, St Catherine High’s Able Mills, and Clarendon College’s Marla-Kay Lampart. Any one of the four can take the title.

Seymoure enters the championships as the event leader, with a season’s best throw of 51.77 metres recorded in mid-January at the Big Shot meet at Excelsior. She followed that with a win at the same venue at the King of the Ring meet, throwing 50.72m. However, her form has dipped slightly since then.

After finishing second to Seymoure last year, Edwin Allen’s Morris will be determined to go one step further. With victories at the Carifta Trials (51.00m) and the Central Athletics Championships (50.34m), she enters Champs very determined.

Mills, who triumphed over both Morris and Lampart at the G.C. Foster Classics with a winning mark of 51.68m, seems to be peaking at the right time. Having already bested Morris and Lampart she is the form thrower here and she will be brimming with confidence.

Known more for her achievement in the shot put, Lampart cannot be counted out despite a season’s best throw of 50.80m, achieved when finishing second behind Morris at the Carifta Trials. A win in this event could make her a double champion at the meet as she is a cinch for the shot put title.

This promises to be a thrilling showdown, with all four throwers fully motivated for what is expected to be a closely contested event. It wouldn’t be surprising if the winner surpasses the 51m mark.

– R.G.