History awaits Foga Road

FOGA ROAD High School’s girls’ track and field team has never scored a point at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs), but that is about to change.

The Clarendon-based team looks set to finally get off the mark this time around.

Second-year Class Three athlete Shameika McLean may already be in the history books after her girls’ under-17 400-metre win at the recent Carifta Trials may see her becoming the first girl from the institution to make a national team. McLean clocked a personal best 54.47 seconds, making her the quickest over a lap in her class headed into Champs.

The team’s head coach, Milton Sergeant, spoke about McLean’s achievement and shared his expectations for both the male and female teams ahead of the March 25-29 Champs.

“Foga Road High School (girls) have never scored a point at Champs among the females, but that is about to change. Shameika has been in brilliant form this season in the 200 and 400 metres,” said Sergeant, who is in his second stint as head coach.

“Last year, Shameika didn’t compete in an individual event – she only ran in the sprint medley relay,” Sergeant explained, noting that her best time then was around 58 seconds.

“This is her third year with us, and I realised she had the potential to excel in the 400 metres. We focused on preparing her for the event because she was a bit weak and slow. Over the summer, we worked a lot on her strength and speed,” he said.

“We have her on a 200–400-metre programme, and at the Carifta Trials, that was only her second 400m race. We are confident she will win the event at Champs and be very competitive in the 200m,” added Sergeant, reflecting on her second-place finish at the Central Athletics Championships.

According to Sergeant, McLean’s performance has been an inspiration to the other girls on the team.

“We have a very young group of girls, and Shameika’s success has really motivated them. We are looking forward to building on this,” he continued.

On the boys’ side, Sergeant has high expectations for Class One quarter-miler Paul Henry.

“Last year, Paul’s best in the 400 metres was 48.1 seconds. He ran 47.17 to win at Central Championships, and I expect him to go into the 46-second range at Champs. That should earn us some quality points and inspire the other guys to also do well and help improve on the six points we scored last year,” he concluded.