After dominating the high school female 4x400m relays for the past two seasons, which included a victory at last year's Penn Relays in Franklin Field, Vere Technical will be hard pressed to continue that trend when the event runs off next week, as they will be without top quarter miler Shericka Jackson.

Jackson is ineligible for the meet because no high school athlete can compete at the meet for more than four years. Once an athlete makes his or her first appearance at the meet, the clock starts running. Therefore, if an athlete were to compete one year and then misses two subsequent years, it will automatically count as three.

With the athlete's absence, the event will be a wide open affair, as last year's second- and third-place finishers, Holmwood Technical and Edwin Allen, along with St Jago High will all be in the running. Top team from the United States, Madera High, out of California, who clocked 3:37.10 last month will not be at the event and it looks like another all-Jamaica affair.

Last year the Vere quartet, which included Jackson, won handsomely as they stopped the clock at 3:37.79. Holmwood and Edwin Allen were second and third, respectively. While the Clarendon team will have two members of last year's team returning, in Olivia James and Yanique McNeil, Jackson has made the big difference.

"We have been working hard and we are coming to win again although it will be difficult. We are confident and have been strategising well for it," said Joseph Wilkie coach of the Vere.

Following their overall success at Champs this year, Edwin Allen head coach Michael Dyke is very optimistic for event.

"We have a very good pool of girls to choose from and with Jackson not competing for Vere, it will be wide open. We are extremely confident that we can go all the way as I was very pleased with the win at Central Championships," said Dyke."