Dyke

Leading up to the start of the 2012/13 track and field season head coach at Edwin Allen High, Michael Dyke, was concerned about his team's preparation for their Girls Championships title defence because of the unavailability of their playing field for training purposes because of upgrading work.

However, at the Central Hurdles and Relays meet last Saturday, the Edwin Allen girls gave a glimpse of their form with impressive performances, leaving Dyke impressed.

"I was very happy with how the young ladies performed, especially in the 400 metres where we dominated," said Dyke.

The Edwin Allen team had one-two finishes in classes III and I. In Class III, Shannon Kallawan won overall with 56.85, with second going to Moisha Barnes in 57.33.

In Class I, it was Monique Spencer who topped the field with a 55.37 win over Camira Haughton who did 55.64.

Spencer, who did not compete at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Championships last year after transferring from Oracabessa High, was very impressive in the Open 4x400m, as her performance brought the fans on their feet. Running the second leg, Spencer, who competed for the country at the World Junior Championships in Spain last year, made up a big gap on her rivals before exploding to give her team the lead.

"Monique has exceptional talent and she works very hard and is not afraid to run any event I give her to do," said Dyke of Spencer. "I expect great things from her in her first year at Champs."

"My Class One is loaded in all areas and I am having a headache in placing them in their respective events because of the pool of talent in the class," he continued.

Spencer will join her former Oracabessa schoolmate Christania Wiiliams at Champs in the class this year. Williams is yet to make her season debut.

Despite the good performances by his athletes Dyke still has some concerns.

"On Saturday, I only entered my Classes III and IV 4x100m relay teams because we have not put in enough relay practices due to lack of training field, and we all saw what happened as both teams had serious baton problems," he said.