Williams, Blake headline Isaac-Henry Invitational at Stadium

LAVANYA Williams and Ackeem Blake are set to feature in the women’s and men’s 60 metres at today’s S. W. Isaac-Henry Invitational meet at the National Stadium. The action begins at 9:15 a.m. with the 400m hurdles open for high school girls.

Fresh off her personal best clocking of 7.17 seconds a week ago at the Camperdown Classics, where she relegated 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games 100m and 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah into third place, Williams, competing for Dynamic Speed Club, will be hoping for more success today and an even faster time. She will have the likes of Anthonique Strachan of MVP, Serena Cole and Jura Levy of Swept Track Club and Krystal Sloley of the University of Technology to contend with. This event will get under way at 5:45 p.m.

Five minutes later, Ackeem Blake of Dynamic Speed will take on a competitive field in the men’s event. A winner at the New Balance Indoor meet in the event, Blake – the joint second fastest Jamaican man in the event this season with 6.53 seconds – will face the likes of training partner Adrian Kerr, Bouwahjgie Nkrumie of MVP, Rasheed Foster of Mico, Roshawn Clarke of Swept, and the Elite Performance duo of Zachary Wallace and Deandre Watkins.

Defending inter-secondary girls’ champions Hydel High, who have looked very strong this season, will be well represented at the meet as they seek to carry their good momentum into next month’s ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs).

In the opening event, the 400m hurdles, they will be represented by Natassia Fletcher and Aaliyah Mullings. Fletcher showed good form in the flat 400 metres at the Camperdown Classics, where she clocked a season’s best 53.76 seconds.

Oshean Cummings and Kevona Bourne, who are both ineligible to compete at ‘Champs’ this year, look set to dominate the Class Three and Class Two 400m.

Among the high school boys, a good battle is expected in the Class One 400m hurdles as Denbigh High’s Kingsley Hanson will take on the Kingston College pair of Eshanee Porter and Jordan Taylor.

In the Class One 400m, Chanton White of Denbigh, the Champs Class Two 400m bronze medallist, will go up against the likes of Jordan Rhedul and Deandre Isidore of Kingston College.

Male teams in the 4x400m are set for a big reward of $100,000 if they can go under three minutes 11 seconds in the event.