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Confident Buff Bay launch Eastern Champs title defence

Published:Monday | March 3, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Buff Bay High School's Britanney Orr (left) celebrates with teammate Daneia Cousins after winning the Class Four girls 4x100 relay finals at last year's Jamaica National Building Society/Eastern Secondary Schools Sports Association's Eastern Athle-tics Championships at the National Stadium. - File

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

Defending champions Buff Bay High School will be aiming to defend their Eastern Secondary Schools' Sports Association (ESSSA)/Jamaica National Building Society Track and Field title, which begins today at the National Stadium.

The event, which is one of the major meets on the high-school track and field calendar, is a qualifier for this month's GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Championships.

The two-day championships, which has attracted over 900 athletes from 20 high schools, will see the participants competing in 80 events. The meet is set to run off at 8:30 a.m.

Kevin Brown, coach of Buff Bay, said despite losing a number of his top athletes from last year's competition, he is confident that his charges will give a good account of themselves.

"The students are confident and motivated, so the other schools will have to fight hard to get it from us," said Brown. "We are pretty confident and my athletes are looking forward to this year's cham-pionships," Brown added.

Oberlin, which finished second to Buff Bay last year, will be aiming to unseat their opponents to win the crown.

"We are always in a position for a win, but we are not taking things for granted," said Everton Leslie, coach of Oberlin.

STEPPING STONE

Meanwhile, Richard Thompson, chairman of ESSSA, is urging participants to use this year's event as a stepping stone in their preparations for the Boys and Girls' Championships later this month.

"In the east, we have always provided this opportunity to our athletes who are looking to the Boys and Girls' Championships and we expect them to grasp this, and come the national champs you expect good performances from the athletes from the east," said Thompson.

"We will be increasing the excitement for our spectators by adding a cheerleading competition, and so the fans can look forward to that experience."

Leon Mitchell, assistant general manager of JNBS, which has been sponsoring the event for the past 28 years, said they are committed to help the development of Jamaica's athletes by seeking to empower them for the future.