JC, KC going down to the wire - Dark Blues predicted to score narrow Champs victory

WHEN competition gets under way on Tuesday at the GraceKennedy ISSA Boys and Girls' Athletics Championships, a fierce battle is expected among the boys and all indications are pointing towards an intense fight for top honours between 36-time champions Kingston College (KC), the defending champions, and 21-time winners Jamaica College (JC).

A year ago, KC put on a commanding performance to turn back Calabar High and JC to make it four wins in a row. Despite scoring 293 points for a comfortable win over Calabar, who were second with 229.25, and JC third with 207 points, things could be much different this time around.

Athletes from JC have been on fire this season and will pose a real challenge to the defending champions.

After last year's second-place finish, Calabar were hoping to go one place better, but suffered a major blow due to the migration of several of their top athletes, putting a damper on their title chances.

WEAKENED CHANCES

With the departure of head coach Corey Bennett to JC, several athletes, including outstanding talents Robert Miller and Junior Gallimore, followed Bennett to Hydel High, with others going elsewhere. This has certainly weakened their chances of challenging for the title.

Both KC and JC have been outstanding all season, with both teams showing great depth at the various development meets across the island. And even though they beat their main rivals at the Corporate Area Championships, KC did so largely through their strong Class Four unit. There is no Class Four competition for boys at Champs, and taking away those points KC dominated would see the teams virtually even.

Also, at the Gibson McCook Relays, KC won more relays than their rivals, but those victories came in the 4x200m relay, which is not contested at Champs.

In a bid to get back on top, JC, who last won the title in 2021, have strengthened their coaching staff with the addition of Bennett and former World 400m champion Bertland Cameron.

A look across the various classes show things are very even between JC and KC, and the Championships could come down to the final event, the 4x400m relay, with the title possibly going to the team that makes the fewest mistakes.

Normally, the team that scores the most points in Class One and the Open events comes out on top, and it is close in those areas. KC are projected to score 95 points in Class One, just ahead of JC with 91. In the Open events, JC are favoured to score 52 points, 10 more than the 42 projected for KC.

Classes Two and Three could also be very pivotal. KC hold a slight edge in Class Two with a projected 76 points to JC's 67, while in Class Three, JC lead with 84 points, 10 ahead of KC's 74.

In the end, JC are a slight favourites to come out on top with a projected 294 points ahead of KC on 287. It is indeed very close and could go either way.