St. Jago High School will make history when they compete indoors at the VA Showcase in Lynchburg, Virginia. It will be the first time this exciting track and field meeting will have a Jamaican high school entry.
The two-day meet scheduled for Friday/Saturday, January 13-14, 2017 will be held at the Liberty University.
The Monk Street, Spanish Town-based school, will be sending a five-member female squad to compete in the 4x200m on the second day.
The team’s head coach, Keilando Goburn, is delighted to be invited and is promising a creditable showing from his troops.
“It’s a win-win situation; it’s a good experience for the youngsters. Our culture only facilitates outdoor competition.” said Goburn.
“I also want to underscore the fact that when some Jamaican athletes make the transition to US Colleges they tend to struggle indoors which is a large part of the NCAA circuit. This is a breakthrough for my athletes so that they can get familiar with running indoors.”
The coach also highlighted another reason for running indoors and suggested more Jamaican high school athletes should get involved.
“We should be mindful that the World Indoor Championships is staged every two years and Jamaica has no trials, yet we send a team. I would love to see more Jamaican high schools participating in the VA Showcase in the future.”
When pressed about his team’s chances against their American rivals, the sharp-witted coach said, “We are just going there to have fun and enjoy the experience.”