BALTIMORE, Maryland – Two of the region’s brightest young sprint talents, Jamaica College standout Kai Kelly and Holland High’s Shanoya Douglas, are eager to showcase their speed at Saturday’s fifth staging of the Puma East Coast International Showcase at Hughes Memorial Stadium at Morgan State University.
The East Coast International Showcase, the brainchild of Jamaican Olympian Sanjay Ayre, will feature more than 1,200 elite high school athletes from across the United States and the Caribbean competing in sprints, relays and field events.
Five Jamaican high schools are set to participate at East Coast International Showcase
For Douglas, the competition will once again form part of her build-up to the World Athletics U20 Championships, scheduled for August in Eugene.
It mirrors her preparation in 2024, when she also used the East Coast International Showcase as a key stepping stone before the global championships.
Douglas enjoyed a breakthrough campaign at the 2024 World U20 Championships in Lima, where she initially finished third in the 200m at just 16 years old before being elevated to silver after Adaejah Hodge was sanctioned last month following positive tests for two banned substances. She was also a member of Jamaica’s gold medal-winning 4x100m relay team.
Competing at the East Coast International Showcase for the second time, Douglas will again line up in the 100m and 200m.
“My expectations are to come out and do my best and see if I can get a fast time,” she said.
“We always try to give 110 percent anywhere we go. Our mindset heading into any competition is to come out on top, and even if we don’t, we want to produce fast times. The season has been great so far and I can’t complain, but I believe there is still a lot more for me to give, and I’m waiting patiently.”
Douglas produced one of the standout performances of this year’s CARIFTA Games in St. George’s, successfully defending her 100m and 200m titles.
Her 22.11-second run in the 200m was a world-leading mark at the time, breaking the long-standing Games record, moving her joint third on the world Under-20 all-time list, and lowering her own Jamaican Under-20 record.
Just before CARIFTA, she became the fourth-fastest Jamaican junior ever after clocking a personal best 10.98 seconds to win the Girls’ Class One 100m title at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston.
Douglas also competed in the 100m and 200m at the East Coast International Showcase in 2024, placing fourth in the 100m in 11.81 seconds behind American McKenzie Travis (11.62) and Hydel High’s Alliah Baker (11.68). She later finished third in the 200m in 24.04 behind Americans Skyler Franklin (23.48) and Elise Cooper (23.96).
She said the event left a lasting impression.
“This meet is a great experience for me. I really like the East Coast meet. Sanjay always gives us something to look forward to with the level of competition he puts together, so I’m excited to compete there again.”
Asked how difficult it has been to recover physically and mentally for another major competition so soon after the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Douglas said the support of her teammates has made the transition easier.
“It’s all about the people around you — your little village — and I have that with my teammates. We share little jokes, do our ice baths, get our massages, and that’s what helps prepare me for the next meet,” she said.
Meanwhile, 15-year-old sprint sensation Kelly is set to make his East Coast International Showcase debut and is eager to make his mark.
“My coach has been preparing me for this meet. I’m ready to show them Kai Kelly and show them what I do best,” he said.
Kelly will contest the boys’ 100m, just a week after producing a sensational anchor leg to carry JC to victory in the High School Boys’ 4x100m Championship of America at the 130th Penn Relays at Franklin Field.
He has been in superb form this season, winning the Boys’ Class Two 100m title at Champs in 10.28 seconds before capturing Under-17 gold at CARIFTA in 10.37.
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