( l - r ) Deandre Whitehorne, Celia Walters - Ian Allen photos

Following injuries to three of their key athletes, former champions Vere Technical could very well find themselves in unfamiliar territory come the end of the ISSA Boys' and Girls' Champs next week.

In recent years, Vere have always managed to secure a spot in the top three but, according to pre-season results and injuries to important athletes, they could find themselves at least one place down to fourth this year.

Constantine Haughton, coach at the Hayes,

Clarendon-based school, admitted "it's always going to be a challenge for anyone to retain their places, especially when the tables seem to be shifting around a little bit."

According to Haughton, injury management will play a big role in how his team performs at the event.

"The fact that we have our injuries and don't know how the athletes are going to respond, definitely puts you at a disadvantage," he explained.

"When you have limited quality stock and that quality stock is affected, that narrows down your whole scope for success ... so the people who are expected to carry the bulk of the work can not do so, and might not even be able to.

top three athletes

That is the real issue, it's not like we have a big spread of talent ... and you could hand off some of that workload."

Deandre Whitehorne, Celia Walters and Shericka Jackson are Vere's top three athletes and they can change the course of Champs. There is also Chantel Duncan, but according to Haughton, they are all suffering from hamstring injuries.

Jackson won the Under-17 200/400m double at Carifta trials and she competed at Central Champs last week, which means she is in better shape than the others who did not compete. However, even though the athlete has competed for the past few weeks the coach has listed her as day-to-day.

If Vere are to retain their position in the top three, it will certainly depend on the performances of those athletes.

Despite realistic expectations, Haughton admitted that he would be 'somewhat disappointed' if the team were to finish outside of the top three.

"If you are accustomed to be in a certain position, then of course people will be disappointed, but you just have to adjust and try not to be caught in that position thereafter."

Holmwood and Edwin Allen were the big winners in the Milo Junior Grand Prix series, which ended at last Saturday's Lucozade/G.C. Foster Classic.

The Christiana-based school won $157,000 while Edwin Allen with $105,000 and Manchester with $92,000 were the other winners.

However, Edwin Allen ended up being the meet's biggest winners on the girls side as their 4x800 team topped that section with 72 points for $75,000. The Frankfield-based institution also raked in the money from the 4x400m, taking home $30,000 for second place.

Holmwood boys' team won the 4x800m relay with 68 points for $75,000 and were 2nd in the 4x400m with 37 points, which gave them $30,000.

The girls from Christiana, however, surprisingly weren't as effective, finishing joint second with Manchester in the 4x800m, which saw them share $65,000, while the 4x400m team took home $20,000 for third, giving them an overall $52,500.

Munro were the next best winners, pocketing $60,000 for winning the 4x400m, 50 points ahead of Holmwood, whose 37 points gave them $30,000 while third place Wolmer's (30 points) collected $20,000.

Bellfield walked away with $40,000 for second in the 4x800 while Tacius Golding got $25,000 for third in the 4x800.