RAYMOND GRAHAM, Star Writer

COMING into this year's ISSA Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls' Championships, Edwin Allen were strong favourites to topple defending champion Holmwood Technical based on their excellent form coming into the championships, as they dominated all the meets coming into event.

Of course, Edwin were in the same position last year, and after three days of dominating the championships they looked on course to capture their first title, but wilted under late pressure from the champions, with Holmwood taking the lead late on the final day. The champions held on, showing their class when it mattered most.

top athletes faltered

After the first two days of this year's championships, Edwin Allen, despite being expected to have a big lead over their main rivals, once again found themselves behind, as their top athletes faltered in finals, while their main rivals saw their athletes lifting their performances to emerge with a surprise two-points lead over Edwin.

The Michael Dyke-coached team suffered two major blows on the opening day as team captain Sasha-Gaye Marston, who was expected to win the girls' Class I discus, failed to make the final, while Kimberly Williamson also failed to make the final of the open triple jump.

To compound their problems, they suffered another big setback on day two, as their outstanding Class III sprinter Sequina Cameron, who was expected to score valuable points, limped off the track with an injury after completing first-round action in the 200 metres, bringing her campaign to an end.

However, after seeing his athletes doing well in the preliminary round of the sprint hurdles on yesterday's third day, Dyke was very pleased and optimistic about his team winning the championships.

"There is no need to panic. We are still optimistic and the girls are very confident. Yes, we lost some valuable points on the opening day, but this will not derail us," said Dyke.

"We did not get the lead we expected after the second day. I think we were 24 points shy, but we will just have to make up and I was very pleased of what I saw in the sprint hurdles. The girls have qualified well, and we hope to get some good points there," he continued.

After seeing a 20-point lead erased on the final day last year, Dyke is hoping for a bigger lead going into today's final day.

"We need at least somewhere between a 30-to 40-point lead going into tomorrow (today's) final day. We think that will be enough of a cushion for us to build on for the rest of the meet," concluded Dyke.