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JAMAICA COLLEGE has the legs to run faster than the 4×800-metre record at this Saturday’s Gibson McCook Relays. That’s the word from Jamaica College’s middle-distance coach, Dwayne Johnson.
Johnson’s team of Khandale Frue, J’Voughnn Blake, Omarion Davis, and Vincentian Handal Robban clocked the fastest time of the high school season – 7:36.76 seconds – to win at the recent Western Relays in a duel with Kingston College (KC), 7:38.64.
“I don’t think we have ever, ever had such a strong unit for 4×800, and the record is in sight,” he said on February 19 at the GC Foster College for Physical Education and Sport.
Blake, who produced the team’s quickest Western Relays leg at 1:51.7 seconds, Frue and Davis, Boys and Girls’ Championships gold-medal winners, and Robban, a 2021 World Under 20 semi-finalists, cruised the anchor leg in 1:52.9.
“We’re trying to now figure out how we can place the right set of boys together on the right leg to get them to run to their true potential and go after that record. That’s the aim,” said Johnson.
The record stands at 7:29.04 seconds, set by Calabar in 2020.
Whatever the order, JC has the fastest runners in the field as Robban and Blake ran 1:48.37 and 1:48.86 last year. In addition, there’s a good chance Johnson will bring in Kemario Bygrave, who beat Frue to the gold in the 2021 Class II 800 metres in 1:52.00. Bygrave missed the Western Relays but ran at the Camperdown Classic instead and won the class I 800.
Johnson thinks there is more to come from his Blues.
“I also think that Omarian and Frue did not run their best either, based on what they’re doing now in practice. In terms of next weekend, I know that we can go a lot faster than what we did, for sure,” he added.
Still, Johnson is full of respect for KC and his middle-distance counterpart ,Hamlin Pagon.
“Coach Pagon, brilliant coach. I always look forward to matching up with him because he pushes me to do better than I can as a coach,” he said of the man whose troops include the Henry twins, Gianni and Giovuni, the upset winner over Blake in the 2019 Champs Class II 800 metres.
Pagon can strengthen his group, too, with the inclusion of Schevorn Wardlow, who anchored KC to victory in the Western Relays sprint medley.
“It should be very interesting, and I know both of us should be looking to do our little chess match, but as I said, I know I do have the team to win. I know I also have the team to run faster than the current record, so it’s just putting them together the right way so they can all maximise and run at their true potential,” he resolved.
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