Kai Kelly wins boys under-18 100m heat one in 10.85 at JAAA national championships

Kai Kelly of Jamaica College topped the opening heat of the boys under-18 100 metres on day one of the JAAA/PUMA National Junior and Senior Championships, recording 10.85 seconds as the field narrows toward the semi-final stage.

Six of seven listed starters took their marks after Jevaughn Graham of Herbert Morrison failed to appear. Sharing the line were Kelly, the first-year class two champion from this year's Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships; Anthony Rochester of Titchfield; DeShawn St. Hilaire, also of Jamaica College; Jevaughn White of Vere Technical; Jevaughn Griffiths of St. Jago; and Devaughn Jones of Racers in lane seven.

A brief hold-up preceded the race as officials tested equipment at the 100-metre start, including the wind gauge positioned near the 50-metre mark. Competition had shifted from the 400-metre hurdles area, where earlier races had passed without major trouble, and starters worked to link timing and wind readings to the photo-finish system.

When the field was sent off, Kelly moved away cleanly and held control through the sprint. An initial flash of 10.82 was revised to 10.85, with a wind reading of negative 0.5 metres per second captured but not shown on the finish-line display at first. Rochester followed in 10.97, with White at 11.14 and St. Hilaire at 11.18, while Griffiths and Jones completed the heat.

Kelly, whose best mark this season is 10.48 from the class two sprints at Champs, appeared to run within himself as organisers cut a pool of more than 30 athletes down to 16 semi-finalists, with the two fastest from each heat set to advance.