Three national champions head for Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Three national champions, as well as world number three-ranked men’s triple jumper Jordan Scott, are among the 20 Jamaican athletes who are scheduled to compete at Friday’s Ed Murphey Classic.

The World Athletics Continental Tour-Silver meet will be held at the Billy J Murphy Track and Field Complex, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Antonio Watson, World Champion in 2023, Christopher Taylor and Lloydricia Cameron, will compete at the event along with Olympic Games men’s discus throw record holder Roje Stona and World Championships medalist Bryan Levell.

Watson and Taylor will be competing for the first time since the JAAA national championships and will both face serious tests as they get ready for the Commonwealth Games set for later this month in Scotland.

Watson and Delano Kennedy, who was the runner-up at the national championships, will line up against Nigeria’s NCAA men’s outdoor champion and world leader Samuel Ogazi, who ran 43.38 seconds, newly crowned Pan-American champion Gabriel Moronta of the Dominican Republic and American teen sensation Quincy Wilson.

Taylor will go up against a pair of fast Zimbabweans, Denzel Simusialele and Tapiwanashe Makarwu and Americans Max Thomas and Brandon Hicklin.

Cameron, who won her first national women’s shot put title this year, faces Sweden’s Axelina Johansson and a pair of Americans, Adelaide Aquilla and Megan Hague.

Scott, the World Athletics Indoor silver medalist, goes into the meet with the best jump so far, 17.69m, but will get good competition from France’s Jonathan Seremes and Americans Brandon Green, Salif Mane and James Carter.

Stona and Chad Wright are set to contest the men’s discus throw and will take on Reggie Jagers III, Joseph Brown and Brian Williams, all of the USA.

Levell, the bronze medalist in the men’s 200m at the World Championships in Tokyo last year, will contest the men’s 100m with

Kadrian Goldson and they are up against Courtney Lindsay, Ronnie Baker and Pjai Austin. Kemba Nelson and Sabrina Dockery, two of the newest members of the sub-11.00 seconds club, will line up against Nigeria’s Rosemary

Chukwuma, Jassani Carter of the USA and her compatriot Kaila Jackson.

World Championships women’s 200m semi-finalist Ashanti Moore is the only Jamaican in the half lap event on Friday, and she will line up against Nigeria’s Favour Ofili as well as Tiriah Kelly, Jenna Prandini and McKenzie Long, all of the USA.

Shaquena Foote, who missed the end of the NCAA season with a hamstring injury, will return in the women’s 400m where she and Leah Anderson will line up against Nigeria’s Ella Onojuvwevwo and Americans Sanaria Butler and Alexis Holmes.

Shantae Foreman will contest the women’s long jump where she will face Trinidad and Tobago’s Tyra Gittens-Spotsville, Tionna Tobias of the USA and Ruth Usoro of Nigeria.

Many-time national women’s 800m champion Natoya Goule-Toppin is listed in the women’s two-lap event and will race against Victoria Bossong of the USA, Shafiqua Maloney of St Vincent and the Grenadines as well as Michaela Rose and Veronica Hargrave, also of the USA.

A number of events will be held prior to the main portion of themeet and will see a number of Jamaicans taking part, Niesha Burger will contest the women’s 100m and 200m; Mark- Anthony Daley is down for the men’s 100m and 200m; Kadrian Goldson will contest the men’s 100m and Candice McLeod is down to run the women’s 400m.
— Paul A Reid