Petersfield pack throwing punch

Petersfield High School in Westmoreland has become a track and field powerhouse, particularly in the throw events.

Last year, Petersfield had three throwers representing the country at the youth and junior levels in the discus, shot put, and javelin events.

Two of those throwers are still enrolled at the Westmoreland-based school. However, the institution lost Kevin Nedrick, who got a scholarship to attend the Barton Community College in Kansas, United States.

"We started a few years back as we know one can't win championships without a good field events programme, and we chose to start to develop the throws. We have been honing our craft over the years. It took a while, but we have developed and get it to a stage of not just national but international level. I'm proud of it, and we will continue trying to bring success there," said the team coach, Machell Woolery.

The CARIFTA Under-18 shot put record holder, Daniel Cope, a student at Petersfield, is looking forward to making this season just as successful as last season, despite stepping up to the Under-20 level. He is hoping to throw around 62m in the discus and finish among the medals at the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Championships and then head to the CARIFTA Games.

"A part of my plan is to make the CARIFTA team. It will not be easy moving up a weight class, but I know what it takes to get to that level, so I'm putting in the work," said Cope.

He added that his focus is on the World Junior Championships in July which he expects to be his biggest challenge yet.

"This is the World Junior year which will be twice as hard, so the level of work I put in last year to get to World Youth I'll have to double or even triple that to get there," Cope said.