While most eyes were on the USA Championships in Sacromento, which served as a Youth and Senior World's Qualifier (Pan-Am's for the youth), several other countries were doing much the same. Chief among them was the sprint powerhouse of Jamaica, where several New Yorkers share citizenship. Two from the Empire State ventured south, and made some waves.
Ronaldo Griffiths Improves
Although he forewent a bid for a State Title, Clara Barton senior Ronaldo Griffiths had a few more races to run. Heading down to Jamaica for the Jamaican Junior Championships, Griffiths would take third in the 400H in a new personal best of 51.67. While the place was outside the top two that make it to World Juniors (only the US isn't sending a team), the mark does bump him from NY #5 All-Time up to NY #4.
Jazmine Fray Tries Out For Team Jamaica
After not qualifying for the semi's at the NCAA Champs, Jazmine Fray refocused her mind on another competition: the Jamaican Senior National Championships. In an event not as deep in the Caribbean as it is in the US (the US women's 800m is arguably the toughest team to make outside the hurdles), Fray put her best on the line against the top in the country.
She took second overall, solidly ahead of third. Fray does not have the World's Standard of 2:01.00 Outdoors, but her Indoor mark of 2:00.69 counts for Worlds. That means Jazmine Fray will be representing Team Jamaica in London!
The Texas A&M sophomore, whose mother is Jamaican, had a fantastic collegiate season.
With veteran Kenia Sinclair near 37 years
old and on her way out, it is the perfect time for US-born Jazmine Fray
to enter the fray. She was the number one seed in the women 800m entering
last weekend's JAAA National Senior Track & Field Championships
where she is slated to go up against Natoya Goule, Simoya Campbelll and Kimarra
McDonald among others.
Goule's pacing pulled her to the collegiate record but the former LSU athlete was also influential in her decision to come to the Jamaica National Trials and attempt to make the 2017 IAAF World Championships team to London.
The 26 year old has complained about the lack of competition in the middle distances in Jamaica and encouraged the Long Island, New York native to try to make the Jamaican team.
She is one of only two Jamaicans who have met the World Championships qualifying standard (2:01.00) with Goule being the other with her season best of 2:00.56 (ranked 29th in the world).
And the decision was a smart one, as all of 15 US female 800m runners have run faster than Fray (ranked 51st in the world) this season with Brenda Martinez ranked highest at No.5 (1:58.78) on the IAAF season rankings.
http://sayfcarib.com/us-born-jazmine-fray-enters-the-fray-of-jamaican-800m-runners/