Jhevaughn Matherson… youthful promise
By Dania Bogle
IF there is one name that has stood out at Kingston College over the last two seasons then it would be that of sprinter Jhevaughn Matherson.
Matherson, 14, who burst onto the scene two years ago, cemented his place in the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Boys & Girls Athletic Championships history in 2013 with record breaking runs in the Class Three boys 100m and 200m and led his team to victory in the boys sprint relay.
The athlete posted 21.87 seconds for the first sub-22 run in the history of the Championships to eventually take the 200m title and lowered his own record to 10.85 in the 100m.
The third form student said that while he had thought of attending Calabar or St. Jago as options the final decision to attend Kingston College was made by his parents and it has paid dividends.
“It’s like a big family. We are all like brothers,” he said.
“It was like full-filling a dream. I always dreamed of just participating at ‘Champs’ and it was all I talked about when I was younger,” he told MilesplitJa.
Matherson, who is now in his first year of Class Two, has set a high standard for himself heading into the upcoming track and field season and admits that it will be difficult to maintain.
“There is always going to be pressure. I just have to handle it as best as I can,” he said.
Matherson, who won the Boys 100m and 200m at the Jamaica Teacher’s Association (JTA) Sagicor Championships while at Hillside Primary in his home town of Islington, St. Mary has remained humble even in the face of his accomplishments.
When MilesplitJa visited it was a Friday afternoon and while other members of the team were absent from what was a planned relay training session, Matherson said he could not miss it.
“No one is guaranteed a spot on the relay team and I would really like to be on the team. At the end of the day I wouldn’t want to be out of the team just because I didn’t participate in baton changes.
“People improve over time. I know that I’m going to improve so there is no sure spot for everyone.”