RETIRING track and field manager Frank Magee wants to go out on a high at this weekend’s State Street athletics inter-insular in Jersey. The Caesareans dominated last year’s match and clinched their first Burton Trophy success in nine years against a GIAAC squad shorn of 10 first-choice men, including Dale Garland and Lee Merrien.

This year, both stars are back and Magee is happy to choose from close to strength.

He said victory would ‘be the icing on the cake and bring an end to a wonderful season’.

‘What an exciting year it has been on Guernsey’s athletics calendar,’ he said.

‘We’ve had senior records broken throughout the season, the appearance of Craig Pickering and we topped the athletics medals table in Rhodes.’

Magee added that all season long there had been a strong desire not only to win back the senior men’s and women’s trophies but win them well at the FB Fields and emphasise the island’s growing strength.

With Garland and Merrien back, the men’s squad appears formidable with the only likely weakness coming in the throws where Jersey can call on Jamie Stevenson.

Garland’s involvement is likely to be extensive after returning from Osaka fit and on a high.

After running in front of 40,000 in the Nagai Stadium, he admits it will be strange competing in front of a few dozen at the FB Fields track.

‘It will be a bit different,’ he said.

‘It was really good [in Osaka] and it will be good experience for the future and, hopefully, next year’s Olympics.’

As for the Burton meet?

‘I don’t mind a good run-out and definitely I want to win it back.

‘I’ve never been on the losing side before and don’t intend to start losing now.’

It would be a major surprise if Magee’s men fail to win back the Burton and stretch the overall lead in the series to 28-15, but the women’s match is too close to call.

GIAAC travel with only one notable absentee from their Games squad, Kimberley Goodall having undergone recent surgery for a back problem.

But GIAAC have the luxury of replacing the Island Games 400m champion with a runner of similar ability, the island record-holder over 800m, Helen Hadjam (nee Tolcher).

The Whitgift School teacher, who runs for Herne Hill Harriers in the UK, will be flying in for the day to take her place in the two-lap event alongside Island Games bronze medallist Helen Watts.

Last year’s women’s match was settled, in Jersey’s favour, by the last event, the 4 x 400m relay, and it promises to be close again this time.

At junior level, GIAAC have high hopes of at least matching last year’s efforts when the under-13s and colts wiped the floor with the Spartans.

Many of those boys and girls have since moved up an age-group and Richard Cowling, head of junior track and field, is confident ahead of the trip.

‘This year our under-13 girls are very strong as equally are under-15 boys and girls. It’s a good mix of first and second years and we’re strong in all areas,’ he said.

‘If they perform as we hope, we should get a result. Everybody is available but you are never sure what Jersey will turn up with, so it’s on the day.’

As many as 14 under-15s will be in action on day two which is dedicated to the under-13 and under-17 age groups.

In terms of numbers, the under-17s are the weakest of the age groups but numbers are growing thanks to the recruitment efforts of development officer Lee Merrien, said GIAAC president Rob Batiste.

‘That Lee’s been able to unearth this new talent and we are able to field two athletes in just about every under-17 event has given us a real chance of winning back the overall points trophy,’ he said.

‘The likes of Hwyel Robinson coming on the scene is good to see and with our better under-15 boys stepping up, we are far stronger at under-17s than we imagined we would be a year ago.

‘Things are going well on the track and in the jumps, but we still need to develop a throws culture. That’s where Jersey generally hurt us, year in, year out.

ﾓBut we’re going down in big numbers. All told, we will have 112 competing over the two days and we have never travelled with that number before.’