Jamaica College (JC) and Edwin Allen have surged into the lead following the conclusion of the second day of events at the 2024 ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships at the National Stadium on Wednesday.
JC leads with 58 points after eight finals, narrowly ahead of defending champions Kingston College with 56 points. The top five positions are rounded out by Excelsior High (28), Calabar (24), and St Jago (20)
In the girls’ championships, Edwin Allen lead with 81 points, maintaining a significant 44-point advantage over defending champions Hydel High at 37 points after nine finals. St Jago High (36), Wolmer’s Girls (29), and Holmwood Technical (25) complete the top five.
JC accumulated the majority of their points in the 1500m events, securing two out of three titles and amassing a total of 39 points. Meanwhile, KC secured 24 points, aided by a victory.
JC claimed victories in the 1500m events for Classes Two and Three, while KC emerged triumphant in Class One.
In the Class Two 1500m, JC’s Samuel Creary surprised KC’s Nahashon Ruto to claim victory. Creary, ranked 21st in the class, surged from behind to win in 4:04.01, narrowly beating Ruto who clocked 4:04.03. Raheem Palmer from Alphansus Davis High secured third place in 4:08.57, while Chris Wanjiku of KC, ranked first, finished in eighth place with a time of 4:21.79.
Cavel Nooks won the Class Two title with a time of 4:20.79, defeating Phillip Palmer from St Jago High (4:21.42) and Bevin Davey from JC (4:22.78).
Kenyan athlete Brian Kiprop won the Class One 1500m title for KC, clinching consecutive gold medals with a hard-fought victory.
The first-year Class One athlete faced a challenge from JC’s Kemarrio Bygrave with 200 metres to go. Bygrave began to gain ground, but there was no catching Brian Kiprop as the Kenyan held on to win in 3:56.81, marking his victory just a year after securing the Class Two title.
Bygrave finished closely behind in 3:57.34, securing second place, while Barrain Smith from St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) took third in 3:59.08. Eltham Gioko, teammate of Kiprop and the top-ranked competitor, dropped to fifth place after sharing the lead with his compatriot for most of the race. He finished with a time of 4:03.84.
KC secured one of the three 100m titles courtesy of KC’s Nyrone Wade. The star sprinter secured the gold in Class Two, as anticipated, with another personal-best time of 10.43 seconds, following his 10.95 seconds run in the semi-finals. Malike Nugent (10.52) of Excelsior and Tavaine Stewart (10.55) of Herbert Morrison ended up taking second and third, respectively.
Wolmer’s Boys and Excelsior High won the other 100m gold medals.
Mario Ross from Wolmer’s Boys edged out Ched Brown of Calabar High in a tight race to claim the Boys’ Class Three title. Ross surged to victory with a massive lifetime best of 10.88 seconds, narrowly ahead of Brown’s time of 10.90 seconds. Naethan Bryan from St George’s College secured third place with a time of 11.02 seconds.
Damor Miller of Excelsior crushed his personal-best time to win the Class One title.
Miller, who came into the five-day championships ranked at number 15 in the class, triumphed over his more favoured competitors with a time of 10.37 seconds, surpassing his previous best of 10.39 set just two hours earlier in the semi-finals. He finished ahead of Calabar’s Shaquane Gordon, who recorded a time of 10.37 seconds.
Completing the podium was KC’s Yourie Lawrence-Clarke, who took the bronze with a time of 10.45 after leading the field.
This victory marked Miller’s first medal at Champs.
JC also asserted their dominance in the Class Two long jump event, securing 16 points with a one-two finish.
Michael-Andre Edwards successfully defended his Class Two long jump title by comfortably winning the first final at the championships.
Edwards claimed victory with a best jump of 7.18m. He also made two other jumps over seven metres, and his opening jump of 7.01 metres was sufficient for victory since none of the other competitors exceeded seven metres. His teammate, Javiar Cato, took second place with a jump of 6.85m, while Amani Phillips of KC finished third with a jump of 6.78m.
On the girls’ side, Edwin Allen garnered 30 points out of their total 81 from the 1500m events, with 14 points stemming from Class One. Middle-distance standout Rickeisha Simms comfortably clinched the victory.
Simms won in 4:30.36, ahead of Cindy Rose (4:32.79) from Holmwood and Kaydeen Johnson (4:33.71) from Hydel. Another athlete from Edwin Allen, Monique Stewart, crossed the finish line in fourth place with a time of 4:36.86, contributing a further five points.
Edwin Allen added 12 points to their tally in Class Three with a second and third place finish, bolstering their position in the standings at the competition.
Alikay Reynolds from Alphansus Davis High won the event to successfully defend her crown, finishing in 4:43.92 ahead of Denique Palmer from Edwin Allen (4:44.37) and Dallia Fairweather from St Mary High (4:46.74).
Ashara Frater of Vere Technical claimed victory in the Girls’ Class Two 1500m in 4:42.76, improving from her fifth-place finish last season. Jovi Rose from Holmwood Technical (4:43.59) and Rhodonna Prince from Bellefield (4:49.19) took second and third place, respectively.
In addition, Edwin Allen secured one of the four 100m titles through Thieanna-Lee Terrelonge. The standout sprinter lived up to expectations by winning the Class Two title, although she faced stiff competition from Sabrina Dockery of Lacovia High in a thrilling final. The 16-year-old first-year Class Two sprinter claimed victory with a personal best time of 11.22 seconds, just ahead of Dockery who clocked 11.33, also a personal best. Briana Campbell from St Jago High secured third place with a time of 11.48 seconds.
Hydel and Wolmer’s Girls shared the other 100m titles.
Natrece East of Wolmer’s Girls dominated her rivals to secure the Class Three title, overcoming her second-place finish from the previous year. She clinched victory with a time of 11.42 seconds, improving her lifetime best of 11.59 from last year. Adora Campbell of St Jago High took second place with a time of 11.52 seconds, while Kerelle Etienne from Edwin Allen finished third with a time of 11.73 seconds.
Teixiera Johnson of Hydel High secured an unexpected win in the Girls’ Class Four 100m final with a new personal best of 11.87 seconds. Mick-Kayla Gadener from Wolmer’s Girls claimed second place with a time of 12.27 seconds, while the highly favoured Rihana Scott of Ferncourt High finished third with a time of 12.31 seconds.
Hydel High’s Alliah Baker powered home in 11.34 for the girls’ crown, overtaking Jounee Armstrong of Edwin Allen and Mickayla Gardener of Wolmer’s Girls to lower her previous best of 11.59 set on January 6.
Armstrong finished second in 11.52 while Gardener outpaced Chevauna Grant of Titchfield High for third place. Both athletes were credited with 11.59.
