Three more records fell yesterday as Springer Memorial and Coleridge and Parry have taken the respective leads in the Powerade Barbados Secondary Schools’ Athletic Championships at the National Stadium.
Springer Memorial continue to lead the girls with 55.5 points, eight more than Harrison College. Parkinson Memorial are in third place with 30 points, four more than Combermere.
With 48.5 points, Coleridge and Parry hold a slim lead over The Lester Vaughan School (46), Queen’s College (41), Combermere (40.13) and St Leonard’s Boys’ with 39.63.
The resurgent Combermere were led by Matthew Clarke in the Under-13 division.
He leapt to a new record of 5.34 metres in the long jump, replacing Corey Bryan’s 17-year mark of 5.26 metres.
In the afternoon session, Lester Vaughan’s Brandon Hope jumped into the record books with 1.88 metres in the Under-15 Boys’ high jump, replacing the 1.87 set by Ramarco Thompson last year.
On the track, Alleyne’s Khobi Noel impressed all who saw him in the heats of the Junior Boys’ 1 500 metres, but he was equally outstanding in the 3 000 with a new record of 10 minutes, 14.81 seconds.
Noel set a cruel pace that soon saw him leading by more than 100 metres and picking off the stragglers. At the bell, the clock was in the region of 8:54 and the record looked imminent when he slowed on the backstretch.
But with 200 metres to go, he hit full throttle and could have been faster if he didn’t have to navigate around those who were lapped but hadn’t moved into Lane 2.
Parkinson’s Sonia Gaskin won the Senior Girls’ 3 000m in 11:14.60.
With St George’s Mary Fraser, the defending champion noticeably absent, Gaskin took the pace to Combermere’s Cindy Forde, who is clearly not to full fitness.
She was about 18 seconds behind, but her teammate Shani Adams was forced to drop out with six laps remaining. Jade Searles of Springer was third.
In other finals contested yesterday, Combermere’s Rhys Phillips saved the best for last, pulling it all out in the 1 500 metres to jump from third to first with 3 528 points, nipping
St Leonard’s Klode Thompson (3 520) who had been leading. Daley Carter of The St Michael School, was third with 3 314.
Tristan Whitehall won the Under-20 Boys’ shot put with 15.40 metres, falling short of John Jones’ BSSAC record of 15.76 after throwing in excess of 16 metres several times this season.
Romario Antoine of Deighton Griffith (15.07) and Combermere’s Jamario Clarke (15.04) were second and third, respectively, also hitting the CARIFTA qualifying standard of 15 metres flat.
Coleridge and Parry were one-two in the Under-17 Boys’ discus through Aaron Griffith (38.20m) and Juvon Layne (34.06m), while Kentoine Browne of Deighton Griffith won the Under-17 Boys’ javelin with 43 metres flat.
Garrison’s Ashantia Phillips cleared 1.64m to win the Under-17 Girls’ high jump. Cricketer Hayley Matthews of Harrison College won the Junior Girls’ javelin with 28.35m and Alleyne’s Vanessa Joseph the Under-20 Girls’ discus with a best of 37.53m.
The boys really came to dance in the Under-17 long jump. Mario Burke of Harrison College went into the lead with 6.46 metres and St Leonard’s Dylan Caddle (6.45) slipped to second.
Then Combermere’s Josiah Beckles raised the ante with 6.49m and Burke came back with 6.48 to take second. Deighton’s Evrico Inniss also had 6.48, but Burke’s series was better, giving him the silver medal.
The action was also hot on the track for the heats of the 100 metres and intermediate hurdles, while some athletes saw their hopes of a medal fade in the semi-finals of the 400 metres.
Combermere and Garrison were the two fastest quailfiers in the Girls’ 4×400 relay heats, while The Lodge and Combermere were the top two in the Boys’ 4×400.
