THE ONLY THINGS MISSING from Malachi Harris yesterday were a cape draped around his shoulders and a ‘S’ on his chest.
The Deacons’ wonder boy turned in yet another superman performance on his way to breaking the lone record to fall during the semifinals of the Pine Hill Dairy National Primary School Athletics Championships (NAPSAC) at the National Stadium.
The towering Harris finally managed to overtake Matthew Jones’ seven-year-old cricket ball throw record in the Under-11 boys division, after falling just short in both the preliminary and quarter-final rounds.
His throw of 67.40 metres was enough to eclipse Jones’ old mark of 67.13 metres which was set in 2007 and over 17 metres more than second placed Joshua Morris (50.28) of Wesley Hall.
Harris’ feats didn’t end there, as he returned to post the fastest times in both the 100 metres (13.84) and the 200 metres (27.91), and barring a dramatic turnaround, looks a sure bet to capture the Victor Ludorum title during next week’s finals.
Ebony Wint of Charles F Broome had the distinction of winning the first gold medal at this year’s championships after leaping to victory in the open girls’ high jump.
Her 1.37 metre effort was however well short of the record of 1.48 metres. Her teammate Dana Goodridge placed second after clearing 1.25 metres and Good Shepherd’s Rheana Stuart (1.20 metres) finished third.
With the high jump being the only final of the day, Wint and Goodridge’s 1-2 finish propelled their school to the top of the standings among the females with 18 points, with St Angela’s second on nine points, Good Shepherd third on eight points, and St Winifred’s and Belmont fourth and fifth with three points and one point, respectively.
Bayleys shot to the top of the Boys on the heels of Josh-Dayo Weekes’ first place showing in the open boys’ high jump.
Weekes cleared 1.31 metres, the same as second placed Je’Hayden Boyce of All Saints, with Brandon Fanfan-Alleyne of Hilda Skeene placing third with a leap of 1.28 metres.
As expected, one of the most exciting rivalries took place among the Under-9 Girls, where West Terrace’s Skye Spencer-Layne, Sharon’s Samiya Dell and Ciara Piggot of St Stephen’s battled all day.
And their 1-2-3 finish in the 150 metre dash best showcased that competitiveness, where Spencer-Layne (15.59), Dell (15.59) and Piggott (15.62), could barely be separated.
Fireworks are also expected when Sarah Belle of St George Primary and Indica Kellman-Wall of Wilkie Cumberbatch clash in the finals of the 200, 400 and 600 metre events.
Both clocked similar times in all three events, with Belle finishing in 1:05.42 in the 400 metres, 1:51.43 in the 600 and 27.42 in the 200 metres, while Kellman-Wall raced home in 1:05.77, 1:51.10 and 27.94 seconds respectively.
One of the day’s biggest shocks came when Under-13 boys’ 400 metres favourite, Ialpha Nedd (1:03.56) of A Dacosta Edwards Primary, was beaten in his heat by Sharon’s Savion Hoyte, who recorded the fastest time of 1:03.29.
