The young ones shall lead them. Eight-year-old Eliezer Williams of St Alban’s showed age was nothing but a number when he crushed two records and claimed the victor ludorum title to lead St Alban’s Boys’ to victory in the Andrea Blackett Zone of the National Primary Schools Athletic Championships.
And Good Shepherd’s Under-13 queen Zarina Williams was the one to ensure her school had another taste of victory during the meet at the Usain Bolt Sports Complex yesterday.
St Alban’s boys seized the title with 253 points while former champions St Cyprian’s Boys’ was second with 229 points. Third place went to Good Shepherd Primary who gained 189 points.
Good Shepherd were female champions with 204.50 points. The 2017 zone champions Selah Primary were the runners-up and third went to St Joseph Primary with 146 and 132 points respectively.
Williams tore the paint off the track when he smashed records formerly set by students of Selah Primary in the Under-9 Boys’ 80 and 150 metres.
He shattered the 80 metres time of 12.15 seconds set in 2009 by Tyriz Skinner when he beat the clock to register a new meet time of 11.74 seconds. In the 150 metres, he erased Dejaun Toppin’s 23.02 seconds to record 21.97 seconds.
Williams also placed second in the long jump with 3.45 metres after losing it to Good Shepherd’s Cayden Thornehill who made the winning jump with a measurement of 3.58 metres.
An earlier fault in the Under-11 Boys’ 100 metres was clarified for Jayden Cummins of Good Shepherd to share the victor ludorum title with Williams after also gaining 28 points.
He crossed the line first in 14.12 seconds and won the long jump with a distance of 4.32 metres.
Cummins, however, was second in the 200 metres to St Alban’s Isaiah Marshall who won in a time of 29.35 seconds.
Zarina Williams took the victrix ludorum title on her own with 28 points after capturing two golds and a silver.
She clinched the Under-13 girls’ 200 metres in 28.67 seconds and the long jump with a leap of 4.22 metres.
Zarina was second in the 400 metres in one minute 9.85 seconds which was won by Imani Firebrace of St Joseph Primary in 1:07.15 minutes.
Jayden Green of St Cyprian’s Boys’ was excited to break the high jump open record of 1.25 metres set in 2016 to print 1.31 metres.
St Alban’s Riched Cumberbatch equalled his jump but was given the silver.
Shamari “Supermari” Addison, who also hails from the champion boys school, finished the Under-13 200 metres in a record time of 27.90 seconds.
A four-member team of Tre Inniss, Jayden Green, Mateo Butcher and Amari Forde were all delighted to see their Under-13 boys’ 4 x100 metres relay record time of 55.85 seconds on the clock.
They erased last year’s time of 57.59 seconds set by St Alban’s Primary and this year’s team from St Alban’s also ran under the record time to clock 56.12 seconds.
A total of nine records were broken yesterday. (RG)