Athletes from rural schools were among some of the outstanding performers in field events during the finals at the National Primary Schools Athletics Championships (NAPSAC) on Thursday at the Usain Bolt Sports Complex.
St Alban’s and St Giles dominated the track as they emerged as first-time boys’ and girls’ champions with 126 and 109 points, respectively.
A breakdown of St Alban’s boys’ points showed they gained 60 among the individual races, 44 in relays and just 22 in field events.
St Giles’ girls accumulated 57 in the sprints and 20 in the relays while they also benefited from 32 points in field events.
St Lucy Primary, who finished eighth, got the most points – 39.33 – among the girls in field events while amassing an overall tally of 46.33.
Former champions Charles F. Broome, who came a disappointing seventh in both boys’ and girls’ divisions, had the most field points among the boys, 32. They managed only five in the individual races on the track and 18 in the relays to end with 55.
But there were several from other schools who made an impact off the Ryan Brathwaite Track.
St Philip’s Jacobe Griffith hurled the cricket ball 64.10 metres to win the Under-13 Boys’ event from Grantley Prescod’s Jalani Phillips (59.17).
St Gabriel’s Jules Ogarro was a double winner in field events. He threw 55.53 metres to win the Under-11 Boys’ cricket ball throw and leapt 4.53 metres to take the long jump.
Gordon Greenidge’s Keidasha Thomas (46.95 metres) and Hill Top’s Eboni Brathwaite (39.94) also won the cricket ball throw for Under-13 and Under-11 Girls’, respectively.
Bay Primary’s Shay Mottley (24.18) and St Giles’ Rejada Hinds (16.79) got gold in the Under-7 Boys’ and Girls’ tennis ball throw, respectively, while Grazettes’ Shamyra Scantlebury (28.38) and St Silas’ Shakem Murphy (36.79) triumphed among the Under-9 Girls and Boys. Bayleys’ Jadaeya Holder (26.09) was second behind Scantlebury.
St Lucy’s Shayla Clarke triumphed in the Under-13 Girls’ long jump with a leap of 4.47 metres, while Charles F. Broome swept the top two positions among the Under-13 Boys through Ramero Pinder (4.87) and Aaron Massiah (4.84).
In the standing broad jump, St Cyprian’s Keidon Waterman (1.55) and Charles F. Broome’s Mirai Jones (1.67) were the gold medallists, while West Terrace’s Zariah Browne (3.27) prevailed in the Under-9 Girls’ long jump.
Bay Primary, who were joint fourth with Luther Thorne in the boys’ division, accrued the most points in the relays, gaining 50 out of an overall total of 68.
They won both the Under-9 Girls’ and Boys’ 4×100-metre races as well as the Open Boys’ medley. (EZS)
