#GLNRChamps: Defending champions Calabar, Edwin Allen continue dominance

Defending champions Calabar and Edwin Allen retained their respective titles at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Athletics Championships at the National Stadium on Saturday with comfortable victories.

Calabar were winning their seventh straight title ahead of rivals Kingston College (KC) and Jamaica College. It is the Red Hills Road-based institution's 28th overall hold on the Mortimer Geddes trophy.

The Lions tallied 368.50 points, KC scored 278; Jamaica College 224.50; St Jago 146; St Elizabeth Technical 95 and Wolmer's 94.5.

Edwin Allen's athletes, who produced some outstanding performance during the five day championships, tallied 326 points to win their fifth straight title and sixth overall.

However, they had to withstand a late challenge from their rivals Holmwood, who finished second with 287 followed by Hydel 277 and St Jago 180, Vere Technical 106.50 and Excelsior 103.50.

Calabar's distance runner Kevroy Venson completed his double when he produced a magnificent performance to win the boys 5000m open, defeating the defending champion Aryamanya Rodgers (KC) in a time of 15:14.96. Rodgers was second in 15:96.36. The outstanding Venson also won the 1500m on Friday.  

Calabar’s sprinter hurdler Dejour Russell, who is set compete at next month's Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, was also in record breaking mode, when he won the boys Class One 110m hurdles in 13.10 seconds.

Russell’s mark eclipsed the previous time of 13.21, which he set last year. His team-mate Orlando Bennett crossed the line next in 13.30 seconds, while St Jago’s Rasheed Broadbell took the bronze in 13.43 seconds.

Calabar’s Christopher Taylor was another outstanding performer at the championships, after he collected three gold medals.

Taylor won the boys Class One 200m in personal 20.35 seconds. He then returned to anchor his school to gold medals in the Class One 4x100m and 4x400m relay respectively. In fact, Taylor produced a record run on the leg for his school in a time of 3:05.60, erasing their previous mark of 3:06.76, which they set in 2015.  

KC’s Adrian Kerr set a new record in the Class Three boys 200m final in 21.69 ahead of his teammate Bouwahjgie Nkrumie, 21.74 and Calabar's Lavoughn Douglas, 22.52.

KC’s Dashawn Morris produced an outstanding performance to win the Class One 400m in a lifetime best of 45.09 seconds. Calabar’s  Anthony Carpenter was second in a personal best  45.47

St Elizabeth Technical’s Jauavney James signed off his champs career with a classy victory in the Class One Boys 800m.

James won the event in 1:50.07 minutes ahead of JC’s Ken Reyes 1:50.28. Calabar High School's Kimar Farquharson, was third in 1:50.81.

Edwin Allen's Kevona Davis, who won three gold medals and Hydel’s Shiann Salmon were among the outstanding female performers at the championships.

Davis cemented her status as one of the country’s top junior athlete, when she broke the Class Two girls 200m record twice during the championships.

The 16-year-old Davis, smashed Anneisha McLaughlin’s 23.13, set in 2003, on Thursday night when she clocked 22.92 seconds. She then returned on Saturday to lower the mark to 22.72 seconds.

Davis’s time was one-hundredth of a second off Simone Facey’s National Junior record. The talented sprinter also broke the girls Class Two 100m record twice during championships, while captured gold.

Salmon was outstanding during the championships, as the won gold medals in the girls Class One 400m hurdles, 400m and 4x400m relay, in her final year.

Salmon captured the girls Class One 400m hurdles in a new record time of 51.88. She then returned on Saturday to win the 400m event.    

Holmwood completed the double when Rickiann Russell won the girls Class Three 400m in personal best time of 53.60 seconds.

Russell also won the Class Three 200m event.