AND THE BLUES HAVE IT

The 116th ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) were all blue, as Edwin Allen dethroned defending champions Hydel to secure their 11th title, while Jamaica College got the better of defending champions Kingston College to claim their 23rd. It was wire-to-wire victories for both teams, who led from the opening day.

After 46 events Edwin Allen sat atop the standings with 338.5 points, ahead of defending champions Hydel (259.5), Holmwood (167), Immaculate Conception (110), and St Jago (91), rounding out the top five.

On the boys’ side, after 42 finals, Jamaica College ended on 345 points, followed by Kingston College (282), Calabar (169.33), St Jago (121.83), and Wolmer’s (105) completing the top five.

Edwin Allen’s girls dominated the 4x100m relays, winning two and finishing second in two. Their Class 1 team got the show under way, winning in 44.43 seconds, ahead of Hydel (45.25) and Holmwood (46.80).

Their Class 4 team won in 47.64 seconds, ahead of Hydel (48.36) and Vere Technical (48.44). In Class 2, they clocked 45.25 seconds to finish second behind St Jago, who won in a meet record 44.81, while they were also second in Class 3 in 45.81, as Convent of Mercy Academy (Alpha) won in 44.59.

Honours were shared among the boys, with Jamaica College, Excelsior, and Wolmer’s each winning one event.

In Class 1, Excelsior, without their Class 1 100m champion Riquelme Reid, won in 39.53 seconds, as Jamaica College and Kingston College both clocked 39.66 for second and third respectively.

Jamaica College won Class 2 in 40.32, ahead of Calabar (40.42) and Kingston College (49.48).

Wolmer’s ran out easy winners in Class 3 in 42.70, ahead of Jamaica College (43.31) and St Jago (43.41).

Not for the first time in the last five days, Shanoya Douglas of Holland High was on fire inside the National Stadium, delivering a stunning performance in the Class 1 girls’ 200m.

Douglas blew away her rivals to win the event in a national junior record of 22.36 seconds, despite running into a negative 1.6-metre per second wind. Edwin Allen’s pair of Alexxe Henry (23.63) and Shanique Cassanova (24.27) finished second and third respectively.

FASTEST EVER TIME

The winning time by Douglas was the fastest ever by a Jamaican junior female athlete. In the process, she erased the Champs record of 22.53 set in 2022 by former St Jago High athlete Brianna Lyston, and also broke the national junior record of 22.50 seconds held by Briana Williams.

Douglas, who had earlier captured the Class 1 100 metres, was one of several double winners on the day.

Wolmer’s Natrece East completed the girls’ Class 2 sprint double, following her 100m win with victory in the 200 metres in 23.54.

Alex Jordan-Hall of Clarendon College, Kevongaye Fowler of Edwin Allen, and Julius Itubo of Kingston College all secured doubles, adding the 800 metres to their earlier 1500m wins.

Hall won the girls’ Class 3 in 2:14.92, Fowler took Class 2 in 2:09.96, while Itubo won the boys’ Class 3 in a meet record 1:57.52.

Jason Pitter of Kingston College, following his record run in the boys’ Class 2 400m, with a 200m win in 21.03.

Following her win in the Open 2000m steeplechase, Sushana Johnson of Edwin Allen returned to capture the Open 3000m for girls in 10:38.18.

In the boys’ Class 2 800m, Markland Williams of Denbigh High registered the first-ever win at the championships by an athlete from the May Pen-based institution, clocking an impressive personal best 1:52.58.

Tashana Godfrey of Edwin Allen High successfully defended her Class 3 80m hurdles title, equalling the meet record of 10.80 seconds. Azarria Harris of Alpha, who broke the record in Friday’s semifinal, finished second in 10.96, with Danelia Clarke of Edwin Allen, third in 11.26.

Addison James of Edwin Allen High wrote his name in the record books after winning the Open javelin throw with a distance of 70.30m.

Clarendon College’s Marla Kay Lampart gave her school their second throwing success of the meet, capturing the girls’ Class 2 shot put with a heave of 14.07 metres. Katie Gordon of Excelsior finished second with 12.75m, while Gabrielle Merchant of Vere Technical was third with 12.59m.