Othneil Taitt of St Patrick's crossing the finish line ahead of the pack in the Under-9 Boys' 80 metres dash. (Pictures by Cherie Pitt.)

by Sherrylyn A. Toppin

DOUBLE defending champions Hillaby/Turner's Hall were dethroned yesterday during the Zone 3 meet of the 2007 National Primary Schools' Athletics Championships (NAPSAC)
at the National Stadium.

In the Boys' Division, Hillaby fell
to third place, as St Matthew's Primary surged to the top with 538 points,
an all-round team performance,
and were fourth among the girls which was won by Cuthbert Moore.

Cuthbert Moore were second among the boys with 523.5 points, followed by Hillaby Turner's Hall with 511 points, All Saints' (437) and People's Cathedral (409.5) who have steadily improved
over the years.

Cuthbert Moore dominated the Girls' Division, thanks largely to their
Under-13 sprinters who were in good form as individuals and simply unbeatable as a unit. They finished with 550.5 points, All Saints' was second with 479.5, St Matthew's third with 476, Hillaby fourth with 446 and Belmont fifth with 365.

Merissa Clarke of Cuthbert Moore won the Under-13 Girls' 400 metres in 68.47 seconds. She won the 200 metres (28.95) from teammate Shonique Best (29.37) and the pair exchanged positions in the 100 metres, with Best timed at 14.08 and Clarke 14.23.

Dherisha Lashley of Cuthbert Moore won the Under-11 Girls' 400 metres in 73.92 seconds, but teammate Sharima Best (15.00) had to settle for second place behind Mount Tabor's Tristan Evelyn (14.64) who remains a winner even as she advances in the competition year after year. She also won the 200 metres in 30.70 seconds, with Best second in 30.86 seconds.

Among the boys, Kody Lampitt of
St Martin's-Mangrove won the admiration of all the spectators. Running bare footed, a tam covering his locks,
he smoked the field in the 100 metres in 13.69 seconds from school mate Roshawn Taitt (13.86). The pair finished one-two in the 200 metres, Lampitt in 28.14 and Taitt in 28.17. If they'd had a better start in the 4x100 metres relay, they probably would've won it, as Lampitt ran back through the field, but couldn't do much by himself.

St Patrick's won both of the longer races, with Rasheda Small taking the 600 metres in 2 minutes, 01.97 seconds and Shamari Ishmael the 800 metres
in 2:46.67.

The victrix ludorum title went
to nine-year-old Ericka Jemmont
of All Saints' Primary with 74 points.
She won the Under-9 Girls' 100 metres (16.16) and 150 (24.72), and was second in the 80 metres (13.17) and the long jump (2.72 metres).

Shaquon Grandison of St Matthew's was the victor ludorum with 64 points. Competing in the Under-11 Division,
the ten-year-old was second in the 200 metres (30.10); third in the 400 (72.77) and the long jump (3.67) and
placed fourth in the 100 metres
in 14.42 seconds.

Only one record was broken yesterday. Ohagi Edwards of Cuthbert Moore Primary is now the one to beat with
a leap of 4.10 metres in the
Under-11 Boys' long jump, setting
a new NAPSAC record.

The meet continues today with Zone 4 action.

Division Champions

Under-7 Girls': Aliyah Daniel (Hillaby Turner's Hall) 37 points

Under-7 Boys': Reaquon Small (Cuthbert Moore) 48.5

Under-9 Girls': Ericka Jemmott (All Saints') 74

Under-9 Boys': Kadeem Alleyne (Hillaby Turner's Hall) 61

Under-11 Girls': Tristan Evelyn (Mount Tabor) 62

Under-11 Boys': Shaquon Grandison (St Matthew's) 64

Under-13 Girls': Ashlee Kirton (St Patrick's) 62

Under-13 Boys': Deshawn Waison (St Matthew's) 59.5

Victrix ludorum: Ericka Jemmott

Victor ludorum: Shaquon Grandison