Emphatic victories in the4x400 metres Open Boys’ and Girls’ relays was just what Christ Church Foundation needed to take their bow as double crown champions in the Esther Maynard Zone of the Powerade Barbados Secondary Schools’ Athletics Championships (BSSAC)at the National Stadium yesterday.
The 95-member team threw down the gauntlet to take the lead from the very first day of competition which got started on Tuesday.
Maintaining their A class performance, the girls took the title for the second consecutive year with 471 points, while the boys derailed Harrison College from achieving the double, amassing 411 points.
Former queens Springer Memorial were second with 435 points while Harrison College were third on 284 points.
After taking the lead earlier in the day, Harrison College boys had to settle for second with 382.50 points while St Leonard’s Boys’ were third once again with 267.50 points.
A dynamic relay boys quartet of Brendon Hoyte, Delano Wickham, Shane Thorne and anchor Ondre Callender set a new zone record of 3:17.10 minutes.
The girls’ foursome of Sarah Belle, Rosette Hoyte, Kyla Cummins and Chloe Lucas easily won in 3:57.24 minutes from Springer Memorial, who clocked 4:02.23 minutes.
Foundation’s six-footer Nathan Crawford-Wallis erased the zone record with a leap of 1.89 metres in the Under-17 Boys’ high jump to enhance his CARIFTA Games’ selection. Romancia Odwin also won the Under-20 Girls’ discus with a throw of 31.76 metres.
In the Under-15 Boys’ 800 metres, Foundation’s Kobe Hutson set a new zone record of 2:14.47 minutes.
Though the Harrison College boys didn’t repeat as champions, they rolled out their CARIFTA athletes.
Triston Gibbons, with a huge put of 18.63 metres, demolished the BSSAC Under-20 Boys’ shot put record of 17.40 metres which was set by Daquan Lovell of St George Secondary in 2015.
CARIFTA gold medallist Rasheeme Griffith ran away with the 400 metres hurdles in a time of 52.45 seconds.
Double CARIFTA gold medallist Jonathan Jones won the 800 metres in 1:56.25 minutes while his teammate Rio Williams was second in 1:59. 00 minutes. HC’s Zion Hill qualified for the CARIFTA Games again with a throw of 62.33 metres in the Under-20 Boys’ javelin.
Foundation’s Sarah Belle established a new zonal record of 43.69 seconds in the Under-17 Girls’ 300 metres hurdles. Caleb Massiah of Harrison College also smashed the former zone best of 44.36 seconds when he logged 41.46 seconds. He also broke the record in the Junior Boys’ javelin throw with 35.68 metres and Under-15 Boys’ long jump with a leap of 6.02 metres.
Picking up from where she left off on Tuesday, Hannah Connell slammed the track to finish the Under-20 girls 200 metres in 24. 80 seconds.
Springer Memorial’s Drew-Ann Clarke gave a strong performance to win the Under-20 Girls’ 400-metre hurdles in 68.07 seconds.
St George Secondary’s Danica Gittens ran record times in both the Under-15 Girls’ 200 metres and the 200-metre hurdles in 25.77 and 28.85 seconds respectively.
Ellerslie’s Shahada Headley performed outstandingly winning the junior girls discus with 20.83 metres.
Multi-sport athlete Shonte Seale of Springer Memorial cleared the bar with 1.60 metres to take the Under-20 Girls’ high jump while Clarke gained the silver with 1.55 metres.
St Leonard’s swept two wins in the Under-13 and Under-15 Boys’ 200 metres finals through Tyjah Bishop and Jadon Pearce in 26.24 and 23.53 respectively. Their schoolmate Imani Austin won the Junior Boys’ shot put with 12.10 metres.
Layla Haynes of Harrison College broke the zone record when she clocked 2:28.11 minutes in the Under-15 Girls’ 800 metres.
