Buoyed by boisterous crowd support, there was no stopping West Terrace Primary School yesterday as they ran away with the Girls’ and Boys’ divisions in the Nation Publishing Patsy Callender Zone at the Usain Bolt Sports Complex.
At the end of Day 5 of the Chefette Frosteez National Primary School Athletic Championship (NAPSAC), the Saint James school finished on 328 points in the Girls’ Division, 163.5 points clear of St Albans Primary in second. Vauxhall Primary School were further adrift in third with 163 points.
The route to the Boys’ Division was equally straightforward as 138 points separated the top two, West Terrace ending with 316 points to St Albans Primary’s 178. Completing the podium was Vauxhall Primary on 148 points.
Despite the large number of athletic ability on display from every school, the Victor Ludorum could only have been Nathan Philips for his electrifying performances. So fleet of foot was the eight-year-old from Vauxhall Primary that it seemed fitting the heavens opened up briefly to cool down the track after his last individual race.
He clocked in at 12.56 seconds and 15:44, respectively in the 80 and 100 metre dashes, comfortably ahead of his competitors. Philips saved his best performance for the 150 metre event where his lithe frame ate up the track. Head swaying, arms swinging but most importantly feet motoring, he catapulted to a time of 23.15 seconds. Davico Stevenson, who came in at 24.12, was fighting for second from the onset.
The Victrix Ludorum award was shared by Kalia Curwen from West Terrace Primary and George Lamming Primary’s Rejada Hinds.
Ten-year-old Curwen was the fastest athlete in the Under-11 age category across both divisions. Her time of 14.55 seconds was much quicker than her competition Amiyah Prescod from Vauxhall (14.94) and Makhia Gittens of Mount Tabor Primary School (15.15). But she would have also clocked ahead of the fastest boy in that division as Alex Jones-Ifill won with 14.60.
Curwen would go on to win her 200 metres event in 30.59, with Prescod much closer behind in 31.07. She also won the long jump with a distance of 3.81m.
Hinds was equally impressive, lengthening her stride to win the Under-13 girls’ 100 and 200 metre events with relative ease as nobody came close to her times of 13.93 and 28.72, respectively.
Her agility made the long jump a foregone conclusion, leaping to 3.32 metres. Skyy Dowridge from West Terrace was second with 3.23 metres.
For the first time in the 2023 NAPSAC, there was an unattached athlete competing in events.
Six-year-old Yasmin Eastmond came first in the Under-7 Girls’ Tennis Ball Throw with a distance of 15.84 metres. The next best was 12.41 by Freya-Rose Smith from St Winifred’s School. A distance of 1.24m was good enough for Eastmond to place second in the standing broad jump to Smith.
Legacy Preparatory did not place in the standings of their first ever full edition of NAPSAC. (JC)
Final Points:
Girls
- West Terrace Primary School 328
- St Albans Primary School 50
- Vauxhall Primary School 163
- George Lamming Primary School 121
- St Winifred’s School 50
- Mount Tabor Primary School 85
- St Silas Primary School 70
- Westbury Primary School 32
- Wills Primary School 9
- Imperial Private School 7
Boys
- West Terrace Primary School 316
- St Albans Primary School 178
- Vauxhall Primary School 148
- Mount Tabor Primary School 117
- George Lamming Primary School 109
- St Winifred’s School 108
- Westbury Primary School 84
- St Silas Primary School 49
- Wills Primary School 10
- Imperial Private School 10
