The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

The CH Reeves Raptors surged to the top of the chart after day one of the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association’s Junior High School Track and Field Championships, taking a 11.50 points margin over their nearest rivals, SC McPherson Sharks, at the new Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium on Tuesday.

When the final day of competition is held today, the Raptors will carry a 345 lead over the Sharks’ 233.50. The TA Thompson Scorpions are sitting in third with 207.50, followed by the AF Adderley Fighting Tigers in fourth with 201 and the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves rounding out the top five with 153.

The other three schools in order are the DW Davis Davis Pitbulls with 150, the HO Nash Lions with 131 and the LW Young Golden Eagles with 117.

CH Reeves are also leading in three of the six divisions - bantam (under-13) girls with 72 points, junior girls (under-15) with 59.50 and the intermediate girls (under-17) with 62. SC McPherson is on top of the bantam boys with 53 and the junior boys with 62.50, while TA Thompson is out front in the intermediate boys with 65.

Day one featured the finals of the 100, 400, 1,200 and 1,500 metres, the 300m hurdles and the 4 x 100 metres relays on the track. In limited events on the field were the high and long jumps. The throwing events were scheduled for the College of the Bahamas.

On the track, Janika Collie led a 1-2 sweep for CH Reeves in the intermediate girls’ 300m hurdles in 52.15 with her team-mate Torinique Bernard trailing in 55.32. HO Nash’s Antonya Fertil had to settle for third in 56.91.

“It was good. There wasn’t any competition,” said Collie, the 15-year-old ninth grader who led from start to finish in a race that saw one competitor clip one of the hurdles coming off the curve. “I just tried to stay focused on my race.”

Alfred Strachan of HO Nash took the intermediate boys’ 400 hurdles in 1:03.89. He wasn’t challenged as Daniel Chervin of SC McPherson got second in 1:08.27, followed by Reo Thompson of CH Reeves in third in 1:11.70.

“There was only one winner and seven losers, so I just wanted to make sure that I won,” said Collie, a 14-year-old eighth grader. “There was plenty competition in the race, so I had to run hard.”

Oneika Rolle led a surge for CH Reeves in the century as she stopped the clock in 14.01 in the bantam girls race.

“It was good. It wasn’t fast for me,” said the 11-year-old seventh grader. “It was a good race.”

Following in the footsteps of Collie, Tomico Jolly-McKinney clinched the bantam boys’ straight away race in 13.92 as he held off SC McPherson’s Alvin Green (13.97) and Valentino Simon (14.36).

“It was okay. I saw the guy coming behind me, so I just decided to speed up,” said Jolly-McKinney, a seventh grader.

Gayneil Sands of Anatol Rodgers saved her best for the junior girls 100 final as she sped to a winning time of 13.52. DW Davis’ Proline Pierre was second in 13.84 and AF Adderley’s Charnice Forbes was third in 13.98.

“After watching the preliminaries, I knew that I could beat everyone,” said the 12-year-old eighth grader Sands. “I was very pleased with my performance.”

Sherald Williams got another victory for CH Reeves when he clocked 12.72 in the junior boys’ race. He got a strong push from Lavardo Handfield of SC McPherson, who was a step behind in 12.78. Eric Cox of DW Davis was third in 12.81.

“It was alright. I just want to thank God for my parents who were encouraging me and everyone else,” said Williams, a 14-year-old eighth grader. “The race was tough coming down. I had to hold on because he kept coming.”

Denisha Woodside of AF Adderley shook off the butterflies to capture the intermediate girls’ race for the quickest time by her gender in 13.78, ahead of CH Reeves’ Caroline Johnson (13.86) and Anatol Rodgers’ Juliet Pierre (13.93).

“At first, I started off scared, but when I got out of my blocks, I was happy to run,” said Woodside, a 14-year-old ninth grader. “I feel awesome.”

The fastest boy in the intermediate division was Okell Nesbitt of Anatol Rodgers, who ended the race in 11.77, well ahead of his team-mate, Tavonte Mott (12.07) and CH Reeves’ Lovince Charles in 12.20.

“It was a good race. I didn’t get out too good out of the blocks. It affected my race. But everything went smoothly after that,” said Nesbitt, the 15-year-old ninth grader. “My team-mate gave me some competition. So I had to step it up.”

In the one lap races, AF Adderley’s Angelina Strachan took the tape in 1:11.28 as she denied Oneika Rolle (1:13.70) a double dose of victory for CH Reeves. Carline Joseph of DW Davis was third in 1:13.74.

“I thought I wasn’t going to beat the girl from CH Reeves,” said Strachan, an 11-year-old seventh grader. “It was good to win.”

Carlos St Hillaire of AF Adderley had enough in his tank to fuel his way to victory in the bantam boys’ quarter-mile in 1:05.34, leaving LW Young’s BeVonta Newbold trying to chase him in 1:09.93. DW Davs’ Artheo Culmer was third in 1:10.99.

“It was fun and educating because I knew how to beat everybody,” said St Hillaire, a 12-year-old seventh grader. “I started out jogging and when I got to the 200, I started to sprint.”

The junior girls’ 400 was a 1-2 punch for CH Reeves as well with Amanda Clarke taking the lead through the finish line in 1:08.65, followed by Shanique Knowles in 1:10.03. They out-distanced TA Thompson’s Keshontae Johnson, who had to settle for third in 1:13.25.

“My team-mate told me to go because she had just finished running the 1,500,” said Clarke, a 12-year-old eighth grader. “So I went. And she came behind me.”

Clifford Dean kept the rally going for CH Reeves when he crossed the line in 57.30 in the junior boys’ quartermile ahead of SC McPherson’s duo of Lavardo Handfield (57.76) and Tyler Gardiner (58.74).

“It was good, even though I still didn’t run the 54 (seconds) that I wanted to run,” said Dean, a 13-year-old eighth grader. “It was a bit hard. I had to maintain my pace and pick it up at the 100m.”

In the intermediate girls’ one lapper, Juliet Pierre moved up the ladder from her third in the straight away race to cut the tape in 1:07.59, holding off another SC McPherson pair as Devenette Ferguson (1:08.75) and Whitney Thompson (1:09.14) took the next two spots.

“It was good. I was just thinking about how fast I could go to come first,” said Pierre, a 14-year-old ninth grader.

And in the hotly contested intermediate boys’ 400, Jeremy Thompson of HO Nash was ahead of the field in 56.22. His nearest rival was TA Thompson’s Alexander Scavella in 57.14. CH Reeves’ Anticko Rolle got third in 58.56.

“When we were running, I had to pace myself and not push too hard because I had to give it my all at the end,” said Thompson, a 14-year-old ninth grader. “I was very pleased with my performance (especially coming out of lane one).”

Lashanter St Hillaire got another victory for AF Adderley in the bantam girls’ 1,200m in 4:49.13 as she held off the CH Reeves’ duo of Shanyah Bowe (4:55.44) and Judy Forbes (4:59.58).

“I was scared because the next girl was right behind me, so I just kept on running and I tried to keep my pace,” said St Hillaire after her performance.

DeVonta Newbold of LW Young powered to victory in the bantam boys’ 1,200 in 4:23.24, leaving AF Adderley’s Samuel Gibson (4:24.91) trying to catch him. Hesley Charlton of CH Reeves was third in 4:27.48.

“It was great,” said 12-year-old Newbold, who is in grade seven. “When I started, I decided to go out slow. On the second lap, I picked it up and then on the third lap, I went for it.”

In the junior girls’ 1,500m, Shanique Knowles took top honours for CH Reeves after she came from behind on the home stretch to post a time of 5:30.97 as she edged out TA Thompson’s Carvator Brown-Pratt (5:31.30). Cindy Desir of DW Davis was third in 5:51.77.

“It was just great,” said Knowles, a 12-year-old seventh grader. “I just wanted to do better for the team and help us to win another championship.”

Desmond Jones picked up some needed points for LW Young when he completed the three and-a-half lap race in the junior boys’ division in 5:11.74 for the victory over DW Davis’ Marfeeyou Joseph (5:18.31) and CH Reeves’ Abrian Rahming (5:19.35).

“It was a good race. I just jogged the first three laps and waited until the final 200 and ran it like it was a sprint,” said Jones, a 13-year-old ninth grader. “I waited until he (Joseph) blew his legs out and I picked it up at the 200. I wasn’t concerned about him at all.”

In the intermediate girls’ 1,500m, Dana Francois of TA Thompdon was a little too much to handle as she completed the race in 6:11.33. LW Young’s Soyini Lawrence was second in 6:17.70 and CH Reeves’ Tarshinka Bethel was third in 6:26.23.

“It was very good. At first I thought I was going to lose, but I was very pleased with the way I held on for the win,” said Francois, a 13-year-old ninth grader.

And Ishmeal Lowe of DW Davis ran away with the intermediate boys’ 1,500 title in 5:04.31. TA Thompson’s Kevin Telcy came in second in 5:09.56 and CH Reeves’ Dominique McIntosh got third in 5:16.49.

“It was good. I saw them coming so I sped up,” said Lowe, the 14-year-old ninth grader who ended up lapping at least one of the competitors in his sprint to the finish line.

In the first field event contested, AF Adderley’s Tyrone Sands Jr soared 1.54 metres or 5-feet, 1/2-inch to out-last TA Thompson’s Dawson Scavella (1.52m, 4-11 3/4) and Vano Rahming (1.47m, 4-9 3/4).

“I did great. I knew I could do better, but I had a lot of pressure on me to try and win for my school,” said the 14-year-old. “I feel good. The competition was stiff from the guy who came second. I was just ready for him.”

And Alexis Miller of LW Young took the junior girls’ high jump with her leap of 1.35m (4-5) over TA Thompson’s Kadmiel Atkinson and SC McPherson’s Tashara Cartwright and DW Davis’ Jessica Philstine, who did 1.27m, 4-2. Atkinson was awarded second on the count back, while the other two were tied for third.

“It was really good, but I messed up a little,” said Miller, the 14-year-old eighth grader. “I went in and I drove my knee into the bar. So I couldn’t get a better jump. The competition was okay.”

The junior segment of the GSSSA is expected to finish today with the opening ceremonies at 9am, followed by the finals in the 200, 800, high hurdles and 4 x 400 relays. The senior version of the championship is scheduled to pick up on Thursday and continue Friday. And the CR Walker Knights will be out to defend their title.