The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

COUNT it 10 straight for the CR Walker Knights as they were crowned the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association’s track and field champions again.

In what came down to their closest battle, the Knights held off the surging CV Bethel Stingrays by just 36 points as they took their victory lap at the new Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium on Friday.

CR Walker added another to their collection as they posted a total of 616 points ahead of CV Bethel’s 580 in what turned out to be a two-way battle in the two- day senior high meet that followed on the heels of the CH Reeves Raptors taking their fifth straight title in the junior high version of the meet on Wednesday.

“I don’t like winning by three and something points. I like this when it comes down close to this when the title is on the line going into the relays,” said CR Walker’s head coach Floyd Armbrister. “I see how SAC (St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine) feels with their SAC pride.

“It builds that kind of pride within the school. But to coach this team to a 10th straight victory, I can now ride that white knight horse into the sunset. I really think I could retire after this performance.”

If he decides to call it quits, which his assistant Tyrice Curry feels won’t happen just yet, the Knights should still be a force to reckon with next year.

“This was supposed to be our rebuilding year, but these kids showed that CR Walker pride,” Curry said. “We have a lot of kids in the 10th and 11th grade who will be our core for next year, so we’re sitting pretty good. We just have to work on those who didn’t come out this year and help to make us even stronger.”

The Knights topped the field in the under-17 girls’ intermediate division with 183 over the Stingrays’ 116 and they also won the under-20 senior boys division with 156 compared to the Stingrays’ 142.

The Stingrays, coached by Rupert Gardiner, edged out the Knights 173-164 in the under-20 senior girls division and dominated the under-17 intermediate boys with a 149-113 margin over their arch-rivals.

“I expected it to be close because I knew from last year what CV Bethel had so I knew we had some ground work to do,” Armbrister said. “But I thank God for schools like Doris Johnson and CC Sweeting because CR Walker got some help.

“If some of those schools didn’t have some athletes who stepped up, it would have been even closer than that. So we had help this time this year from the other schools to take away some points from CV Bethel.”

The RM Bailey Pacers were a distant third with 284 points, while the Government High Magic nipped the CC Sweeting Cobras for fourth 274-270. The CI Gibson Rattlers were sixth with 257, the Dame Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins seventh with 229 and the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves rounding out the field with 169 in eighth place.

The meet produced some outstanding performances, including three qualifying feats from CC Sweeting Cobras’ Ken Mullings in the under-17 boys high jump and Joshua Stubbs in the under-20 boys 400 metre hurdles, along with CR Walker’s LaQuan Nairn in the under-20 boys long jump.

Stubbs actually did the qualifying time of 54.84 seconds when he won his heat in 54.77. He came back in the final and won in 55.72 seconds with Doris Johnson’s Eric Davis coming the closest in 58.75. CC Sweeting’s Shaquille Bain was third in 58.91.

“I knew I couldn’t run that time again, so I just told myself to go out hard, relax on the back stretch and get ready to bring it home,” said Stubbs, a 17-year-old 12th grader. “I already qualified twice, so I just have to get my body used to doing it consistently because I know I have to run well in both the heats and the finals if I want to win at Carifta.”

Mullings, on the other hand, cleared 1.90 metres or 6-feet, 2 34-inches to pick up the win as he surpassed the Carifta qualifying height of 1.83.6-0 that was matched by CV Bethel’s Livingstone Bramwell with second place. Shane Smith of CI Gibson got third at 1.73m/5-8.

“It was quite competitive because the other guys had a lot of confidence just like me, but I had to stay focused and be ready to jump my personal best, if I wanted to win,” said Mullings, a 15-year-old 10th grader. “I felt good, but I wasn’t too surprised because I jumped the qualifying height in practice, so I just had to do it in competition.”

Mullings had an exceptional meet as he also clinched victories in the long jump with a leap of 6.20m/20-4 1/4 and the triple jump with a mark of 12.58m/41-3 1/4.

Nairn, who put on a spectacular performance in surpassing the Carifta high jump qualifying mark of 2.0m/6-6 3/4 with his personal best of 2.10m/6-10 3/4 at the Road Runners Invitational, finally got the long jump qualifying mark of 7.10m/23-3 1/2. Nairn came through in the high jump with 2.00m/6-6 3/4.

He was a double bronze medallist in the two events in the under-17 division at Carifta in Kingston, Jamaica, last year and is hoping to duplicate the medal feat again this year here at home.

The meet also saw a number of double winners.

CR Walker’s Jeorgette Williams, who took the under-7 girls 200 (26.14) and 400 (1:03.88) and Anatol Rodgers’ Tahj’Nee Thurston got her own in the under-17 girls shot put (8.60m/28-2 3/4) and discus (28.83m/94-7).

In the under-17 boys division, Anatol Rodgers’ Scharann Cash was the sprint champion in the 100 (10.98) and 200 (22.45), CR Walker’s Bradley Dormeus won the 400 (51.04) and 800 (2:06.36) and RM Bailey’s Edwin Altidor captured the 110 hurdles (16.08) and 400 hurdles (59.43).

CI Gibson’s Patrice Ferguson doubled up in the under-20 girls long jump with 4.47m/14-8 and the triple jump with 10.24m/33-7 1/4, while CV Bethel’s Angel Miller took the shot put with her heave of 9.43m/30-11 1/4 and the discus with 31.51m/103-4.

The other highlight of the senior boys division came from CV Bethel’s Cliff Resias in the 100 (10.68) and the 200 (21.59).