The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

BACK after a two-year hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic, the CR Walker Knights and the CH Reeves Raptors picked up where they left off winning their divisional titles at the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association’s Inter- School Track and Field Championships.

For the first time, the GSSSA combined the junior and senior high divisions into a one-day meet on Saturday at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium with the Knights shining with 604 points overall and the Raptors finished with 483.

The meet was officially opened by Minister of Education Glenys Hanna- Martin. Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg was in attendance to also support the GSSSA in the return of the championships.

In the senior division, CR Walker emerged on top for the seventh year, followed by the CV Bethel Stingrays with 473, RM Bailey Pacers with 345, CC Sweeting Cobras with 230.50, Doris Johnson Marlins with 226, Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves with 203.50 and Government High Magicmen rounded out field with 180.

“We had a short time, but we put in a lot of work with a lot of late evenings,” said CR Walker’s head coach Tia Rolle. “We knew that we had a strong under- 20 division, but because we didn’t have everybody in school, we didn’t know what we had in the under- 17 division.

“We didn’t have our house sports where we select our team from, so I believe we had some diamonds in the rough who didn’t participate. And we didn’t compete in all of the events and we still came out on top.”

Rolle said they are hoping that the government allows schools to remain open and come September, they can develop the core group of athletes they have now and prepare the new ones coming in.

In the junior boys’ division, the HO Nash Lions came in second place behind CH Reeves with 350.50, the AF Adderley Fighting Tigers with 288.50, DW Davis Royals with 204, SC McPherson Sharks with 140 and the TA Thompson Scorpions completed the field with 52.

“I’m happy with our team performance,” said Varel Davis, who assisted head coach Rashad McKenzie. “We’ve been trying to get this meet in since February, so we had some time to work with our athletes. It showed that when it comes down to the championships, the kids come out and perform. Every relay, they performed excellently.

“We encourage our students at CH Reeves and make them believe that they can do it. The parents buy into what we are doing and they come out and support their children. So with our coaching staff, we make it happen.”

The high point winners from the various age groups are as follows:

Under-13 girls - Gabrielle Swan of AF Adderley with 24 points; under-13 boys – Lavario Ferguson of CH Reeves with 30; under- 15 girls – Keely Deveaux of CH Reeves with 24; under-15 boys – George Nottage of CH Reeves with 30; under-17 girls – Marquell Newbold of CV Bethel with 28; under-17 boys – Zidane Bruce of CR Walker with 26; under- 20 girls – Vanessa Sawyer of CR Walker with 28 and under-20 boys – Elijah Roker of Anatol Rodgers and Nathan Duncan and Lavardo Deveaux, both of CV Bethel with 20 points apiece.

Deveaux, a 16-year-old 12th grader, captured both the 110m hurdlers in 15.44 over his teammate Jon-Mark Smikle, who did 17.21 and he doubled up in the 400m hurdles in 56.58 ahead of Doris Johnson’s Peter Tulisnord in 57.53.

“I enjoyed the 400m hurdles because it’s all about keeping your rhythm. In the race, I was able to keep my rhythm and it paid off for me,” said Deveaux, who is hoping to qualify once again for CARIFTA Games. “I haven’t qualified yet, but I hope to do so at the trials.”

Also carting a double dose of victory in the hurdles for senior girls was CR Walker’s Kaiya Cambridge. She won the 100m hurdles in 15.83 over Dporis Johnson’s Nabria Hamilton, who did 20.74 and she finished the 400m hurdles in 1:08.93, well ahead of CV Bethel’s Vineva Paul, who did 1:14.92.

“In the 100m hurdles, I could have ran better, but with the head wind, I tried my best and I got the win,” said Cambridge, a 16-year-old 12th grader. “In the 400m hurdles, it wasn’t what I expected. The head wind coming home was very challenging, but I came through with my second gold.

“I felt great. I came out here on fresh legs because I wanted to give CR Walker a chance to win the title again. It feels good to do it again. This is my last year, so I really wanted to go out with a bang. I was pleased with my performances.”

CR Walker’s Carlos Brown, one of the top sprinters in high school, emerged as the winner of the under-20 boys’ 200m in 22.17 over RM Bailey’s Samalie Farrington, who got second in 22.36. Farrington also won the 100m in 11.38 with Doris Johnson’s Terrance Deveaux second in 11.42.

“The performance was good. I just wanted to come out here and support my school,” said the 15-year-old Brown, who is in the 11th grade. “We’ve been off for a very long time, so it’s good that the meet is back.”

CV Bethel’s Nathan Duncan produced a sweep of the under-20 boys’ distance races, taking the 1,500m in 4:32.08 and the 5,000m in 18:03.57. Doris Johnson’s Quinton Ellis was the 800m winner in 2:02.72.

RM Bailey’s Melvinique Gibson came through with the under-20 girls’ sprint double, taking the 100m in 12.69 and the 200m in 25.97. CR Walker’s Aisha Lightbourne won the 400m in 1:00.77, RM Bailey’s Alandina Simeon won the 800m in 4:46.96 and CV Bethel’s Debroncya Archer claimed the 1,500m in 7:09.23.

CV Bethel’s Garvin McKenzie swept the under- 17 boys sprints with 12.02 in the 100m and the 200m in 24.14. Thanson Orvil of CR Walker won the 400m in 54.89 and Louvens Thompson of Doris Johnson took the 800m in 2:14.29.

CH Reeves’ George Nottage was a triple winner in the under-15 boys 100m in 12.19, 200m in 24.96 and 400m in 54.60. CH Reeves’ Stanley Pratt took the 800m in 2:26.94 and Andrew Rolle of CH Reeves won the 1,500m in 5:33.86.

In the under-17 girls division, Tania Clarke of CR Walker took the 100m in 13.78, Marquell Newbold of CV Bethel took the 200m in 26.74, Shaniya Smith of CR Walker won the 400m in 1:01.90, Akaree Robert of CR Walker took the 800m in 2:40.38 and Ashley Sawyer of Government High won the 1,500m in 6:23.70.

Sarha Wright of HO Nash doubled up in the under-15 girls 100m in 13.08 and the 200m in 26.66. Jayde Knowles of SC McPherson took the 400m in 1:02.81, Gabrielle Seymour of Anatol Rodgers, took the 800m in 2:57.46 and Diana Dalge of DW Davis won the 1,500m in 8:01.03.

The girls under-13 division saw Lameka Culmer of SC McPherson win the 100m in 13.90, CH Reeves’ Rahiyah Smith of CH Reeves take the 200m in 31.10, Calia Newton of SC McPherson win the 400m in 1:11.57 and Sasha Newbold of HO Nash captured the 800m in 3:18.65.

Lavario Ferguson, an 11-year-old seventh grader, had a stellar performance for CH Reeves, winning three individual events. He clocked 13.17 in the 100m, 27.48 in the 200m and 1:07.86 in the 400m as he was virtually unbeatable.

“It was good,” said Ferguson about his performance. “I really enjoyed competing in the mixed relay. It was a lot of fun.”

While there were doubts whether or not the meet would come off, Varel Davis, the GSSSA president, thanked the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Sports for enabling them to allow the athletes to showcase their skills.

“It was only one day, so I’m happy and appreciative for all who made it possible for us to have it,” Davis said. “I know the kids wanted something to do and we had the athletes, the teachers and the parents out. They all couldn’t wait to come out to put this on.”

Davis said it’s their hope that the GSSSA can end the year by staging their volleyball competition as well as baseball for boys and softball for girls before they start to concentrate on the new school year in September when everything hopefully will be back to normal.