The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

Day one of the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) Track and Field Championships ended with the C.H. Reeves Raptors and C.R. Walker Knights ahead of their respective divisions.

On a day where the weather conditions proved unpredictable as the 4x100m relays brought down the showers, the Raptors dominated the other junior schools.

The Raptors crushed the competition for first place in day one’s overall team rankings by a margin of 139 points. S.C.McPherson Sharks capped off the first day of the GSSSA championships with a score of 181.

The H.O. Nash Lions separated themselves from the fourth place finishers, the D.W. Davis Royals, by a margin of four points.

In day one’s finals action for the junior division, the Raptors emerged victorious in the under 13 boys’ 1,200 metres. De’Ante Joseph put on a show for the reigning champions in the long distance race, notching a time of 4:26.41 for a first place finish.

The L.W. Young Eagles’ Kaiden Newbold followed behind with 4:31.56. Third place finish belonged to the Sharks’ Gilberto Bain who ran a time of 4:48.66. The Raptors once again prevailed in the under 13 boys 400m run. Travon Moncur brought home the victory as he placed first with 1:05.67. Moncur was joined by fellow school and teammate De’Ante Joseph who came second with 1:10.14. The pair were followed by D.W. Davis Royals’ Marc McCartney who clocked 1.11.65.

Varel Davis, GSSSA president and head coach of the Raptors, credited training and hard work of the athletes for the early day one lead.

“I know that our kids would do pretty well because we have been training for the past month everyday, even over the midterm break we [have] been on the sand a few times, these kids are prepared and ready to compete,” Davis said.

Denim Stuart, winner of the under 15 boys 100m dash, was among the Raptors athletes that were ready to compete. The young athlete placed first in the short distance race, blitzing the competition with a time of 11.99. Patrick Bowe of the Royals came in second with 12.19 and Lavario Ferguson of the leading school placed third.

Stuart kept it short and simple about his goal for the 100m race. He said he came just to win and to do it for his school and himself.

The Raptors athlete was also victorious in the under 15 boys 4x100m relay. The reigning champions took home a first place victory with a time of 49.59. Their relay team consisted of Tyqwon Woodside, Lavario Ferguson, Andrew Rolle, and once again Denim Stuart.

The Sharks and T.A. Thompson’s Scorpions placed second and third respectively.

The A.F.Adderley Tigers were able to snatch a few wins at the GSSSA Track and Field Championships.

Shakinah Lewis edged out the competition in both the under 13 girls 400m run and the 1200m run. In the 400m race, Lewis clocked 1:12.30, leaving the Raptors to fend for second and third place finishes.

Neveah Stuart and Rayniece Gibson finished with a time of 1:16.24 and 1:17.56 apiece. In the 1,200m race the same trend occurred with A.F. Adderley’s Lewis securing a first place win and the Raptors’ Esmaella Pauleon and Tiaqra Wallace finishing second and third.

Gabriel Kemp, winner of the under 15 girls 1,500m race, bested the rest of her competitors to take home first place for the Tigers. The young athlete clocked 6:07.10, finishing long before the rest of her opponents.

In second place was Jasmine Key from the Sharks with a time of 6:22.14. Dina Risque of the Tigers joined her teammate for third place.

In day one’s field action, Andrewinique Smith of the Raptors came out on top in the under 13 girls long jump. She soared with a height of 3.35m. The second best jump came from S.C. McPherson’s Alliyah Coleby and the Tigers’ T’Nesha Bowleg placed third.

One of day one’s star junior track athletes once again emerged victorious in the field events. De’Ante Joseph placed first in the under 13 boys long jump. He bested the Sharks’ Henry Lucien and the Raptors’ Sylvanno Georges with a jump of 3.98m.

With lots of momentum and a big lead going into day two, the Raptors head coach remains confident.

“Tomorrow will be another exciting day. I cannot wait until tomorrow to see what the schools are going to bring,” Davis said.

Senior Division

CR Walker Knights in the lead after day one

The C.R. Walker Knights lead the team rankings after day one with a score of 219. The C.V. Bethel Stingrays will look to close in on the Knights after finishing the day with 161 points for second place.

The R.M. Bailey Pacers hold third place with a score of 134.50, only edging out the C.I. Gibson Rattlers by a margin of 2.50 points.

The Knights came out on top in the under 17 girls 400m run, bringing home first and second place finishes for the senior school. The race belonged to the Knights’ Akaree Roberts and Gabrielle Major who clocked times of 1:00.65 and 1:08.98.

The pair of Knights were followed by Anatol Rodgers’ Gabrielle Seymour who finished third.

Roberts talked about their coach’s advice for the 400m race.

“The strategy was to get out hard, keep a good pace, and start moving at the two [200m],” Roberts said.

Her teammate added that she kept a positive mindset throughout the race and was happy about their first and second placement in the race.

The under 17 girls 1,500m race was no different as the Knights once again claimed first and second in the long distance race. Dahjia Mesidor and once again Akaree Roberts captured first and second place for the senior school. The pair edged out the third place Stingrays’ Saniya Bain.

Despite a strong start by the Knights on day one, the Stingrays were able to collect a few wins on the day.

Winning alongside your teammate seemed to be the theme of the senior division as the Stingrays’ Iesha Hanna and Synia Lockhart took home first and second place in the under 17 girls 100m dash.

The dynamic duo edged out C.R. Walker’s Dahjia Mesidor who finished third with a time of 13.05.

Brandon Mackey, winner of the under 17 boys 400m run, added to the momentum of his teammates, securing a first place win. He notched a time of 57.34, beating out the rest of the competitors. Cavalle Ferguson of the C.I. Gibson Rattlers placed second with 58.19 and Jaydian Lewis of the Stingrays finished third.

In the always exciting under 20 boys 100m finals, the Knights’ Carlos Brown not only beat the competition but also the CARIFTA qualifying mark.

Brown beat the qualifying time of 10.60 by shaving off 0.10 seconds to end the race with a time of 10.50. The second and third place positions were held by R.M. Bailey’s Samalie Farrington and Doris Johnson’s Terrance Deveaux.

Brown talked about his excitement for the win.

“I feel really good coming off injury [I] wasn’t training for like a month so I felt really good with my time and know I can do better,” Brown said.

Although the Knights and Stingrays were the top competitors on day one of the GSSSA championships, the R.M. Bailey Pacers were able to make some noise.

Melvinique Gibson shined on day one despite the scattered showers at the meet.

Gibson emerged as the winner in the under 20 girls 100m finals with a time of 11.94. She was followed by C.V.Bethel’s Marquell Newbold who clocked 12.21. Kevanice Hanna came third for the Government High School.

Gibson led the way to victory in the under 20 girls 400m finals. Despite being soaking wet, the young athlete won in convincing fashion. She blew past the competition with a time of 1:01.08. Second and third place belonged to C.C. Sweeting’s Kevanna Miller and C.R. Walker’s Natassia Edgecombe.

The Pacers’ athlete talked about how it felt to win. “It feel good cause I had expected this from long time like I said with God on my side anything is possible,” Gibson said.

In relay action, the Stingrays bested its competitors in the girls under 20 and boys under 17 4x100 relays.

The girls relay team of Celine Mackey, Pasha Johnson, Zaria Fowler, and Marquell Newbold finished with 51.02.

For the under 17 boys, Travanti Oliver, Brandon Mackey, Gee Sene and Darius Pratt ended the race with a time of 45.13.

Both the Raptors and Knights will look to build on day one leads as day two of the GSSSA track and field championships commences at 9:15am this morning.