WESTERN Jamaican schools enjoyed their best ISSA GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ high school track and field Championships in years, winning 27 medals — eight gold, 12 silver and seven bronze — surpassing last year’s tally at the meet held at the national stadium in Kingston.

Eight boys schools scored points this year compared to seven last year while four girls schools, one less than last year, scored points.

Additionally western schools combined for 188 points in the girls’ section and 216 in the boys compared to 127 and 150 last year.

Western Jamaica girl teams scoring points this year were:

* Herbert Morrison-80;

* STETHS-78;

* William Knibb Memorial-22 and

* Frome Technical-6 .

Western Jamaica Boy teams which scored were:

* Munro-100.50;

* STETHS-34;

* Herbert Morrison-27.50;

* Petersfield-25;

* William Knibb Memorial-10;

* Balaclava and Green Island-7 and

* Cornwall College -5.

Herbert Morrison Technical High’s Antonique Campbell won four medals while her teammate Seidatha Palmer and St Elizabeth Technical’s Rochelle Farquharson both won three medals each to be the outstanding individual athletes.

Campbell, who won gold in the girls Class 1 100m and 200m, got the silver in her favoured 400m event while picking up a fourth medal, a silver in the 4x100m relay.

Farquharson retained her triple jump Open title on the first day but was beaten for the second straight year in the long jump Class 2 this time by a brilliant 6.43m record by Manchester High’s Chanice Porter-and took third in the seven event Heptathlon after being second last year.

After promising much over the past two years, Palmer had a breakout ‘Champs with two silver medals in the 100m and 200m before a stunning anchor leg on the Class 2 4x100m team, taking the baton in third place to land gold.

Meanwhile after a recalculation of the points tally folowing a mistake in the girls’ heptathlon Open, STETHS’ Farquharson should be declared the Class 2 champion with 24 points if points from the Open events are included.

Campbell scored 25 points in Class 1 but finished behind Edwin Allen’s Ann-Marie Duffus and Manchester High’s Natoya Goule, both of whoM won Open events and were tied on 27 points.

In addition to Campbell and Farquharson, other girls winning gold medals were STETHS’ Peter-gay Reid in the Class 2 high jump, and Opal James in the Class 3 long jump while on the boys side Petersfield’s Oshane Turner in the Class 2 1500m and Munro College’s Jodi-Rae Blackwood in the 400m hurdles Open were also winners.

Teams taking part:

Boys — Balaclava, Cambridge, Cedric Titus, Cornwall College, Frome Technical, Grange Hill, Green Island, Green Pond, Herbert Morrison, Holland High, Hopewell High, Irwin High, Knockalva Technical, Lacovia High, Maude McLeod, Munro College, Muschett High, Petersfield, Rhodes Hall, Rusea’s, Spot Valley, STETHS, William Knibb

Girls

Balaclava, Cambridge, Cedric Titus, Frome, Hampton High, Herbert Morrison, Holland High, Hopewell High, Irwin, Knockalva Technical, Maldon, Mannings School, Muschett, Petersfield, Rhodes Hall, Rusea’s, Spot Valley, STETHS, St James High, William Knibb.