EDWIN Allen High’s Tara-Sue Barnett and Johni James of Jamaica College (JC) were named the Outstanding Performers of the JC/Wata Invitational Track and Field Meet yesterday in the Karl Hendrickson Auditorium.

Barnett decimated the Girls Class I discus record on January 6 with a massive throw of 50.68m, erasing the previous mark of 46.26 set by schoolmate Danielle Thomas in 2012.

Barnett has thus qualified for the IAAF World Youth Championship set for Donetsk, Ukraine between July 10-14. She was third in the shot put with 11.35m to garner 16 points and second overall to Holmwood Technical’s Gleneve Grange, who notched 24 points.

Grange, the Class I champion, won the shot put with 13.31m, was second in the discus with 47.27 — well ahead of the previous record also — and finished third in the long jump with 11.35m.

Meanwhile, young Jones of JC was the Outstanding Male Performer with a record-breaking 6.15m, the Class 3 long jump to erase the 6.12m set in 2010 by schoolmate Gavin Gibson.

Jones, who broke the only male record at the meet, won ahead of the outstanding Federick Dacres of Calabar, who was the only double winner at the meet.

Dacres was the Class I champion after copping the Class I shot put with 17.70m and took on the senior men in the Discus Open, winning with 56.95m for 20 points.

St Jago’s Roje Jackson Chin with 18 points was the Class II Boys champion, winning the 110 hurdles in 14.65, placing third in the long jump with 6.53m and seventh in the 100m in 11.28 seconds.

Another St Jago athlete, Kamali Simpson, was the Class III male champion after also garnering 18 points, but from two events. Simpson won the 100m in 14.20 and was second in the high jump with 1.70m.

Shaneil English of Hydel High with 20 points was the Class IV champion, winning both the 100m and the long jump in 12.47 second and 5.07m, respectively.

St Andrew High’s Rushell Burton was the Class III winner with 16 points, lowering the 16-year-old 80m hurdles record of 11.6 to 11.35 seconds. She also placed third in the flat 100m in 12.10s.

Ayesha Champagnie of St Andrew Technical (STATHS) with 22 points was the Class II champion, despite not winning an event. She placed second in the 100m hurdles (14.90) and long jump (5.55m) and was third in the shot put with 12.36m.

Meet chairman Ian Forbes said 20 years of any meet is something to be proud of and thanked title sponsors Wisynco Group and associate sponsor Puma.

The event, in its 20th year, also saw past student and chairman of the school board, Michael Bernard, receiving the 2013 Honoree Award for his outstanding contribution to the school and as a person himself.

Bernard, who played cricket for his alma mater, was mostly remembered for his bravery as a student as he thwarted an attempted robbery of his mother at their home in Duhaney Park and was shot twice in the chest and thigh. He was subsequently honoured at the school for his bravery.

In a citation read by another past student, INSPORTS administrative director Ian Andrews, Bernard was said to have inflicted some serious Bruce Lee kicks on the robbers.

Bernard, the former managing director of Carreras Group, who also played for Jamaica’s Under-19 cricket team, was voted the first Sportsman of the Year at the school and left a superb legacy at the Old Hope Road institution.

Bernard and close friend Forbes created the iconic Jambisco Cream Cracker in the 1990s, but his most treasured legacy is his “wholehearted dedication in helping individuals”.