O’Hara, Shaw top Champs boy and girl
MICHAEL O’Hara of boys’ champions Calabar High and St Jago High’s Class Four treble gold medal winner Kimone Shaw were the overall individual points champions at the 103rd ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships that closed in a blaze of glory at the National Stadium on Saturday.
Both athletes won three events to accumulate 27 points each to also win their respective classes.
O’Hara was a repeat winner after his 24 points last year were the most among the boys as he romped to three gold medals, including a new record in the Class Two 110m hurdles which he ran 13.45 seconds.
O’Hara also won the sprint double — the 100m in 10.56 seconds and the 200m in a wind-aided 20.65 seconds.
Jamaica’s College’s Devaughn Baker and Obrien Waysome both scored 16 points each in Class Two.
Three Class One boys scored 18 points each with double wins — Munro College’s Delano Williams, who retained the 100m/200m double in 10.28 seconds and 20.27 seconds respectively; Calabar’s Fredrick Dacres, who set a new shot put record, 19.29m, to retain his title after also retaining the discus title, and Kingston College’s Clive Pullen whose 18 points gave him an unprecedented 100 points through his Champs career, winning the long jump and the triple jump, the latter in a new meet record, 15.83m.
In Class Three, Kingston College’s Jhevaughn Matherson, who broke both the 100m and 200m records with times of 10.85 seconds and 21.87 seconds, respectively; and St Elizabeth Technical’s Jauavney James, who won the 800m and 1500m gold medals, tied with 18 points while another Kingston College athlete, Nathaniel Bann, who won the 400m in a new record time 49.13 seconds and was second in the 200m, scored 16 points.
Shaw was one of the highlights of the championships, running a stupendous 11.75 seconds to smash the 100m record, then followed up with 24.28 seconds in the 200m before equalling the long jump record 5.52m.
Hydel’s Shaneil English scored 17 points and Edwin Allen’s Annia Ashley had 14.
Rushelle Burton of St Andrew High for Girls, who broke the Class Three 80m hurdles record with 11.13 seconds, scored 21 points to top Class Three ahead of Holmwood’s Colestia Baker (18) and Hydel’s Taqece Duggan (16 points).
Jonielle Smith, who upstaged her teammate Shauna Helps to win the Class Two sprint double, tied for 18 points with Edwin Allen’s Rochelle Frazer, who took the discus and shot put double, while Jehvannia Vidal-Whyte of Vere Technical, who won the high jump and was second in the long jump, scored 16 points.
Vere Technical Shericka Jackson, who finished her Champs career with three gold medals including the 200m/400m double, was the high scorer in Class One with 18 points followed by four athletes on 16 points each — the Edwin Allen pair of Monique Spencer and Tara-Sue Barnett and the Holmwood Technical pair of Gleneve Grange and Chris-Ann Gordon.
See more ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships coverage Here.
