WORLD Junior 400m hurdles champion Jaheel Hyde of Wolmer’s Boys turned in a scintillating performance setting a new national junior record of 49.01 seconds at the GraceKennedy/ISSA Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships at the National Stadium last night.

Hyde’s time is the second best in the world and is only bettered by Michael Stigler of the University of Kansas, who ran 48.44 yesterday.

Up to press time last night, defending champions Calabar High held the lead with 104 points, opening a 25-point lead over Kingston College (KC) on 79 points after 15 finals. St Jago High are third with 69 points, while early leader Jamaica College were relegated to fourth on 59 points.

Calabar’s captain Michael ‘Skelly’ O’Hara left it late, but used his great top-end speed and finished like a bullet to win the Class One 100m in 10.42 seconds ahead of his teammate Edward Clarke in 10.50 seconds. Raheem Robinson of Wolmer’s Boys was third in 10.61 seconds.

The boys from Red Hills Road also grabbed the top two spots in the Class Two 100 metres as Dejour Russell upset his more fancied teammate Tyrek Wilson to win in 10.67 seconds with Wilson clocking 10.76 seconds. Michael Bentley of St Jago was third in 10.99.

In the Class Three 100m, St Jago’s Taiwane Garriques won in 11.26 ahead of Javier Johnson of Green Island in 11.53 and Akeem Smith of KC in 11.55 seconds.

In the first boys’ final on Friday, JC’s Micha Wellington captured the Class Three long jump with a leap of 6.61m, relegating the KC pair of Shacquille Lowe (6.57) and Wayne Pinnock (6.51) to second and third in the last few jumps. JC’s Michael Beecher was fifth with 5.99m as both JC and KC garnered 13 points each while Calabar failed to score.

Davian Gray of Spalding High turned in a bold front-running display to win the Class Three 1500m in 4:20.25 minutes ahead of Rushane Fullerton of Munro College in 4:21.45. KC picked up six crucial points as Tarees Rhoden grabbed third in 4:22.00 minutes.

The outstanding Juavney James of STETHS easily captured the Class Two 1500 in 4:02.91 minutes. The St Jago pair of Leon Clarke and Keenan Lawrence was second and third with 4:05.19 and 4:06.50, respectively.

Calabar picked up four points as Javon Williams stormed into fifth with 4:16.70 minutes ahead of JC’s Phillip Williams in 4:18.16. KC’s Damoy Boyd fell with 400 metres to go, but picked himself up to finish eighth behind his teammate Colin Rowe for three valuable points.