Danielia McLean, sponsorship manager at Digicel was left beaming with delight at the overwhelming support of the second staging of the Grand Prix Athletic Championships.

The six-meet series which offered over $16 million in cash and prizes to top schools culminated in spectacular fashion at the GC Foster Classic in St Catherine last Saturday.

Central Champions Edwin Allen defended their title as the top girls’ school, while St Jago dethroned St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) as the top boys’ team. Both teams took home the grand prize of $1 million in equipment, while their respective coaches pocketed $50,000 each.

The Michael Dyke-coached Edwin Allen amassed 237.6 points to Holmwood Technical’s 153, while Excelsior High (137.3) and St Jago (114) completed the top four.

On the boys’ side, St Jago accumulated 252 points to win ahead of Calabar (184), with former champions STETHS (136) and Kingston College (131) rounding off the top four.

“We are extremely pleased at the strong levels of support received from all quarters; participating schools have demonstrated unmatched enthusiasm by sending a higher number of athletes this year and the supporters have turned out in large numbers at the various meets over the past two weeks,” McLean told the Jamaica Observer.

“Athletes have delivered some amazing, record-breaking performances that were a result of the heightened competitive spirit this time around. Additionally, corporate Jamaica answered our call to step in and support the endeavours of our youth, which significantly enhanced the overall series,” she added.

The student athletes were not to be left out and they too were rewarded for their outstanding performances, as over $1.2 million is expected to be paid out in academic scholarships to the respective schools that the athletes will be attending in September.

“Although we expected the enthusiasm and competition to have been fierce, we never anticipated the tremendous show of rivalry on the track, in the field, and from the fans themselves. This is a good sign for the future of Jamaica’s athletic prowess,” McLean noted.

And as the telecom-munications giant extended its partnership with the six development meets to 2019, McLean expressed delight at the prospects to come at next year’s third staging.

Many records were broken in Grand Prix events at the six meets that form the series. The Youngster Goldsmith (16), Western Championships (11), Anthrick Corporate Area Development Meet (31), Camperdown Classic (11), Central Championship (seven) and GC Foster Classic (seven).

“What stood out most for us was being able to have all the participating meets held at a venue which provides a proper track and has the necessary equipment. We were also happy with the increased support from Jamaica as development meets tend to lack significant support,” McLean reasoned.

“There was also what I refer to as learning moments, which will help us to improve on next year’s staging, as the Digicel Grand Prix Athletics Championships can only get better.

“We will keep working on the marriage of entertainment and track and field to increase attendance at the meets. We will also be looking at including other events as guided by our technical committee,” she continued.