After being cancelled last year, the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Championships returned with a bang at the National Stadium yesterday, the first day ending with a near dead heat in the rerun of the girls’ Class Three 80m hurdles.

There were two reruns on the day, both in the girls’ sprint hurdles but after 10 finals, St Jago High led Hydel High by five points, 81-76. Defending champions Edwin Allen are in third place on 71 points, followed by Wolmer’s High School For Girls on 21 and Holmwood Technical on 17 to complete the top five.

Four more finals will be decided on today’s second day — long jump Class Four, shot put Class One, high jump Class Two and the discus throw Class Two as well as the first rounds of the 4x100m relays, the 100m and the 400m events.

Yesterday, St Jago’s Camoy Binger appeared to have won the Class Three 80m hurdles ahead of her teammate Briana Campbell, but seven of the starters did not hear the recall gun at the start and the race had to be rerun at the end of the programme.

To add intrigue, Binger suffered an injury in the first race, but turned up at the start and held off Hydel’s Jody-Ann Daley, both were initially given the same time of 11.14 seconds (1.0m/s) and the race declared a dead heat before they were eventually separated and the St Jago runner given the win.

Campbell got the bronze in the rerun.

The second rerun came in the first round of the Class Four 70m hurdles but it did not affect the qualifiers as Wolmer’s Girls’ Tiana Marshall took full advantage of a slip at the start by Hydel’s Tihanna Reid to win in a wind-aided 11.01 seconds (5.0m/s) to 11.06 seconds with Vere Technical’s Kecia King third in 11.12 seconds.

Hydel won both Class One and Class Two races with Oneka Wilson running 13.60 seconds (1.7m/s) to win the Class One, ahead of Clarendon College’s Marrisa Simpson (13.70 seconds) and Edwin Allen’s Patreece Clarke (13.81 seconds).

Kerrica Hill won the Class Two gold medal in 13.29 seconds (1.3m/s) with her teammate Shania Myers second in 13.92 seconds, while St Elizabeth Technical’s Shackelia Green was third in 13.95 seconds.

Shantae Foreman of St Jago High just missed the meet record and tying the national junior record as she won the Class One high jump with a new personal best 1.84m, tied for fifth on the World Athletics women’s Under-20 rankings.

Foreman, who had achieved the World Under-20 Championships qualifying mark of 1.82m two weeks previously, failed in her attempt to break the event record of 1.87m set in 2019 by Lamara Dustin, then of Hydel High, when she failed at 1.88m.

Daniella Anglin of Herbert Morrison, back-to-back Western Champs winner, took the silver medal with 1.78m with Edwin Allen’s Akelia Smith taking the bronze with 1.70m.

Foreman, who hold the records in classes Two and Three, said while she did not get the Class One record she was satisfied. “Yes, I had a great day, it was not the record but I got a new personal best of 1.84m and I can’t complain, I must say it was a great feeling,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

Deijanae Bruce of Edwin Allen took the Class Three high jump, clearing 1.68m, the same height as second-placed Shanniqua Williams of Wolmer’s Girls’, and St Jago High’s Tori-Ann Anderson was third with 1.65m.

Holmwood Technical’s Samantha Pryce took the first gold medal of the championships when she won the Open steeplechase under hot and steamy conditions just after 9:00 am.

Pryce took over the lead from the early pacesetter at the start of the final lap and increased her lead by the time they got to the final water jump and won by a comfortable margin, in seven minutes 07.12 seconds.

Sanyae Gibson of defending champions Edwin Allen High was second in 7:13.63 minutes and St Jago’s Rushell Johnson, who led for most of the race, was third with 7:17.70 minutes.

Gibson was initially disqualified but reinstated on appeal.

Edwin Allen scored heavily in the two throwing finals held yesterday, taking the first and second in the Class Three girls’ discus throw and second and third in the Class Two shot put.

Shamoyea Morris won the Class Three discus throw with a mark of 38.54m, ahead of her teammate Dionjah Shaw (37.77m) with St Jago High’s Rehanna Biggs third with 33.56m.

Jamora Alves of St Jago High won the Class Two shot put with 14.93m, Rochele Solmon of Edwin Allen was second with 14.49m and her teammate Damali Williams was third with 14.00m.

Hydel High’s Shemonique Hazle won the Class Three girls’ long jump with a wind-aided mark of 5.85m (3.0m/s), beating St Jago High’s Jade-Ann Dawkins (5.74m) and Edwin Allen’s Doniella Lewis (5.68m).

With both the Class One and Class Three girls’ 200m going straight to the semi-finals due to the lack of entries, it was the Class Two girls who highlighted with Clarendon College’s Dejanea Oakley, the Class Three 400m bronze medallist from 2019, leading the way with a wind-aided 24.50 seconds (3.8m/s) to win her heat.

Hydel High’s Alana Reid ran 24.47 seconds (3.6m/s), Vere Technical’s Moya Mitchell clocked 24.79 seconds (2.6m/s) with Tina Clayton, the silver medallist in Class Three two years ago, winning the first heat in 24.94 seconds (5.8m/s).

Edwin Allen’s Theianna-Lee Terrelonge leads the Class Four qualifiers with 25.60 seconds, followed by Wolmer’s Girls’ Tiana Marshall with 25.94 seconds (1.5m/s) and Edwin Allen’s Moesha Gayle with 26.44 seconds (-4.6m/s).

Points after 10 finals

1) St Jago High 81

2) Hydel High 76

3) Edwin Allen High 71

4) Wolmer’s Girls School 21

5) Holmwood Technical 17

6) Excelsior High 16.50

7) St Catherine High 14

8) Vere Technical 11

9) Alpha Academy 9.50

10) St Elizabeth Technical 7

10) Clarendon College 7

10) Herbert Morrison 7

10) The Queen’s School 7

14) Camperdown High 6

15) Rusea’s High 5

16) Glengoffe High 4

17) Manchester High 3.50

17) Merl Grove High 3.50

19) Immaculate Conception 2