St Jago High’s Jamora Alves won an exciting girls’ javelin Open on Thursday’s third day of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships at National Stadium, throwing 40.30m in the final round.

This was the Grenadian’s second gold medal in as many days after she won the Class One discus throw on Wednesday as the lead in the javelin changed hands at least twice in the final two rounds.

Holmwood Technical’s Cedricka Williams led with 36.97m after the first three rounds, but ended up in fourth place as she was first passed by St Catherine High’s Natalie Albert who finished third with 37.14m.

Edwin Allen’s Monifa Edwards moved from eighth place to first in the fifth round with 38.90m only to see Alves, who had thrown a personal best 42.84m in Tuesday’s preliminaries, snatch the gold medal with her final throw.

Williams had a chance to claim a medal on her final throw, but could only manage 35.63m.

Mt Alvernia High’s Aaliyah Foster, who was second last year, moved up a spot to take the gold in the Class One girls’ long jump with a personal best 6.03m after a stirring battle with St Jago High’s Jade-Ann Dawkins who took the silver as Edwin Allen’s Doniellia Lewis was third.

Foster led after the first three rounds with 5.78m but Dawkins took over the lead in the fourth round with 5.82m but the Western Champs repeat gold medallist responded with 6.03m in the fifth round.

The Wolmer’s Girls pair of Shanniqua Williams and Danielle Noble took the quinella, winning the gold and silver medals in the Class Three high jump.

Williams, who trailed Noble and Edwin Allen’s bronze medal winner Asia McKay for most of the contest, prevailed by clearing a personal best 1.74m on her second effort while Noble and McKay both cleared 1.71m.

Noble, who only started training in January, had her first failure at 1.74m while McKay who had cleared 1.70m earlier in the season, faltered at 1.68m and then at 1.71m to slip into the bronze medal position.

St Jago High’s Alexia Williams won the Class Four long jump with a wind-aided 5.36m (2.6m/s), finishing ahead of the early leader Hydel High’s Sashana Johnson who had a wind-aided 5.27m (2.6m/s) with Edwin Allen’s Yasheika Sinclair taking the bronze medal with 5.23m (1.2m/s).

Edwin Allen High’s Serena Cole who won in Class 2 last year, leads the qualifying in the Class One long jump with a wind-aided 5.96m (4.2m/s) with Vashti Grey of The Queens School next with 5.87m (5.0m/s) with St Jago High’s Machaeda Linton, a Class 1 finalist last year in third place with 5.86m (5.2m/s) and St Andrew High’s Jo-Anna Pinnock 5.82m (4.2m/s).

Kay-Lagay Clarke of St Jago, the bronze medallist in Class 2 last year, is also into the final with a mark of 5.65m (2.3m/s) also Edwin Allen’s Paula-Ann Chambers- 5.62m (2.9m/s) and Onanda Lowe of Immaculate Conception- 5.61m (2.8m/s).

Edwin Allen’s Shamoyea Morris leads the qualifiers in the girls’ Class Two discus throw on Thursday’s with 40.19m.

Morris needed two attempts to get the automatic qualifying distance of 38.00m after opening with 36.02m while Immaculate Conception’s Maja Henry, the shot put bronze medallist on Wednesday, was second with 38.70m and Clarendon College’s Athilia Pryce also got the automatic qualifying mark with 38.57m.

Camperdown’s shot put champion Victoria Christie is also through to the final as well as silver medallist Natassia Burrell of Hydel High and her teammate Akelia Wilson who was fifth in the shot a day earlier.

St Jago High’s Alexia Williams leads the qualifying in the girls’ Class Four high jump, clearing 1.55m with three others on 1.50m-Hydel High’s Zavien Bernard, Manchester High’s Shantay Morris and Kaira Wright of Hydel High.

— Paul Reid