Edwin Allen High’s Rasheda Samuels and Deijanae Bruce took gold and silver, respectively, in the Class One Girls’ high jump at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships at the National Stadium yesterday.

Samuels, who improved on her silver medal last year, cleared 1.76m just under her personal best 1.79m, Bruce cleared 1.73m, while St Elizabeth Technical High School’s (STETHS) Richelle Stanley, who was second last year, took the bronze with 1.70m.

Samuels, who went into the competition as the favourite, was happy with the result and said she did what was expected.

“I knew I would win and we trained hard to get the first and second place,” she said.

She told the Jamaica Observer the competition went as she expected but she was hoping to go higher, the same height that Hydel High’s Zavien Bernard cleared on Tuesday when she broke the Class Three record.

The Girls’ Open triple jump was historic as it was the first time three athletes jumped over 13.00m at the championships. St Jago High’s Jade-Ann Dawkins who won with a personal best 13.28m, beat Immaculate Conception’s Jaeda Robinson (13.21m) and Holmwood Technical’s Celine Riddle (13.04m).

All three big jumps came in the final round as Stanley, who led after the fourth round with 12.78m, ended up fifth as Hydel High’s Sabrina Atkinson also passed her in the final round with 12.94m.

Edwin Allen High’s Dionjah Shaw retained her Girls’ Class Two discus title by throwing 45.21m.

Despite not getting to her season’s best 48.05m or last year’s winning mark of 46.27m, Shaw had little difficulty in retaining her title, beating the field by over 3m.

Shantangelo Williams of Denbigh High, who was eighth last year, improved significantly to snatch second place with a personal best 41.63m, edging out Clarendon College’s Marla-Kay Lampart, who repeated her bronze medal performance from last year. She also threw 41.63m but had a shorter second-best throw.

Rehanna Biggs of St Jago High repeated her fifth place from last year as well.

Hydel High’s Brandane Malcolm created an upset to win the Class Three girls’ discus throw gold medal, throwing a personal best 40.94m to beat favourite Jamelia Young of Clarendon College.

Malcolm, who was third last year, won with her final throw to beat Young (40.19m), who was fifth last year but led coming into the championships with Edwin Allen’s Shandre Brown placing third with 34.35m.

Rajana Price of Convent of Mercy Alpha Academy leads the qualifiers into today’s final of the Class Three long jump as she jumped 5.45m (0.9m/s) on her only attempt yesterday, achieving the exact automatic qualifying mark, the only athlete in the field to do so.

Excelsior High’s Shahi Hudson was next with 5.37m (0.0m/s), just ahead of Hydel High’s high jumper record-breaker Zavien Bernard (5.36m), and Mt Alvernia High’s Malia Housen (5.23m).

STETHS’s Habiba Harris looks set to end her Champs career on a high as she led the qualifiers into today’s Class 1 100m hurdles final, running 13.42 seconds (-1.8m/s).

Harris, who was sixth in the 100m final on Wednesday, eased away from the field in her semi-final race, easily beating St Catherine High’s Asharria Ulett, who had gotten off to a fast start and ended up with 13.87 seconds.

Hydel High’s Shania Myers, who was eight last year, ran 13.57s (-3.2m/s) to win the other semi-final, beating Holmwood Technical’s Kiara Meikle (13.82s).

St Jago High’s Bryana Davidson, who was second in the Class 2 final a year ago, will hope to upgrade to gold this year, running 13.55s (-2.5m/s) in her semi-final.

Edwin Allen’s Rickeisha Simms will hope to add the Class 1 800m gold to the 1,500m title she won on Wednesda, running 2:26.18 minutes to lead the semi-finals.

Carlene Temple of Alphansus Davis was next best with 2:16.26, followed by 1,500m silver medallist Cindy Rose of Holmwood, who ran 2:16.64s, and Monique Stewart of Edwin Allen, 2:17.70.

Jovi Rose will hope to upgrade from her silver in the 1,500m to gold in the Class Two 800m as she ran 2:16.33, with Chennai Jarrett of STETHS running 2:17.29, just ahead of her teammate Shavanecia Griffith (2:18.22) and Horecia Love of Edwin Allen, who ran 2:18.12.

Alphansus Davis’s Alikay Reynolds is also hunting double gold and led Class Three with 2:16.51. Edwin Allen High’s Denique Palmer, who took the silver medal in the 1,500m, ran 2:18.29, followed by St Mary High’s Dallia Fairweather (2:18.81), and Edwin Allen’s Kevongaye Fowler (2:18.91).