When Abigail Wolfe overturned expectations of the girls’ Class Two 100-metre final on Wednesday’s second day of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championship, she reminded all and sundry that Holy Childhood High does possess some athletic prowess.

Some pundits thought the race would have been won by either Lavanya Williams of William Knibb Memorial — on return from injury; St Jago High’s Bryana Davidson; or Hydel High’s Shemonique Hazel. But they were wrong.

Starting dead centre of the trio in lane four, Wolfe got up well and briefly matched strides with her more-fancied rivals, but later powered away to win, as none of the three had a response to her late turn of foot.

Wolfe’s time of 11.59s, clocked in a 1.0 metres per second wind reading, was a big personal best that handed Holy Childhood its first gold medal at these championships to go along with their silver and a bronze won over the years.

Hazel (11.65s) and Williams (11.66s) were second and third, respectively.

“Honestly, I feel a lot of excitement about it. I am somewhat at a loss for words because it hasn’t really soaked in as yet, but I am really happy. First gold medal for my school at Champs, so that’s great,” Wolfe said.

The 16-year-old final year Class Two had earlier signalled her intent when she clocked a similar time in the semi-finals from which she gained added confidence.

“It really came from the semi-final because I ran 11.5s which was really good for me because I have been running 12s all season and that was my first time breaking 12 seconds for this season, so that really boosted my confidence for the final,” Wolfe shared.

“So the aim was just to get out with them and maintain my speed because we are all good athletes, but in my mind I thought I was better and I proved that,” she added.

Given the fact that she will have another three years to compete at this level when she makes the transition to Class One, Wolfe pointed out that she wants to remain an instrumental force behind Holy Childhood’s athletic growth and dominance, particularly in the sprints.

At the time of writing, Holy Childhood were 10th on 11 points with Wolfe safely through to the 200m semi-final after winning her heat in 25.07s. Her personal best for the event is 24.14s.

“My belief comes from my training and coaches as well as the people that I have around me. It helps me a lot; I am grateful for that,” the cheerful athlete noted.

“Going forward I just want to continue working hard, winning gold at Champs was basically a dream of mine and I have achieved that, so I am hoping for another good performance in the 200m which would be another significant achievement for me and my school.

“But I’m just focusing on the things I can control and will take it one day and one step at a time. Post Proleium Praemium: ‘After the battle, the reward’,” Wolfe told the Jamaica Observer.