Naggo Head regain INSPORTS Primary Champs title

Roger Thompson (centre foreground), group marketing manager Seprod, Deidre Wisdom (2nd right foreground), brand manager Face Commodity, and Ian Andrews, administrative director, Institute of Sports present the championship trophy to a jubilant Naggo Head team on day four of the 35th INSPORTS/Seprod Primary School Athletics Championship at the National Stadium, May 2, 2015. (Photo: Devon Chin)

Kingston, Jamaica – Naggo Head are champions for the fifth time as they won the 35th INSPORTS/Seprod Primary Schools Athletics Championship which ended at the National Stadium, on Saturday May 2, 2015.

Dethroned champions New Providence left themselves too much to do after a poor start to the championships and could only manage eighth position with 57 points. Greater Portmore (107 points), Southborough (92 points) completed a tri-fecta for the Sunshine City of Portmore, while Black River went one place better than last year’s debut performance by finishing fourth on 87 points.

St Catherine, finished fifth with 76 points, as they brought the curtains down on the most competitive Primary Champs ever by winning the final event of the day– the boys 4x200m Relay Open final.

Having trailed surprise teams Bybrook and Black River up to yesterday’s third and penultimate day, Naggo Head surged to the summit of the combined team standing by lunch time to lead the latter by six-and-a-half points.

And it became clearer at the end of each final that the title was heading back to Naggo Head once more, as they opened up a 33-point gap by mid-afternoon over joint second-placed teams Black River and Greater Portmore who hadn’t recorded any point up to the end of day three.

Morant Bay secured their first medal of the championship in record fashion, when Alisha McKenzie erased Nataliah Whyte’s 2008 mark of 44.41 seconds, with a new mark of 43.61 to win the Class 2 girls 300m final. McKenzie won by a canter ahead of Harbour View’s Shanice Williams (45.83) and Kayla-Ann Clarke of St John’s, 46.96.

Nobody went close to challenging Sasha-Gaye Cunningham’s 14-year-old record of 12.52 seconds in the Class 1 girls 100m, but it was still a special moment for Patrece Clarke of Minerals Heights. The young sprinter maintained excellent form throughout a tight race to win in 13.37 seconds, while holding off the challenge of Renee Francis (13.44) of St Francis and Sashell Reid (13.46) of St Richards. She was crowned overall Class 1 champion girl for winning four medals (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze).

Reid, in the absence of Clarke, who didn’t compete in the 200m, won the half-lap sprint in 26.99 seconds, ahead of teammate Destiny Smith (27.53) and Renee Jackson of St Francis. 27.61. She then anchored St Richards to Class 1 girls 4x100m relay finals for her second gold medal, before helping her team to secure bronze in the girls 4x200m relay Open.

The powerfully built Rouel Spence of Catherine Hall in Montego Bay outclassed his rivals including pre-race favourite Excelsior’s Donte Fullerton to win the Class 1 boys 100m. Spence won in a time of 12.40 seconds, well ahead of Fullerton (12.89) and Spanish Town’s Dishawn Lamb, who ran 12.94. The stocky sprinter then completed the sprint double, beating Fullerton and company easily in the 200m.

Bouwahjgie Nkrumie of Black River added another individual gold to his long jump title, as he won easily the Class 2 boys 200m final in a time of 13.41. Nkrumie finished ahead of Greater Portmore’s Jeevan newby (13.65) and teammate Alicke Cranstan, who claimed third in 13.67.

Spence and Brianna Lyston of Southborough, who won the Class 2 girls sprint double, were crowned overall champion boy and girl respectively.

Special awards were handed to Mrs. Carol Cuffley and Patricia Thomas, both of whom have been officiating at Primary Champs for over 50 years combined.