Onto semis in NAPSAC

IT is expected to be a ding-dong battle next Monday when the semi-finals of the 2020 National Primary Schools’ Athletics Championships (NAPSAC) roll around. With the quarter-finals being completed yesterday at the National Stadium, fans and pundits will be waiting with bated breath for the next round as the next few days drop off the calendar.

Ethan Hart of St. George Primary was a man on fire as he dominated the Under-13 with masterful performances in all his events. He got his day started with a new record in the 400-metre after clocking 57.84 seconds to knock down a mark left by Mario Burke back in 2008.

He also smashed another record – his own – in the 200-metre. Running 25.23 at the Zone championship just last month, Hart bettered himself in Heat #2 to come down to 25.10 seconds.

In the 100-metre, Hart was good for 12.96 to take the Gold while beating St. Jude’s Primary’s Dimani Alleyne (13.04) and his teammate Zachary Wall (13.23) to the line. Close to the end of the day, he joined forces with Wall, Tamarion Lynch and Trekeil Parris to beat their own Medley Relay record. At the zonal level, they clocked 1:55.78 minutes but yesterday, they blazed a trail to 1:55.20 to leave St. Cyprian’s (2:02.92) and All Saints (2:03.66) in their wake.

The quartet had a bit of heartbreak as they had their sights set on breaking another record of their own in the 4x100-metre Relay. However, a fumble between the first and second leg and a drop of the baton between the second and third put them well out of contention for the win, a spot in the semis and the record.

The Under-13 Girls saw Jakaira Jones-Smith of Belmont winning both of her events. She ran 27.75 seconds in the 200-metre and beat Reynold Weekes Primary’s Destiny Howard (1:06.37) to the line with 1:05.95 minutes in the 400-metre. Howard picked up a Gold medal of her own in the Open 600-metre with a time of 1:49.72 minutes.

Eliezer Williams of St. Alban’s Primary raked in two Golds and a Silver on the day in the Under-11. When he toed the line in the 300-metre, he ran 44.95 seconds to take the top spot, while he did the same with 28.39 in the 200-metre. His Silver came when he finished with 14.06 behind Luther Thorne’s Micaiah Brathwaite (13.92).

Two athletes did well in the Under-11 Girls. Sharifa Nicholls of Charles F. Broome slammed the field in the 100-metre with 14.56 seconds. She was also good for 3.51 metres in the Long Jump. The other athlete who paved her way to the semis was Leanna Green of Wilkie Cumberbatch as she clocked 30.60 seconds and 46.77 seconds respectively in the 200 and 300-metre.

Tianna Burke seemed unstoppable in the Under-9 Girls as she brought some glory to Bayley’s Primary. She was first in the 100-metre (15.50), 150-metre (23.70) and the Long Jump (3.31 metres). In the Boys, Rajan Forde of Wesley Hall won the 80-metre in 12.07 seconds and was second in the 100-metre with 15.43 behind Atari Howell of George Lamming.

In the Under-7, Micah Cumberbatch of Bayley’s gave himself a straight shot to the semi-finals with a win in the 50-metre Dash after clocking 8.85 seconds and the Triple Jump with 1.62 metres.

Hart was not the only athlete to break records on the day as Deeya Forde-Haynes of West Terrace put up a new distance of 10.12 metres in the Under-13 Girls’ Shot Put to displace the old mark of 8.59 metres. Jayden Walcott, also of West Terrace, had similar luck in the Under-13 Boys’ Shot Put, throwing 12.14 to eclipse the old record of 9.14 metres.