Edwin Allen girls celebrate
Aided by a superior squad with depth across events and classes, Kingston College expectedly retained their boys’ title, while Edwin Allen turned back the challenge from Hydel High to reclaim the girls’ crown, as the curtains came down on the 113th staging of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships at the National Stadium on Saturday.
Kingston College were always favoured to cop the Mortimer Geddes trophy for a third-straight year and they did so with consummate ease to make it their 35th overall lien on the coveted prize.
The North Street-based purples, who led from day one of the five-day spectacle, fittingly closed the show with victory in the 4x400m relay open to end with a tally of 335 points. They finished 57 points ahead of closest rivals Jamaica College (278 points), with Calabar (194 points), Excelsior (122 points) and St Jago (111.50 points), completing the top five.
Meanwhile, it was sweet redemption for Edwin Allen, who had their eight-year unbeaten run snapped by Hydel in last year’s nail-biting battle in which they were separated by two points.
Like Kingston College, Edwin Allen were also expected to take the girls’ title back to their Frankfield, Clarendon base for a 10th time overall, but dethroned champions Hydel kept things interesting throughout, and lacked the venom to upstage their rivals on this occasion.
The Michael Dyke-coached Edwin Allen amassed 335.50 points to finish nine and a half points ahead of Hydel High, who ended on 326 points after they closed the show with victory in the 4x400m. St Jago (171 points), Holmwood Technical (149 points) and Wolmer’s Girls (128.50 points) round out the top five.
Excelsior leads Jamaican 1-2-3 in Championship of America High School Boys 4x100m at Penn Relays
Excelsior High emerged victorious in the Championship of America High School Boys 4x100m on the third and final day at the 128th Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Their quartet of Ryeem Walker, Damor Miller, Malike Nugent and Lennon Green combined to run 40.45 to secure the school’s first win in the event since 1967.
Kingston College (Daniel Clarke, Yourie Lawrence-Clarke, Nyrone Wade, Marcinho Rose) were second in 40.53 and Herbert Morrison (Ky-Mani Hemmings, Tavaine Stewart, Chance Segree, De Andre Daley) completed a Jamaican 1-2-3 with 40.56 in third.
Smith produces season’s best to win long jump at Texas Invitational
Texas junior Ackelia Smith produced an NCAA leading performance to take top spot on day one of the Texas Invitational at the Mike A. Myers Stadium on Friday.
The 22-year-old reigning NCAA champion produced a season’s best 7.10m, her first jump over 7m this season, to win ahead of Trinidadian Puma athlete Tyra Gittens (6.72m) and UTSA’s Ida Breigan (6.65m).
This is a welcome return to form for Smith who suffered a torn hamstring at the NCAA Indoor Championships in early March.
Smith was Jamaica’s national champion in the long jump in 2022 and was a finalist in both the long and triple jump at that year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Paulino extends 400m winning streak to seven in Shanghai
Dom Rep’s Marileidy Paulino followed up her triumph at the season’s Diamond League opener in Xiamen last week with another victory at the Shanghai Diamond League on Saturday.
The reigning World champion produced 50.89 to win ahead of American Talitha Diggs who ran 51.77 and Bajan two-time World Championship bronze medallist Sada Williams who ran 52.00 in third.
Paulino’s winning streak in the 400m has now stretched to seven races.
It was déjà vu in the women’s 100m hurdles as reigning Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho Quinn just pipped World Indoor 60m hurdles champion and world record holder Devynne Charlton on the line, just as it played out in Xiamen last week.
Camacho-Quinn ran 12.63 compered to Charlton’s 12.64. Two-time World champion Danielle Williams was third in 12.74.
The men’s 110m hurdles saw American Daniel Roberts get his second win in a row to kick off the Diamond League season. His winning time was 13.12, comfortably ahead of Japan’s Shunsuke Izumiya (13.23) and Olympic champion Hansle Parchment’s season’s best 13.26.
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