Hydel captain Oneika McAnuff receiving the Neville "Teddy" McCook Trophy for best performing school overall from Nikki McCook-Miller, daughter of the late Neville "Teddy" McCook.
An overwhelming feeling of gratitude was palpable as athletes, organizers and sponsors came together at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on Thursday to celebrate a successful staging of the 50th Gibson McCook Relays.
The 50th Anniversary Awards Banquet was held to recognize the outstanding schools who dominated this year’s edition of the meet, which was held on May 8 at the National Stadium in Kingston, as well as honor some of the longest serving officials, committee members and sponsors.
Founded by the late Neville "Teddy" McCook in 1973, the meet has served as the premier relay carnival on Jamaican soil for half a century, which is not something to overlook.
“50 years in the life of any individual or organization is an achievement,” said Chairman of the Gibson McCook Relays organizing committee, Professor Rainford Wilks.
“Organizing and executing a relay carnival with multiple participants requires more than dreams and values. To consistently execute the event on schedule is no mean achievement. These are some of the characteristics of the Gibson McCook Relays that have made it famous and a staple in the Jamaican track & field diet,” Wilks added.
Former Jamaica Olympic Association President, The Hon. Mike Fennell, was the guest speaker for the evening and used his time at the podium to encourage people to understand the value of sport to the country.
“We should never undervalue the contribution of sports to brand Jamaica,” he said.
“In Jamaica, and in many other parts of the world, sport is recognized mainly because of an event, whether it’s Champs, the Olympic Games or the Commonwealth Games but sport is far more than that. Sport is something that contributes to the economy; sport is something that contributes to both physical and mental health; sports contributes to tourism and so on,” he added.
Fennell also relayed a message to the athletes themselves, encouraging them to “never lose your values.”
Now, onto the honorees of the evening, starting with Hydel High who took home the biggest prize as the best overall performing school.
Hydel, who also went on to claim their first ever Girls Champs title a few weeks later, also took home the best performing girls school and the championship events record breaker awards.
Jamaica College took home the prize as the top performing school on the boys side.
Some of the evening’s other honorees included Custos of St. Andrew, Ian Forbes, as well as Audley Hewett, who has been on the organizing committee since inception. The meet’s two longest serving sponsors, Child’s Play and Nestle, were also recognized.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
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.
Edwin Allen second in Champions of America girls’ 4x800m as Union Catholic sets National Record
Edwin Allen had to settle for second position in the Championships of America high school girls’ 4x800m, as they were soundly beaten by New Jersey-based favourites Union Catholic in the final on day two of the 128th Penn Relays at the Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Friday.
Not only did Union Catholic defend their title, but the team of Jimmiea King, Peyton Hollis, Sophia Thompson, and Paige Sheppard did so in emphatic fashion, clocking a National Record of 8:41.20. They lowered the previous mark of 8:43.12 set in 2008 by Roosevelt.
Edwin Allen’s quartet of Tanesia Gardiner, Monique Stewart, Kevongaye Fowler, and Rickeisha Simms, gave a credible effort in second at 8:50.76, while Virginia-based South Lakes (8:50.8), were third.
The other Jamaican schools, Holmwood Technical (8:58.94) and Alphansus Davis (9:13.83), placed fifth and ninth respectively.
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