Vere Technical's Simone Facey, front, powers to the finish in a Class One girls' 200m record of 22.71. Running on for second is Holmwood Technical's Anneisha McLaughlin (23.48) (left) while Nickeisha Anderson (23.49) of Herbert Morrison (centre) claimed the bronze. Facey took the Class One sprint double at this year's Boys and Girls Championships which concluded at the National Stadium last night.
-Ian Allen photo
Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS Kingston College and Holmwood Technical retained their respective boys and girls titles as the 2004 VMBS Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships came to an exciting end at the National Stadium last night.
While Holmwood's girls won easily with 269 points, ahead of Vere (239.5) and Edwin Allen (186), the boys' title was not decided until the final event, the 4x400m relay. KC led by six points before the event and took third place ahead of Calabar who were fourth.
Wolmer's won the event in 3:13.46, Holmwood Technical were second in 3:14.33, KC were third in 3:14.70 and Calabar fourth in 3:17.33.
In winning their 28th title, KC finished with 200 points, eight ahead of Calabar (192) with Jamaica College (143.66) a distant third. The top five in the boys' section was completed by St. Jago (135) and Wolmer's (88.5).
The girls' top 10 was completed by St. Jago (170), St. Andrew High (162.5), Manchester High (103), Wolmer's (89.5), Queen's (71.5), Immaculate (60.5) and Morant Bay (44.5).
Five records were broken on yesterday's final day. They were by Vere's Simone Facey, Camperdown's Renaldo Rose, Holmwood's Sonita Sutherland, Edwin Allen's Kayann Thompson, Morant Bay's Wilbert Walker and KC's Fabian Morgan.
Of all the records, the most impressive came when Facey, who ran 22.71 seconds, upset World Junior 200m silver medallist and favourite Anneisha McLaughlin of Holmwood (23.48) to break her former teammate Veronica Campbell's old mark of 22.92 set in 2001.
In the Class Two 200m, Rose, the 100m record holder, stopped the clock at 21.18 to erase KC's Andre Wellington's one-year mark (21.59). The Class One event went to Michael Gardener in 21.38.
Sutherland secured the final day's first record, running 52.41 seconds to erase Vere's Claudine Williams' 1993 mark of 52.9. Sutherland, who also broke her personal record (43.18) set at the recently held CARIFTA Trials defeated Sherne Pinnock of Edwin Allen (53.60) and Vere's Sharnetter Stewart (53.73).
Thompson ran 2:03.75 in the girls' Class One 800m to claim her second record of the meet. In doing so, Thompson who erased the 1500m record on Friday, rewrote Carlene Robinson's 2:04.98.
Morgan's record came when he threw 18.36 metres in the boys' Class One shot put.
NEW MARK
Walker set a new mark of 15.74m in the triple jump open to earn his third gold of the meet.
The meet was marred by a 45-minute stoppage in mid-afternoon by spectators who clogged the aisles and refused to move when ordered to do so by the organisers.
The Class champions for the 2004 meet were Morant Bay's Wilbert Walker (30 points)
and Holmwood's Peta-Gaye Beckford (27), both winning three gold medals in Class One. Camperdown's Renaldo Rose (18) and Edwin Allen's Sherene Pinnock (16) in Class Two while Andre Peart of KC (24) and Kimberly Williams of Edwin Allen (20) topped Class Three. In the girls' Class Four, Denesha Morris of Manchester (18) prevailed.
In the Class One 400m, Anneisha McLaughlin produced a sub-53 second effort (52.80) but still failed to touch the record of 52.32 held by St. Jago's Keisha Downer. McLaughlin won ahead of Maris Wisdom (53.31) and St. Elizabeth Technical's Shericka Williams (53.52).
See more reports and picture's in tomorrow's Gleaner.
