Elton Tucker, Assistant Editor - Sport 
St Jago High's Yohan Blake (centre) wins the Class One boys 100m final ahead of teammate Nickel Ashmeade (out of picture) and Herbert Morrison's Dexter Lee (left), who placed third in front of Jamaica College's Winston Barnes (second left), on day three of the GraceKennedy/ISSA Boys and Girls Atlethics Championships, at the National Stadium last night. Blake won in 10.27 seconds. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
Defending champions Calabar High and Kingston College (KC) were locked in a fierce battle for supremacy after a thrilling third day of the GraceKennedy/ISSA Boys and Girls Championships at the National Stadium last night.
Leaders by four points, 39 to 35, going into yesterday's finals, Calabar immediately extended their advantage by bagging gold and silver in the Class Two shot put. KC replied later in the day with two 'quinelas' of their own.
It could be anybody's title today. Calabar have the advantage in the 200m, 400m and 800m events, but KC are very strong in the hurdles and look unbeatable in the medley relay, where they clocked the fastest qualifying time.
Calabar led by eight points, 109 to KC's 101 after 15 finals. The top two were followed by Jamaica College on 70, St. Jago 55, Wolmer's 46, Munro 28, Bridgeport 19, Edwin Allen and Morant Bay 17 and Holmwood 16.
The girls' race is all over. Holmwood have almost doubled their rivals. They lead with 151 points. Vere are next on 87.5, Edwin Allen 76, St. Jago 58.5, Wolmer's 46.5, Manchster 43, St. Hugh's 40, Alpha 35.5, St. Elizabeth Technical 35 and St. Andrew High 33 are the top 10 schools.
The big race of yesterday, the Class One boys 100m, went as expected to St Jago's Yohan Blake. Blake failed to break the record he set last year but still won easily in 10.27 seconds from teammate Nickel Ashmeade, 10.34, and Herbert Morrison's Dexter Lee, 10.43.
St Jago's coach, Danny Hawthorne, said Blake had put pressure on himself by declaring that he wanted to break the world junior mark of 10.01.
"He put himself under too much pressure by announcing that he wanted to break the world junior record. That is psychological pressure. I told him today, 'Go out there, do your best, run good and try and improve on your performance'," Hawthorne said.
Two records were broken in the 100 metres events. First Munro College's Adam Cummings clipped all of eight hundredths of a second off the Class Three boys 100m, winning the event in 10.91 to smash the 10.99 set in 2003 by Jamaica College's Winston Barnes. Bridgeport High's Jazeel Murphy was second in 10.97 and St. Jago's André Robinson third in 11.37.
Vere Technical's Jura Levy then powered home ahead of Carrie Russell of St Thomas Technical to take the Class Two girls 100m in 11.46, four hundredths of a second better that the 11.50 set by Holmwood's Nadine Palmer in 2000. Russell was second in 11.58 and Holmwood's Sashane Gayle third in 11.93.
Calabar's Earl Lee won the Class Two 100m in 10.82 and Edwin Allen's Shawna Anderson took the Class One girls' 100m in 11.58.
There were two back-to-back upsets in the early-evening action.
In the Class One boys 1500m final, Calabar's André Thomas stalked hot favourite, the front-running Kemoy Campbell, for the first 1400m before running past the Bellefield High middle-distance star to clock 3:52.55, less than a second off the record.
Thomas, who cut a massive six seconds off his personal best to win the event, said things went according to plan.
"My coach (Michael Clarke) told me to stay close to him and I knew that I would have won the race from 300 metres out," Thomas said. Thomas will go for a second gold when he runs in today's 800m final. Second in the final was Conroy Crossman of Edwin Allen in 3:52.69. Campbell held on for third in 3:54.70.
The second upset came in the boys 400m hurdles. Keiron Stewart, better known as a sprint hurdler, won in near record time, 50.29, from his KC teammate and pre-race favourite André Peart, who ran on strongly to take second in 50.44. St Jago's Riker Hylton was a disappointing third in 52.09.
Petrona Layne of Vere Technical won the Class One girls 1500m in 4:39.82 from her teammate Tennisha Davis, 4:42.01. St Jago's Roshane Boreland, 4:42.54, was third.
FINISHED FIRST
Earlier, Calabar finished first and second in the first final of the day. Rojay Dacres took the Class Two shot put with a throw of 15.34m, beating Richard Wilson, 14.75m. Bridgeport High's Kerry Espit took third with 14.58m.
St Jago High were first and third in the girls' javelin open. Ichama Dawkins threw 36.31m for gold, silver went to Holmwood's Cassandra Bennett (34.94m), while Kellion Knibb (30.97m) was third.
ONE-TWO
Kingston College placed one-two in the long jump for Class Three boys. Clive Pullen, 6.48m, won ahead of Kedneil Grant, 6.43m. Calabar's Owen Smith, 6.28m, was third.
St. Hugh's continued their good showing in the throws with Candicea Bernard winning the Class Two discus with a throw of 40.24m. Kerry-Ann Walker of Holmwood (35.06m) and Vere's Evanna Whitehorne, 30.92m, were second and third.
Anna-Lisa Myers of Wolmer's Girls cleared 1.70m to win the Class One high jump ahead of Claudia Calder of Convent of Mercy (Alpha), also 1.70m and Holmwood's Christina Barrett, 1.65m.
Kingston College's Jerome Wilson mined gold in the Class Two long jump with a leap of 7.26m, beating Teivaskie Lewin of Herbert Morrison (7.19m) and Wolmer's Julian Forte, 7.05m.
