Report and photos by Treiston Joseph
Top performances continue to roll in on day five of the National School Championships on Thursday as Upper Demerara/Kwakwani (District 10) extended their lead at the championships and will likely win their 16th title when the event concludes on Friday (December 1) at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora.
District 10 ended Thursday with 509 points, while host district West Demerara (District Three) finished on 356 points and South Georgetown (District 13) concluded the day on 318.5 points for third.
On the track, District 10’s Daniel Williams was at it again with another record-breaking run, this time in the Boys Under-18 200 metres with a time of 21.78s to erase the old record of 22.0s, formerly held by Jason Yaw. Lionel Marks of West Coast Berbice (District 5) took second with a time of 22.0s, while South Georgetown’s Umkosi Vancooten was third in 22.89s.
District 10’s Chantoba Bright mirrored her teammate Williams by not just copping another gold, but also doing it in record-breaking fashion. Bright broke the Girls Under-18 High Jump record with a leap of 1.57 metres to erase the old mark of 1.55 metres set by Tatyanna Blair of New Amsterdam.
Hometown girl Joanna Archer got her second gold of the championships as well with a win in the Girl’\s Under-18 1500 metres with a time of 5:20.26s to top Aaliyah Moore of South Georgetown with a time of 5:22.95s. Margaret Augusto of the Rupununi (District 9) finished third in 5:30.04s.
District 10’s Deshanna Skeete got her second gold of the championship, but broke her first record in the Girls Under-16 200 metres with a time of 24.97s, erasing her old mark of 25.3s that she set last year.
Meanwhile, Toyan Raymond of East Coast also broke the record in the Girls Under-20 200 metres with a time of 25.29s to topple the old mark of 25.3s, formerly held by Rhobyn Alleyne since 2004.
Other gold medal performances:
Romell Newton (District 10)- Boys Under-18 1500m: 4:23.65s (Record)
Murpht Nash (District 10)- Boys Under-16 1500m: 4:21.50s (Record)
Shaquka Tyrell (District 10)- Girls Under-16 1500m: 5:00.17s (Record)
Joshua Jones (District 2)- Boys Under-20 shot put: 13.21m (Record)
In the final two events of the day, West Coast Berbice (District 5) ran away with the Boys 4×400 metres, while West Demerara (District 3) came from behind to win the Female version of the event.
The championships will conclude on Friday (December 1) with action set to start at 10:00h with the cycling road races, followed by the track and field events.
