Fourteen new records on the books at the end of Inter-Secondary heats

Fourteen new records were entered into the books on Thursday, March 16, at the end of the second day of the 2023 Inter-Secondary Schools Athletics heats at the Sir Vincent Beache Stadium.

The Girls’ High School set a new record in the Junior Girls’ 4X100-metres relay in a time of 55.35 seconds, erasing the old mark of 55.44 seconds which was held by the Barrouallie Secondary School. They returned later to erase the old Junior Girls’ 4X200-metres relay mark of 1 minute 57.26 seconds also held by the Barrouallie Secondary School, with a new time of 1 minute 56.15 seconds.

Kevin Williams of the St. Martin’s Secondary School ran 25.59 seconds to establish a new Junior Boys’ 200-metres record, erasing the old time of 25.68 seconds set by Romario McDowall also of St. Martin’s Secondary School. Williams also broke the St. Vincent Grammar School’s old Junior Boys’ 400-metres record of 59.01 seconds set by Leemore Ollivierre, setting a new time of 58.57 seconds.

St. Martin’s Secondary School had further cause to celebrate when they broke their own Junior Boys’ 4X100 metres record of 51.72 seconds, with a new time of 51.71 seconds.

The Thomas Saunders Secondary School’s Shaquania Jacobs broke her own Intermediate Girls’ 100-metres record of 12.41 seconds with a new time of 12.25 seconds, but also had to contend with a record of hers being broken. This was when Zekesha Kelly of the Troumaca Ontario Secondary School ran 59.85 seconds to break the old Intermediate Girls’ 400-metres record of 59.95 seconds which was held by Shaquania Jacobs.

Zekesha Kelly of the Troumaca Ontario Secondary School’s old Intermediate Girls’ 1,500-metres record of 5 minutes 40.39 seconds was broken by Kessian John of the Barrouallie Secondary School who set a new time of 5 minutes 34.67 seconds.

Kessian John also broke the Girls’ 3,000-metres Open with a new time of 12 minutes 20.32 seconds, erasing the old mark of 13 minutes 17.93 seconds set by Ashanti Richards also of the Barrouallie Secondary School.

The Girls’ Intermediate 4×400-metres relay record of 4 minutes 26.73 seconds set by the Thomas Saunders Secondary School, was reset by the Barrouallie Secondary School in a new time of 4 minutes 20.85 seconds.

Last year Ajay Delpesche’s 1.88 metres jump erased the 40-year old record of Rohan Saunders-Phillips of the St Martin’s Secondary School, whose height of 1.87m was achieved in 1987 at the Arnos Vale Playing Field. This year, J’Aivar Cato of the Thomas Saunders Secondary School went better by two centimetres with a new height of 1.90 metres, erasing the record set by Ajay Delpesche of the Petit Bordel Secondary School last year.

Ajay Delpesche ran 49.70 seconds to erase the 49.90 seconds record of Keo Davis of the St. Vincent Grammar School resetting the Senior Boys’ 400-metres record; while Gail-Ann John of the Barrouallie Secondary School’s 100-metres record of 12.68 seconds, was broken by Trish Henson also of the Barrouallie Secondary School in a new time of 12.67 seconds.

The Senior Boys’ 4X100-metres relay record of 44.55 seconds held by the Barrouallie Secondary School was reset by the St. Vincent Grammar School in a new time of 44.39 seconds. The number of new records led one parent to remark: “I wonder what it will be like on finals day!” The finals of the Inter-Secondary Schools Athletics Championships will run off on March, 30 at the Sir Vincent Beache Stadium.