KC’s Itubo stars with record performance

Kingston College's (KC) Julius Itubo stole the spotlight on yesterday's second day of competition at the GraceKennedy ISSA Boys and Girl's Athletics Championships at the National Stadium with a record-breaking performance in the boys Class Two 1500 metres.

Itubo, the defending champion, shattered his own record of 4:05.25 set last year, leading from start to finish to clock a superb 4:00.76. Jamaica College (JC) secured the other podium spots with Ricardo Lee finishing second in 4:18.42 and Ajovi Williams third in 4:25.11.

St Jago dominated the other boys' 1500m finals. Phillip Palmer captured the Class Two title in 4:09.91 ahead of Bellefield's Jevaughn TomLin (4:10.95) and St Elizabeth Technical's Dejaun Grey (4:11.04).

RUNAWAY VICTORY

In Class One, St Jago's Ryan Achua successfully defended his title with a runaway victory in 3:50.71. Nahashin Rutto of KC was second in 3:55.91, while Edwin Allen's Joel Morgan finished third in 3:58.30.

Clarendon College's Alex Jordan Hall produced a major upset to capture the girl's Class Three 1500 metres, leading from start to finish to win in 4:47.33. Convent of Mercy Academy's (Alpha) Danoya Scott took second in 4:48.54, while favourite Romean Gray of Edwin Allen finished third in 4:48.72.

Edwin Allen's Kevongaye Fowler stepped up from her fourth-place finish last year to win the Class Two girls' 1500m in 4:41.37. Defending champion Alikay Reynolds of Alphansus Davis was second in 4:44.39, with Alexia Palmer of Sydney Pagon third in 4:45.97.

Holmwood Technical's Jovi Rose won the girl's Class One 1500m in 4:45.15, edging Annataseca Blackwood of Sydney Pagon (4:45.43), while Hydel's Rhianna Morgan took third in 4:47.55.

FIELD EVENTS

In field events, KC's Odaine Noble became the first gold medallist at Champs, winning the boys' Class Two long jump final with 7.18 metres. Calabar's Talshawn Edwards, the favourite, took silver with 7.02m, while St Jago's Winaldo Faulknor claimed bronze with 6.79m.

Clarendon College's Jamelia Young was the first female gold medallist of the meet after winning the girl's Class Two shot put with a throw of 14.71m. Holmwood's Shamanda Wilmot was second with 14.39m, while Alyssa Forrester of Excelsior finished third with 14.22m.

Competition continues today with 12 finals scheduled - six in the field and six on the track.

The first field event final will be the girl's Class Three high jump at 12:02 p.m. Other field event finals include the girl's Class Two high jump, girl's Class Four long jump, girl's Class Two long jump, boys' Class One discus, and boys' Class Two shot put.

On the track, the 400 metres finals will highlight the evening session, beginning with the girls Class Three race at 8:25 p.m. Preliminary action will also take place in the 4x100m relays, along with the Open boys' 5000m.