52nd Annual Swimming, Cycling & Track and Field Championships…
By Treiston Joseph
The second day of the National Schools’ Swimming, Cycling and Track and Field Championships culminated with a bang on Wednesday evening after a dull and late start at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence.
There were major upsets and some records crumbled, coupled with the fact that it was nothing short of a fairy tale ending for East Georgetown/District 12’s female sprinter Ebony Nelson who upset Tiffany Carto, the hands down favourite to win the female 100 metres Under-20 100 metres in Tiffany Carto.
Running since 2005 and having never won individual gold, Nelson finally broke her shackles to take the gold in this her final year as a student, clocking 12.6s to upset Carto from South Georgetown/District 13 who finished in 12.9s. North Georgetown’s/District 11 Shomaine Daniels clocked 13.3s to take third to give Georgetown a sweep of the female 100 metres.
Three events later South Georgetown/District 13 Tirana Mitchell outclassed her District 11 rival Jevina Sampson to shatter the female Under-16 100 metres record with a time of 12.3s, erasing the old mark of 12.5s set by Rhondell Alleyne in 2005.
Sampson, who was dominant in the under-14 category last year, was only good enough for second with a time of 12.8s. Kenesha Gilkes of district Three/West Demerara was third clocking 13.3s.
The Girl’s Under-18 100 metres final saw District Four/East Coast Demerara’s Deja Smartt topping the field with a time of 12.3s while Upper Demerara Kwakwani/ District 10 Shannon Griffith placed second turning in a time of 12.6s. Shoquane Daniels of District 11 was third as she crossed the line in 12.9s.
South American Under-23 400 metres bronze medalist Stephan James took advantage of a mediocre team as his main rival from district four in Chavez Ageday who also happens to be the South American under-23 100 metres bronze medalist withdrew from the event due to a hamstring injury.
James, running out of District 11 clocked in at 10.8s to win the event while Rennick Bernete finished second in 11.1s for District five/West Coast Berbice. District 13’s Selwyn Foster was third with a time of 11.2s.
Carifta 100 and 200 metres finalist Tevin Garraway withdrew from the finals of the under-18 100 metres as it was clearly evident that his hamstring was severely hampering his performance during the preliminary round.
District 11’s Kevin Abbensetts then ran away with the under-18 male 100 metres clocking a time of 10.9s while Samuel Doris from district four took second with a time of 11.0s. District 13’s Danta Thom known for his prowess in the middle distance events finished in a surprising third with a time of 11.4s.
Meanwhile Devaughn Barrington captured his first gold medal at the School Nationals after a history of silver and bronze. The district 11 athlete ran 2:01.1s to take the top prize leaving Eon Hinds of District 15/New Amsterdam in second with a time of 2:03.9s while Nathaniel Giddings from district 10 rounded out the podium finish with a time of 2:07.5s.
