As the sun set over the Caribbean Sea on Sunday evening, hundreds of student-athletes celebrated their successes over the seven days of Island Champs. Few celebrated harder than those from St Mary’s College and St Joseph’s Convent, boys’ and girls’ champions in an electric atmosphere at Saint Lucia’s secondary track and field championships.
The star-studded finale came off at the Soufrière Stadium, with the medal rounds of track events from 80m for the Under-14 division, up to the 5000m invitational for boys, along with the ever-thrilling relays. A capacity crowd at the venue was joined by thousands of viewers online, including parents, teachers, and alumni.
SMC, who came into the finals with a solid lead, amassed 304 points in all. Defending boys’ champions Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School had 203. Micoud Secondary enjoyed a strong outing with 159, Soufrière Comprehensive Secondary School had 129, and Saint Lucia Sports Academy rounded out the top five with 105 points.
SJC defended their girls’ title with a tally of 258 points, SLSA taking second place with 184, VFCSS third with 172, Micoud 132, and Leon Hess Comprehensive Secondary School tying with Choiseul Secondary for fifth place on 91 points.
Omarion Edwin was outstanding for SMC, winning the Under-18 800m in 2:00.88, the 1500m in 4:21.33, and the open 5000m in 17:34.03. In the 800m and 1500m, he led an SMC 1-2 with Alex Devaux.
Also doing the double quinella in the Under-18 division were Terrick Plummer and Micaiah Sobers in the short sprints. Plummer, 16, won both events, clocking 10.76 seconds and 22.19 seconds. Sobers, 17, came in at 10.78 and 22.36 for his two silver medals. Both runs had significant trailing winds. Joshua Matthews was a gold medal winner in the 400m Under-16, crossing the line in 52.96 seconds for the win.
SMC were imperious in the relays as well, winning four of the six gold medals on offer.
SJC, meanwhile, got their day started with a 1-2 finish in the 200m Under-16 girls, Destinee Cenac running 25.66 to defeat teammate Gabrielle Facey. Facey, a CARIFTA qualifier, would get a gold medal of her own, however, putting down a time of 59.56 to take the 400m. Abigal Herman had previously won the Under-18 1500m in 5:42.40. She came back to capture the 800m crown in 2:32.94 on Sunday. SJC won two of the six relays.
VFCSS, whose cheerleading section kept the grandstand jumping, won three relays between the girls and boys. They also marked the individual attainment of athletes like the Landers sisters, Kayleigh and Maiya, both double champions. Kayleigh won the 1000m earlier in the week and returned to earn victory in 1:49.30 for the Under-14 600m. Maiya took the 1500m during the week, then ran 2:28.18 for gold in the Under-16 800m. Although no points were awarded in her division, Kerrina Monero took the 18-plus 400m and 800m.
Ethan William was also excellent. He took gold in the Under-14 80m in 9.78 seconds, and the 150m in 18.26 for VFCSS. Renard Bernard won the Under-16 boys’ 100m dash in 11.08 seconds, and Ryan Simeon was a double winner in the 18-plus sprints.
But for a false start in the 200m, Jady Emmanuel of Choiseul Secondary would likely have been a triple champion. Winning the long jump a week earlier, she continued her absolute dominance of the 100m, winning in 11.83 seconds in the Under-18 division. Just 16 years old, she has gone as fast as 11.66 seconds and will be hopeful of at least one medal at next month’s CARIFTA Games. She also led her relay team to victory.
Although they were not among the top five this time around, Beanefield was one of several schools which gave a fine account of themselves. Garbed in white, their cheering section rivalled the black and gold of VFCSS. On the track, their thrust was led by Casyah Paul, Barbara Marie Maximin, and Jermario Actille. Paul got gold medals in the Under-18 girls’ 200m (25.23) and 400m (59.72), whilst Maximin won the Under-16 girls’ 100m in 12.48, a photo-finish separating her from Cenac of SJC. Actille was timed at 22.97 in winning the boys’ Under-16 200m.
There were green shoots too for the Anse Ger TVET Institute, Nyla Joseph winning the Under-14 80m and 150m. Tevohn Edwards emerged victorious for Babonneau Secondary in the Under-14 300m and 600m. Deslie Nelson, Chaz Alexander, and Joaqwan Alexander all got gold for Soufrière, Deslie and Joaquwan in the 400m, Chaz in the 1500m and 800m.
