22-time champions St. George’s College were stunned by Waterford High in the ISSA-Digicel Manning Cup on Wednesday.
In the match played at Waterford, the hosts pulled off a shock 3-2 win over the North Street-based school to move to seven points from three games, good enough for second in Group A.
Defending champions Kingston College moved to the top of the group with a 3-1 win over Meadowbrook at Stadium East, their third win in as many games.
In Wednesday’s other Group A clash at Calabar, the hosts secured a 6-1 win over Ardenne.
In Group B, 30-time champions Jamaica College moved to seven points from their three games with a 4-2 victory over Holy Trinity at the Bell Chung Oval.
Group D saw Norman Manley beat Spanish Town 3-0 at the Spanish Town Prison Oval while STATHS and Jonathan Grant played out a 2-2 draw at STATHS.
There were 11 matches played on Tuesday as well.
In Group F, Excelsior pulled out a 2-1 win over Clan Carthy at the Alpha Institute to move to seven points from three games, maintaining a two-point lead over Campion College, who secured a 2-1 win of their own against Cumberland at Cumberland.
The other Group F match saw Jose Marti grind out a 1-0 win over Kingston Technical at home.
Group C saw Haile Selassie and Charlie Smith both move to seven points from three games. Haile Selassie went to Tivoli High and secured a 3-1 win while Charlie Smith beat Edith Dalton 3-1 at the Tony Spalding Sports Complex. Vauxhall and Bridgeport drew 2-2 at Vauxhall in the other group encounter.
Mona High were Tuesday’s biggest winners with a 9-2 result against Camperdown in Group E to move to a perfect nine points from three matches. Joining them on nine points were Wolmer’s Boys who beat Papine 2-0 at Papine. Hydel hammered Kingston High 7-1 at Royal Lakes in the third group game.
Dunoon secured a 2-0 win over Tarrant in Group D while in Group B, St. Catherine beat St. Jago 1-0 at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.
Action continues Friday with 10 matches. Group F will see Campion College visiting Kingston Technical, leaders Excelsior visiting Jose Marti and Cumberland hosting Clan Carthy.
In Group C, Bridgeport and Haile Selassie will do battle at Dunbeholden, Vauxhall will host Edith Dalton and Tivoli will host Charlie Smith.
The lone Group D clash will be between Spanish Town and STATHS at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.
Group E will see Camperdown and Kingston High clash at the Alpha Institute, Papine host leaders Mona and Wolmer’s host Hydel.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
Favourites through to 4X100m relay finals
There were no mishaps in the exciting 4X100m relays on Thursday’s third day of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships, as all the main protagonists safely executed their baton exchanges to secure spots in the medal event at the National Stadium.
Calabar High anchored by Shaquane Gordon clocked the fastest time of 40.53s in the boys’ Class one qualifiers, with Excelsior (40.70s), Kingston College (40.70s), St Jago (41.02s), Jamaica College (40.98s), Herbert Morrison (41.03), Wolmer’s Boys (41.06s) and St George’s College (41.07s), also progressing.
In the girls’ Class one qualifiers, Wolmer’s Girls laid down the marker with a 45.40s-clocking, followed by Edwin Allen (45.73s), Hydel (45.57s) and Holmwood Technical (46.05s). St Catherine (46.31s), Manchester High (47.50s), St Jago (47.43s) and St Mary High (47.64s), complete the finalists.
The boys’ Class two qualifiers were led by Excelsior High, who clocked a fast 41.13s, while Calabar (41.38s), Kingston College (41.85s) and Jamaica College (42.44s), also booked their spot in the final. St Catherine (42.35s), St George’s College (42.55s), Manchester High (43.03s) and Petersfield (43.13s), are the other finalists.
Edwin Allen were fastest through from Class two, as the quartet of Kellyann Carr, Shanique Cassanova, Marria Crossfield and Renecia Edwards won their heat in 46.20s. They will be joined in the final by Hydel (46.59s), Immaculate Conception (47.03s), Excelsior (47.16s), Holmwood Technical (47.23s), Manchester High (47.45s) St Catherine High (47.49s) and Vere Technical (47.58s).
Jamaica College headline qualifiers through to the boys’ Class three event. They won their heat in 43.71s, and they will be joined by Kingston College (43.87s), Calabar (44.11s), St Elizabeth Technical (44.97s), Wolmer’s Boys (44.23s), St George’s College (44.23s), Edwin Allen (44.87s) and Herbert Morrison (46.00s), in the final.
In the girls’ Class three event, St Jago High quartet of Rihanna Anderson, Adora Campbell, Shannia Campbell and Trecia-Ann Grant, clocked the fastest qualifying time of 46.35 seconds. Edwin Allen High (46.71s), Hydel High (46.96s), Immaculate Conception (46.62s), Holmwood Technical (47.19s), Convent of Mercy Alpha (47.49s), Wolmer’s Girls’ (47.49s) and St Mary High (47.36), round out the top eight.
Meanwhile, Hydel High’s quartet of Teixiera Johnson, Gianna Blake, Amelia Hacker and Shaneil Henry were fastest through to the girls’ Class four final. They clocked 48.10 seconds, and they will be joined by Edwin Allen High (48:40s), Holmwood Technical (48.58s), St Jago High (49.31s), St Andrew High (49.65s), Convent of Mercy Alpha (49.10s), Wolmer’s Girls (49.44s) and St Catherine High (49.69s) in the final.
The 4X100m relay finals are scheduled for Saturday evening.
Three 100m records fall as KC, Wolmer's Girls assume pole positions at Anthrick Corporate Area Champs
Kingston College and Wolmer’s Girls assumed pole position on the boys’ and girls’ standings at the Anthrick Corporate Area Championships, after an exciting opening day of action at Jamaica College’s Ashenheim Stadium on Friday.
The curtains fittingly came down on the day with the much-anticipated 100 metres, where three records were broken, two by Wolmer’s Girls representatives Natrece East and Tiana Marshall in Classes three and two respectively.
It was those performances that assisted in pushing the Heroes Circle girls to the summit on 150 points, three ahead of defending champions Excelsior on 147, with Immaculate High (133 points), The Queen’s School (77 points) and St Andrew High (61 points), complete the top five heading into Saturday’s final day.
On the boys’ side, Kingston College, on 146 points, opened up a 25-point gap on rivals Calabar, on 121 points, with Jamaica College in third on 109 points. Excelsior (56 points) and Wolmer’s Boys (52 points) occupy the other top five positions.
Earlier, East gave the 100m series an explosive start when she stopped the clock in a new meet record of 11.67s to top the girls’ Class three event. Immaculate’s Kayla Johnson (11.93s) and Tashika Thompson (12.43s) of Excelsior, were second and third respectively.
Marshall, also of Wolmer’s Girls then topped the girls’ Class two event in a meet record of 11.94s, in a negative 1.3 metres per second wind reading. Tashay Faulkner (12.32s) of Alpha Academy was second, with Immaculate’s Shevi-Anne Shim (12.33s) in third.
The Wolmer’s Girls sweep of the top three classes was completed by Mickayla Gardener, who successfully defended her Class one title and secured her ninth Corporate Area Championship medal. She recovered from a stumbling start to win in 12.21s, ahead of Excelsior’s Sharlla Whittaker (12.56s) and Abigail Watt (12.56s) of St Andrew High.
Meanwhile, Mario Ross of Wolmer’s Boys, became the first Class three athlete to clock a sub-11 time at the championship, when he stopped the clock in a meet record 10.99s. His time ran in a negative 1.1 wind reading, saw him finish ahead of Kingston College’s Orandy Campbell (11.41s) and Naethan Bryan (11.42s) of St George’s College.
The soft-spoken Ross expressed surprise at the time.
“I am very surprised that I ran that fast because I have been trying hard to get there since the start of the season and it wasn’t happening. But my teammates believed in me and told me I could do it and I finally did it, so I am happy,” he said shortly after catching his breath.
The boys’ Class two event was won by Excelsior’s Malike Nugent, who clocked a personal best 10.75s in a negative 1.2 wind speed. Nugent upset his more fancied rivals Nyrone Wade (10.79s) of Kingston College, and Tyreece Foreman (10.90s) of St George’s College.
Finally, Kingston College’s Yourie Clarke, signalled a return to form, as he clocked a personal best-equalling 10.55s to win the boys’ Class one 100m, ahead of Calabar’s Shaquane Gordon (10.59s), who is contesting his first year in the class. Damor Miller (10.63s) of Excelsior, was third.
NB: Action of Saturday’s final day of the Corporate Area Championships will be live on SportsMax and the SportsMax App.
Digicel awards $JMD100,000 academic scholarships to Manning Cup players
Beyond encouraging excellence on the football field, Digicel has stepped up its support for the 2023 schoolboy football season through donation of two $100,000 scholarships to Manning Cup players from non-traditional high schools. Kingston Technical High's Nickoy Walters, and Kishawn Valentine from Haile Selassie High, emerged winners of the Digicel scholarships. The money will go a far way toward paying for their tuition and other school expenses.
The boys came out on top of a field of fellow high school footballers who were tasked with writing a compelling essay to Digicel justifying their eligibility for the sponsorship. They were urged by their coaches to enter competition and write about the significance of balancing sports and academics.
Walters and Valentine expressed their gratitude for the scholarships, knowing that it will fill a big financial gap. Walters expressed, “It means a lot to me. I needed the help to better my education because things are very expensive, and I can’t afford it right now and I appreciate it a lot. I just want to thank Digicel.” He added, “I am in Sixth Form right now studying Business, and I want to major in Accounts. Digicel is one of the best companies right now, and I appreciate it a lot.”
An equally appreciative Valentine who looks forward to studying overseas, conveyed the profound impact of the scholarship on his future: “I feel really good. It means a lot and words cannot explain. I want this to help me get a better education overseas.”
Acknowledging the difficulty in choosing recipients due to impressive efforts from all applicants, Head of Communications and Corporate Affairs for Digicel, Elon Parkinson expressed his satisfaction with the selection of Walters and Valentine. He extended well-wishes for their academic pursuits, while emphasising that the scholarship sets up the boys for achieving excellence later in life. Parkinson praised the coaches' efforts in emphasising the holistic development of the student-athletes.
“Here we have two students from non-traditional high schools who were tasked with writing an award-winning essay to Digicel as to why they deserve this $100,000 sponsorship. These two boys came out on top. We are elated with the efforts from the coaches to rally their boys, which further demonstrates the ISSA Digicel Schoolboy Football competition is not all about talent on the field,” Parkinson concluded.
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