American Alexis Holmes and great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith emerged as the winners of the women’s and men’s 400m races at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

Holmes, a member of the USA’s gold medal-winning mixed relay team at the World Championships in Budapest last year and the World Relays this year in Nassau, ran 50.31 to lead an American 1-2-3 with Brittany Brown running 51.21 in second and Naasha Robinson running 51.81 in third.

“I had a lot of fun. The energy was great,” Holmes said after the race.

“I was expecting a smooth race and just trying to get the win. I just try to stay relaxed and poised because I know I have a strong finish,” she added.

The men’s race saw World Championship silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith produce 44.69 to take the win ahead of American Matthew Boling (44.98) and Jamaica’s Zandrion Barnes (45.41).

“I’m a lot more healthier this year. I’ve got the best team in the world. My coach Gary Evans is a man with a plan and this year it’s all about being healthy when it matters,” he said after the race.

“It was a good executed race. We just wanted to come home strong and be composed. I’ve got Oslo, Europeans, Monaco and London so I’ve got a lot more races and training,” he added.

The Brit also gave props to World Champion Antonio Watson who ran 45.61 for fifth.

“Listen, he’s the reigning World Champion so I’ve got to give him respect. He came out here in front of his people and raced. He delivered when it mattered,” he said.

Two-time World Championship bronze medallist Rushell Clayton and Malik James-King emerged victorious in the women’s and men’s 400m hurdles events, respectively, at the inaugural Jamaica Athletics Invitational at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

Clayton looked in excellent early season form, running 53.72, a world leading time and her fastest season opener, to take the win ahead of American Anna Cockrell (53.76) and Jamaica’s Shian Salmon (54.57).

Clayton also tried out a new running pattern with 14 steps between hurdles.

“It felt amazing. I tried my best and I know my coach will be happy with that so I look forward to my next race which is next Sunday,” she said after the race.

“These ladies are who I compete against all the time. It’s an amazing feeling to always line up and compete against the best in the world,” Clayton added.

The men’s race saw Malik James-King spring an upset with a personal best 48.39 to win ahead of World Championship silver medallist Kyron McMaster (49.00) and Jaheel Hyde (49.48).

“I have a lot more to work on so I’m just going to be going back to the drawing board and listening to my coach,” James-King said after the race.

“I was surprised with the time, honestly. I expected 48 but I didn’t know an exact time. 48.3 is a really good time,” he added.

LSU sophomore Brianna Lyston and Arkansas senior Nickisha Pryce both produced excellent performances to claim gold medals on the final day of the SEC Outdoor Championships in Gainesville, Florida on Saturday.

The former Hydel High and St. Jago High athlete won ahead of Georgia’s Kaila Jackson, who wasn’t far behind in second with 10.95, and LSU’s Thelma Davies who ran 11.01 in third.

She then ran 22.37 for fourth in the 200m final. Ole Miss’s McKenzie Long ran 22.03 for gold ahead of South Carolina’s JaMeesia Ford (22.11) and LSU’s Thelma Davies (22.17).

Earlier, she helped LSU take bronze in the women’s 4x100m in 42.49 behind Ole Miss (42.47) and Tennessee (42.42).

The 19-year-old Lyston ran wind assisted times of 10.87 and 10.84 earlier this season. She also claimed the indoor 60m titles at both the SEC and NCAA Indoor Championships in February and March.

In the men’s 100m final, Bahamian Florida junior Wanya McCoy ran a personal best 10.02 for second behind LSU’s Godson Oghenebrume who successfully defended his title in 9.99. Tennessee’s T’Mars McCallum ran 10.03 in third.

McCoy also ran a personal best 19.93 for second in the 200m behind Alabama’s Tarsis Orogot who ran a meet record 19.75 to take gold. Auburn’s Makanakaishe Charamba ran 20.00 for third

The 400m saw reigning Jamaican national champion Nickisha Pryce move to second all-time for Jamaica in the event with a brilliant 49.32 to win gold. Kaylyn Brown (49.47) and Amber Anning (49.51) took second and third to complete an Arkansas 1-2-3.

This is just a day after Pryce ran her previous personal best 49.72 to advance to the final.

Pryce's time is just outside of Lorraine Fenton's Jamaican record 49.30 set back in 2002.

Barbadian Tennessee senior Rasheeme Griffith ran 49.24 for third in the men’s 400m hurdles final behind Alabama’s Chris Robinson (48.43) and Tennessee’s Clement Ducos (47.69).

The women’s event saw Jamaican Ole Miss sophomore Gabrielle Matthews run a personal best 55.12 to win ahead of Georgia’s Dominique Mustin (55.60) and LSU’s Shani’a Bellamy (56.40).

Jamaica now has another man under 1:46.00 in the 800m in the form of Clemson senior Tarees Rhoden.

Rhoden ran a personal best 1:45.97 to claim gold at the ACC Outdoor Championships in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday.

Wake Forest junior Rynard Swanepoel ran 1:46.69 for second while Virginia senior Shane Cohen ran 1:46.89 in third.

The 23-year-old former Kingston College standout, who was eighth in the final last season, entered Saturday’s race with a personal best of 1:46.20 done last April.

Clemson also took gold in the women's 100m hurdles through Jamaican sophomore Oneka Wilson who ran a brilliant personal best 12.87 to win ahead of Florida State's Alexandra Webster (13.04) and Duke's Skyla Wilson (13.26).

Wilson's previous personal best 13.00 was done on Friday in the prelims.

The outstanding display of sportsmanship by 12-year-old St John’s Primary student Perez Pearson at Wednesday’s grand final of the Central Championships under the umbrella of the 42^nd staging of the Devon Biscuits/Institute of Sports (INSPORTS) All-Island Primary Schools Athletics Championships, has been commended by his coach Jermaine Miller. 

Pearson finished tied for first place Male Overall Champion with Ricardo Granville of Naggo Head Primary. 

“Perez is a multi-faceted student and he always had other areas to give of his time. However, his time management and the support he has at home, is really top notch and that has helped him to create the necessary balance that needed to succeed,” Miller said in a media release. 

Pearson, who is also the head boy at his school, won first place in the long jump as well as in the Boys 9-13 800 Sprint Medley Open finals. 

Said Miller, “I am extremely happy and proud of his execution in all his events. His performance, especially in the long jump showed he has good composure under pressure as well, as it displayed his competitive nature.” 

Miller has been Pearson’s coach for the past two years. He believes the young athlete can excel at the high school level. 

“For sure, he will continue track and field going into high school. He is a brilliant youngster academically and he has high ambitions of becoming a pilot. So, I’m hopeful that he will continue in the sport after high school. If he does, I am confident that he will reach the national and international level and do well at whatever he does,” Miller disclosed. 

According to Pearson’s mother Tamara Woodhouse he lost his father at the age of five. She said the elder Pearson had wanted his son to do well in academics and sports. 

“If his father was alive, he would have been so proud of him. He always wanted him to do anything in sports and academics while being involved in school activities. I have been supportive of his sporting activities, I’m always at his track meets, and every event that he takes part in. I also make sure he has his gears,” said Woodhouse. 

Woodhouse, who resides in Willowdene in Spanish Town, said she is ecstatic about her son’s achievements. 

“It was a good performance. I was excited, overjoyed and nervous at the same time whenever he ran,” she said. 

She shared that his interest in sports started in the third grade. 

“I think he was in the third grade when he began to take it seriously, but it wasn’t until he was in grade five that he started to run. This is his second year participating in the Central champs. Last year, someone ran past him at the finishing line, and he said he would never let that happen to him again.” 

Sherene Bryan, brand manager for title sponsor Devon Biscuits, said that Pearson’s achievements augurs well for the brand and what it represents. 

“It was an easy decision for us to come on board. We recognize the importance of supporting, fostering and encouraging the young athletes of tomorrow. They are the future. It starts right here, these are the stars of the future,” said Bryan.

Defending champion Corinaldi Avenue Primary of St James raced to a 13-point lead on the penultimate day of the INSPORTs/Devon Biscuits Primary Schools Western Athletics Championships on Friday.

After 11 finals, Corinaldi surged to 86.5 points ahead of Black River Primary of St Elizabeth on 73.5 and Howard Cooke Primary of St James sitting in third spot on 54 points. Brompton Primary of St Elizabeth are fourth with 50 points while Glen Stuart Primary completed the top five on 48 points.

The records continued to tumble but the star of the day was Santana Brown of Brompton who won two events the Girls Cricketball Open with 42.04m and returned later to capture the high jump with a record leap of 1.37m.

Her teammate Keneek Grove won the Boys’ Cricket ball Open with a record 64.67m ahead of Corinaldi’s Al-Jay Levy with 63.50m.

Brompton won three events and took an early while Howard Cooke won three relays all in record fashion. In fact, seven of the eight relay records were broken.  

Howard Cooke won the Girls’ Class Four 4x100 in 1:02.49 and the Girls’ Class Two in 54.75, both in record fashion. They also won Boys’ Class One in 52.85 just outside the record of 52.19 held by Barracks Road since 2023.

Corinaldi Avenue won two relays in record style, the Boys’ Class Four in a record 58.05 and the Boys’ Class Three in 55.35.

Glen Stuart also won two relays in record fashion capturing the Girls’ Class Three 4x100 in 58.29 and the Boys’ Class Two in 55.25. Barracks Road Primary won the Girls Class One in a record 53.55.

There will be 29 finals tomorrow as teams fight to book their spots in the all-island finals dubbed the Nationals on May 20-22. Lyssons of St Thomas won the Eastern Championship and Naggo Head of St Catherine won the Central Championship.

The National champion will walk away with $600,000. Lyssons are the defending champions.

Brianna Lyston secured a chance at the sprint double at the SEC Outdoor Championships in Gainesville, Florida after booking her spot in the final of the women’s 100m.

The LSU sophomore, who ran 22.31 on Thursday to secure her spot in the 200m final, came back a day later to run 11.09 to be the joint-fastest qualifier for Saturday’s final alongside collegiate leader Jacious Sears of Tennessee.

Bahamian Florida junior Wanya McCoy and Jamaican Georgia freshman Jehlani Gordon advanced to the men’s 100m final as the second and ninth fastest qualifiers with 10.09 and 10.17, respectively.

The women’s 400m prelims saw Arkansas senior Nickisha Pryce become the eighth-fastest Jamaican ever in the event.

Pryce, who is Jamaica’s reigning national champion, ran a personal best and collegiate leading 49.72 to advance to the final as the fastest qualifier ahead of teammate Kaylyn Brown who ran 49.86.

LSU sophomore Jahiem Stern produced 13.45 to advance to the final of the 110m hurdles.

In the field, the Jamaican Arkansas pair of Romaine Beckford and Wayne Pinnock won gold in the high jump and long jump, respectively.

Beckford had a best clearance of 2.22m to win ahead of LSU’s Kuda Chadenga (2.19m) and Ole Miss’s Arvesta Troupe (2.14m).

Pinnock, a sliver medalist at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, jumped 8.09m to successfully defend his SEC title.

Georgia’s Micah Larry produced 7.80m for second while Florida’s Caleb Foster was third with the same distance.

Jamaican Clemson junior Courtney Lawrence produced a personal best 19.75 to win shot put gold at the ACC Outdoor Championships in Atlanta on Friday.

The former Petersfield High standout and 2021 NACAC Under-23 champion produced three throws over 19m throughout his series to take the title ahead of Notre Dame’s Michael Schoaf (19.38m) and Wake Forest’s Thomas Kitchell (19.16m).

Jamaican Florida State sophomore Jordan Turner jumped 7.90m for second in the men’s long jump behind teammate Jeremiah Davis who jumped 7.97m for the win. Miami’s Russell Robinson was third with 7.82m.

Moving to the track where Lawrence’s schoolmate, Oneka Wilson, produced a personal best 13.00 to advance to the final of the women’s 100m hurdles as the fastest qualifier.

Another Jamaican Clemson standout, senior Tarees Rhoden, made it through to the final of the men's 800m with a 1:49.17 effort to finish second in his heat.

Bahamian 400m Olympic Champion Steven Gardiner, and Jamaica’s World Championships long jump finalist Carey McLeod, stood out among the Caribbean performances as they topped their respective events at the Wanda Diamond League in Doha, Qatar on Friday.

McLeod, who was fourth at the Xiamen meet, displayed mark improvement on this occasion to top the event with a wind-aided leap of 8.52m. He recovered from a failed attempt at the start to cut the sand at 8.14m, before achieving the winning leap on his fourth attempt in a positive 5.2 metres per second wind reading.

The 26-year-old topped a stacked field which included Greece’s Olympic and World champion Miltiadis Tentoglou, who had to settle for second on this occasion with a season’s best leap of 8.36m. Switzerland’s Simon Ehammer (8.30m), was third, while Jamaica’s 2019 World champion Tajay Gayle (8.01m) was fifth, and Bahamian LaQuan Nairn (7.59m) eighth.

For Gardiner, it was a case of picking up where he left off, as he continued his rich early season form in the 400m with another classy display. He went out hard from lane five and quickly covered rivals on the outside at the 250m mark, before pulling away in the latter stages to win in 44.76s.

Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga, closed fast for second in a season’s best 45.07s, while Botswana’s Leungo Scotch (45.29s) was third.

Also in the field, Grenada’s two-time World champion Anderson Peters placed third in an intriguing men’s javelin throw, which saw India’s World and Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra beaten into second.

Czech Republic’s Olympic silver medallist and last year’s Diamond League winner Jakub Vadlejch (88.38m) outlasted his Indian rival, who fell just short with a throw of 88.36m, while Peters’ best mark of 86.62m came on his final attempt. All three men hit season’s best marks.

Meanwhile, in arguably the performance of the night, Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos romped the men’s 400m hurdles event in a breathtaking World Lead and Meet Record 46.86s. He bettered his previous Meet Record of 47.24s set in 2022, while reaffirming his status as one of only five men to break the 47-second barrier in the event.

Elsewhere on the track, Jamaican Natoya Goule-Toppin attempted a late rally in the women’s 800m, but she had to settle for sixth in a season’s best 1:59.74.

The event was won by Kenya’s world champion and 2022 Diamond League winner Mary Moraa, who kicked off 2024 campaign with a season’s best 1:57.91, just lowering the 1:57.96 she clocked a few weeks ago at the Kip Keino Classic on home soil.

Britain’s world indoor silver medallist Jemma Reekie (1:58.42) was second, while Benin’s Noelie Yarigo, the indoor bronze medallist, placed third in a season’s best 1:58.70.

In the men’s 200m, Jamaican Oshane Hudson clocked a season’s best 20.53s, which was only good enough for seventh, as American Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek threw down the gauntlet where his Olympic title ambitions are concerned.

Bednarek clocked a personal best and World Leading 19.67s to win the half-lap event in a positive 1.7 metres per second wind reading, and also smashed Noah Lyles’ previous Meet Record of 19.83, set in 2018. His compatriots Courtney Lindsey (20.01s), the previous world leader, and Kyree King (20.21s) were the runners-up.

The women’s 100m was won by Britain’s Daryll Neita, who followed up her 200m in Suzhou with another strong performance on her seasonal bow in the event. She closed fast to win in a season’s best 10.98s, ahead of the American pair of Tamari Davis (10.99s) and Celera Barnes (11.02s) in a blanket finish.

Jamaica’s Natasha Morrison was seventh in a season’s best 11.37s.

Ackera Nugent, the 2023 NCAA 100m hurdles champion, has achieved another milestone by graduating from the University of Arkansas with a degree in Advanced Communication. The 22-year-old track and field standout turned professional in 2023 shortly after clinching the NCAA title and has now successfully completed her academic journey while pursuing her athletic career.

Nugent, who joined the University of Arkansas in January 2023 after two seasons at Baylor University, remained committed to her studies even after signing a professional contract. In an Instagram post celebrating her achievement, Nugent expressed heartfelt gratitude to her mother and shared a message of inspiration.

“No one hustles harder than a first-gen who is paving the way," Nugent wrote. "You will succeed in all you do, and light will shine on your path."

Acknowledging her mother's sacrifices and unwavering support, Nugent continued, "Your selfless love and sacrifices have shaped me into the person I am today. There are no words to fully repay you for all that you have done, but I promise to do everything in my power to ensure that you live a wonderful and fulfilling life ahead."

Nugent's journey to graduation comes on the heels of her outstanding performance at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 2023, where she blazed through the 100m hurdles to claim victory in 12.25 seconds. Reflecting on her championship win, Nugent credited her coach's guidance and expressed satisfaction with her performance.

"It feels amazing to know that I've just got to trust my coach, and I follow instruction very, very well," Nugent said back then. "To be able to follow those instructions and see the time, I feel very pleased."

Despite her academic success, Nugent made the strategic decision to turn professional in track and field, aiming to pursue her athletic dreams to the fullest while maintaining her dedication to education.

"I'm staying in school because I feel like getting my degree is very important," Nugent explained during an exclusive interview with Sportsmax.TV.

By going professional, Nugent is poised to embark on a new chapter in her athletic career, leveraging her talent and determination to excel at the highest levels of competition.

Brianna Lyston, the standout LSU sophomore, demonstrated her exceptional talent at the SEC Outdoor Championships on Thursday by running a lifetime best of 22.31 seconds in the 200m, securing her spot in the finals scheduled for Saturday.

 Despite facing a challenging headwind of 1.0m/s, Lyston delivered a remarkable performance to win her heat and surpass her previous personal best of 22.53 set in Kingston two years ago. Her impressive run solidifies her status as a formidable competitor in collegiate track and field.

 Joining Lyston in the finals is Nickeisha Pryce, a senior from the University of Arkansas, who also secured her place with a strong performance, clocking a time of 22.75 seconds.

 In Saturday's final, Lyston will face a stacked field that includes Tennessee's Jacious Sears who ran 22.66 in her heat on Thursday as well as Razorback Amber Anning (22.66) as well as South Carolina's JaMeesia Ford (22.47) and McKenzie Long of Ole Miss (22.37).

 In addition to Lyston's outstanding achievement, Kimar Farquharson and Tyrese Reid showcased their talent in the 800m event, both advancing to the finals.

 Farquharson, representing Texas A&M, clocked an impressive time of 1:47.57, while Reid, representing the University of Mississippi, secured his spot with a time of 1:48.07.

The Caribbean will be represented in the final of the women’s 200m at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships through Jamaican University of Texas standouts Dejanea Oakley and Kevon Davis.

Oakley, a former Clarendon College standout, was the fastest qualifier in Thursday’s heats at the Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium with 23.00 while Davis, a 200m semi-finalist at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, ran 23.32 in the heats to advance to Saturday’s final as the fifth fastest qualifier.

Oakley is fresh off running a new 200m personal best 22.73 at the Texas Invitational on April 26. She competed at last year’s Big 12 Championships, failing to advance from the heats of the 400m.

Davis was a runner up in both the 100m and 200m at last year’s Big 12 Outdoor Championships with times of 11.04 and 22.51. She was beaten by former Texas teammate and current World Indoor 60m champion Julien Alfred in both events.

The men’s 200m saw Jamaican Baylor senior Demar Francis (20.66) and Bahamian Texas Tech sophomore Antoine Andrews (20.74) both advance to the final.

Trinidadian Houston junior Dillon Leacock ran 51.83 to advance to the final of the 400m hurdles.

Running Magazine reports that Usain Bolt, the legendary eight-time Olympic gold medalist, has achieved a remarkable milestone even in retirement—holding the world record for the 100m sprint for the longest period in the event's history.

Bolt's record-setting time of 9.58 seconds, achieved at the 2009 World Athletics Championships final in Berlin on August 16, 2009, has now stood for an impressive 14 years, eight months, and 23 days. This accomplishment surpasses the previous longest-standing record held by American sprinter Jim Hines.

Jim Hines made history by clocking the first sub-10 second 100m in June 1968, becoming the first man to break the 10-second barrier in the event. Hines, known for his prowess both on the track and as a football player, held the world record from 1968 until 1982, marking an illustrious era in sprinting.

Despite being retired from professional track and field since 2017, Bolt remains confident about the durability of his records. In a December interview, Bolt expressed that he was "not worried" about his records in the 100m and 200m sprints being broken any time soon.

"It's a great title to have," Bolt shared in the same interview with World Athletics. "It's something that I enjoy hearing and I enjoy knowing."

Bolt's dominance in the 100m began in May 2008 when he first set the record, followed by breaking it twice more in August 2008 and exactly a year later in Berlin, where he achieved his historic time of 9.58 seconds.

Now at 37 years old, Usain Bolt continues to be celebrated as the fastest man ever, leaving an indelible mark on the history of athletics with his exceptional speed and enduring records. Despite the passage of time, Bolt's legacy remains a testament to his unparalleled talent and dedication to the sport.

In an exclusive interview prior to her 400m hurdles debut at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational in Kingston on Saturday, World Championship 400m hurdles bronze medalist Rushell Clayton has revealed her ambitious new goals for the upcoming season, setting her sights on achieving faster times and securing her first Olympic medal at the Paris 2024 Games.

Clayton, who impressed with a personal best of 52.81 to claim bronze at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, kicked off her season with a lifetime best performance, clocking 51.81 in the 400m at Gainesville, Florida, in early April.

When Clayton won the bronze medal in Doha in 2019, Dalilah Mohammad won in a world-record time of 52.16. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone won the silver medal in a time of 52.20. Since then, McLaughlin-Levrone has gone on to dominate the event while lowering the world record to a seemingly impossible time of 50.68 at the 2022 championships in Eugene, Oregon.

During that time, Clayton was busy rebounding from injury and has been on a pathway of improvement ever since. She was sixth in Eugene in 54.36.

Reflecting on her journey and setbacks, Clayton, who has never made an Olympic final, expressed determination to surpass her previous achievements and target even faster times. "Yes, I have a new goal. Getting into the finals and getting onto the podium, you will have to run fast," Clayton affirmed. "I am more focused on placements than time. I know it may take 51 to get on that podium (in Paris) and I will be ready to run that but I don’t want to focus so much on time because a lot of times when you focus on times you forget about every other thing."

Acknowledging her growth and progress, Clayton emphasized her physical and technical improvements over the past seasons. "I think over the last two seasons, I've got faster, got stronger," Clayton remarked confidently. "I used to be strong but I think I am way stronger now and I have been doing a lot of speed work. When you do speed work, it doesn’t come right away but I am starting to feel like I am getting faster because of my stride patterns now and how I am able to distribute around the track. My training is focused on all aspects needed to run fast."

Clayton's dedication to enhancing her performance includes strategic adjustments to her stride patterns and race tactics. "I have changed my stride pattern between the hurdles," she revealed. "A few people have asked me if I was running a particular stride pattern. The two fastest ladies in the world (McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol), they’re doing 14 strides and I had to try it out and so far it has been doing good. I am learning stride patterns. I am learning more about the event and I am super-excited about my new race pace."

Looking ahead to the national championships in June, Clayton outlined her strategy of preparing through targeted race participation. "I am feeling good. I don’t normally open my season this late but then I remember I ran all the way to September (last year) and I had a PB in my first run (this season)," Clayton shared optimistically.

 "I think I am on the same schedule as I did last season. We ran a certain number of hurdle races before trials and that was maybe four so I leaning towards that. There are not a lot of four-hurdle races around the globe and when you line up it’s like a World Championship final so we pick the races; my team and I, we sit down and decide we’re going to run three or four races and we’re leaning towards about four hurdle races before trials and it kicks off at the Jamaica Athletic Invitational."

With a renewed focus on podium placements and faster times, Clayton seems poised to elevate her performance to new heights and make a compelling bid for Olympic success in Paris this summer.

Naggo Head Primary dethroned Spanish Town as champions of the INSPORTS/Devon Biscuits Primary Schools Central Championship, as they easily romped the event at GC Foster College, on Wednesday.

They amassed an impressive 313 points to pocket the $350,000 winning prize, while Spanish Town (236.5 points) had to settle for second position at the $250,000 runner-up prize, while third-placed Greater Portmore (229 points) received $200,000. The surprise package St John’s Primary (155 points) and Southborough (100 points) completed the top five.

The fourth to 10th-placed teams received $100,000 each for their efforts.

It was another day of record-breaking feats, with Nichkolet Brown of St John’s taking down the first of the day in the Girls’ Long Jump Open with a record leap of 4.57m. She won ahead of Shamielia Anderson (4.35m) of Friendship Primary.

Keneisha Robinson of Naggo Head captured the Girls’ 70m Hurdles in 12.16, with her teammate Shenell Coleman (12.92) finishing third. Afharia Anderson of Spanish Town was second in 23.23.

Donte Barrett and Kaydon Henry secured another 15 points for Naggo Head in the Boys’ 70m Hurdles. Barrett won in a new record 10.77, lowering his own mark of 11.36 set on Tuesday, while Greater Portmore's Dwayne Oakley (11.39) and Henry (11.57) were second and third respectively.

In arguably the race of the championship, Spanish Town’s Katalia Sterling outlasted favourite Waivany Walker of Naggo Head in the Girls’ Class one 400m, winning in a record 1:01.04, just ahead of Walker (1:01.11), who established the previous record on Tuesday.

The outstanding Robinson of Naggo Head returned to claim her second gold capturing the Class Two 300m in a record 43.55.

St John’s Primary controlled the Boys’ Class One 400m and Class Two 300m, which were won by Iandre Brown (58.93) and D’Andre Gobern (43.79).

The sprints turned up some impressive displays, but none more than Kashmer Gunther of Southborough Primary, who stopped the clock at 12.08 in the Boys’ Class One 100m. He erased Jevaney Findley’s 12.13 set last year. Renardo McCalla of Naggo Head took the Class Two event in 12.95, the same time as second-placed Jaden Reid of Southborough.

In the girls’ section, Shamara Chin of Greater Portmore took the Class One 100m with a record run of 12.93, while Allia Royal of Davis Primary captured the Class Two in Na13.91.

There were record runs in the Class Four 60m sprints as Azaria Williams of Naggo Head won in 9.15, ahead of Jada-Kaye Brown (9.45) of Greater Portmore. Vaughn Chambers of Crescent Primary won the boys’ equivalent in a record 8.76, just ahead of Jamair Dixon (8.77) of Kensington Primary.

Perez Pearson of St John’s leapt 5.15m to better his previous record of 4.91m in the Boys’ Long Jump Open. Jaydon Allen (4.97m) of Greater Portmore and Friendship’s Damarion Crooks (4.93) were second and third, respectively.

Pearson returned to anchor his team to Medley relay victory in a record 1:54.32. They won ahead of Kensington (2:00.45) and Naggo Head (2:02.77).

In the Girls Medley Open, Kensington won in 2:00.69, ahead of St John’s (2:06.31) and Naggo Head (2:06.35).

Naggo Head topped the Girls’ 4x200m relay in a record 1:49.12, erasing the old mark of 1:52.31 held by Greater Portmore. Spanish Town (1:52.66) and Greater Portmore (1:54.44) were the runners-up.

Southborough closed the day’s proceeding in style. They won the Boy’ 4x200m relay in 1:46.55, ahead of Naggo Head (1:48.18) and St John’s (1:50.92).

Naggo Head and Eastern Champions Lysson of St Thomas lead the top eight teams into the Grand finale set for May 20-22 to decide the all-island champion.

The Western Championship starts on Thursday.

Top 10 -Naggo Head (313), Greater Portmore (236.5), Spanish Town (229), St John’s Primary (155), Southborough (100), Davis Primary (95), St Catherine (76), Kensington (69), Ascot (56), Homestead (48.5)