Westmoreland overpowered Kensington to become the undisputed champion of the 33^rd Kingston Wharves U15 Cricket competition at the Ultimate Cricket Ground in Discovery Bay St. Ann recently.

Westmoreland shared the championship twice in the distant past but became the sole champion this year, winning all its matches in the preliminary round, quarterfinal, semifinal and the final. 

Wining the final was not always a surety during the match as Kensington restricted Westmoreland to 115 all out in 28.4 overs and threatened the score for a while as well as the lengthy rain delay during Kensington’s innings.

 The match MVP, Westmoreland’s Humario Reid shouldered the batting when he scored 80 runs from 81 deliveries and was the only batsman to get into double figures. The bulk of the wickets went to Zachary Buchanan who took seven for 33 while Andrew Lloyd got two for 32. 

Kensington started positively but lost its first wicket at 15 and then had a steady progression of batsmen returning to the pavilion, and was on seven for 27 at one point. There was a rain delay when they were in the thirties. They returned to the crease and steadied the inning but when they lost their eight wicket on 73, the writing was on the wall. They were eventually all out for 77 in 34.4 overs and lost the match by 38 runs to Westmoreland. 

Kensington’s captain Andrew Lloyd was the main run getter with 45 while Abraham Waugh, the only other batsman to get into double figures contributed 14 runs. The wickets were shared among Jemar Morgan three for 12, captain Ryan Littleton three for 23 and Davere Buchanan two for 17. 

Westmoreland’s coach Grantley Reid was very happy with the result.

“I am (happy) because we have been here before but we had to share. For the work that was put in because the journey did not begin with this competition. Most of the boys have been to quarter finals but we never made it through but I knew we had the depth to win this competition and they delivered. Even when we were in deep trouble, because at one point Kensington made a fight of the match. They played well to come back from where they were because we thought it would have been over before they reach 50 but they fought well. They played well. They had heart. They have a young team.” 

The awards ceremony followed immediately after the match. There were several awards including the MVP for the final – Humario Reid, the teams’ MVPs – Westmoreland’s Ryan Littleton with 13 wickets and 236 runs and Kensington’s Abraham Waugh who bagged 21 wickets and 156 runs during the competition. 

Some of the highlights recorded for this year were; four centuries (same as last year), 15 five-wicket hauls by 12 different bowlers and four batsmen scored over 200 runs each. 

Simone Murdock, corporate services and client experience manager at Kingston Wharves was also happy with this year’s competition. “We are glad to see a successful year come to an end. As said in the (closing) ceremony we are finally returning to scores similar to the years before Covid so we are glad to see that we are on the right track and to celebrate with Westmoreland.” 

The Jamaica Cricket Association’s president, Dr. Donovan Bennett who watched most of the final, promised a better competition going forward based on the association’s plans to increase its investment in junior level cricket.

“We are working hard to ensure that where we were pre Covid, that we get back there as soon as we possibly can.”

Mount Pleasant Football Club, the 2023 Jamaica Premier League (JPL) champions, has announced that the contracts of head coach Theodore Whitmore and his technical staff will not be renewed. The club is set to embark on a new direction that aligns Mount Pleasant Academy with the Football Club.

Mount Pleasant announced that the contracts of Whitmore and his staff will expire on July 31, 2024. In a statement, the club cited the need for a new direction as the reason for the change.

"The club is embarking on a new direction which synchronizes Mount Pleasant Academy and Mount Pleasant Football Club," the statement read. "Mount Pleasant will shortly announce a new technical team to chart the course of the club. The club is committed to achieving all the sporting goals and objectives entering this new phase and new direction."

Whitmore, who joined Mount Pleasant in July 2022, led the team to its first JPL title last year, triumphing over Cavalier 2-1 in the finals. His tenure followed his departure from the national senior men's football team in December 2021.

Mount Pleasant relinquished their title when they lost to Cavalier 3-4 on penalties in the 2024 final.

Following the success in 2023, an elated owner Peter Goule told Sportsmax.TV highlighted the club's long-term vision. "We are pretty excited, we have put a lot of work into the academy and the platform is well and truly set to accomplish all that we want to. It will take a few years to build a complete institution, but we have people willing to come along and help us to move to another level, so we firmly believe we will be able to get there and put Jamaica’s football on the map the real way," he said then.

It has now become apparent that Coach Whitmore will not be part of that vision.

"The club wishes to express profound gratitude to Coach Whitmore and his technical team for their leadership over the past two seasons which brought glory and success to the club. Their invaluable contribution has seen Mount Pleasant Football Academy make an indelible mark in the Jamaica Premier League and in the parish of St Ann. We wish them all the best in their endeavours going forward."

Whitmore's departure marks a significant change for Mount Pleasant as they look to build on their recent success and continue their development both on and off the pitch.

 Zandre Roye and Jodi Munn-Barrow topped the Jamaica Golf Association's (JGA) Easter Jamboree golf tournament held last weekend at the Upton Estate Golf & Country Club in St. Ann.

 Roye won by six strokes over the reigning national amateur golf champion Oshae Haye while Munn-Barrow was the only female player in the Ladies 0-12 handicap category.

Roye shot scores of 69 and 73 over the two days for an even-par score of 142.

"The game plan for the week was just to manage the game as best as possible, try to keep big numbers off the card, hit as much greens in regulation as possible and I think I did that the first day pretty well,” he said.

“(I) didn't putt as how I wanted on the first day but I hit 15 of 18 greens, shot two under par. I had a six-shot lead going into the second day so it was all about maintaining that lead, try and minimize the mistakes and just execute the game plan as best as I could, and the last few holes coming in I think I really did that."

Haye, meanwhile, scored 75 and 73 for an overall score of 148 for second place while William Knibbs finished one stroke back on 149 (79, 70) in third place.

Munn-Barrow posted 155 over the two days on the back of 80 and 75, respectively.

Six women completed the tournament in the 13+ handicap section with Alison Reid winning after posting an overall score of 193, seven strokes ahead of second place Diane Hudson (200) and Valerie Grant (201) who was third.

Tenny Davis - 155, Giovanni Blair - 164 and Richard White - 175 were the top three in the Men & Men Senior 7-12 section.

The Men Super Senior 0-12 went to Mike Gleichman who scored nine over par 151. He won by four strokes ahead of Wayne Chai Chong who shot 155. Dorrel Allen was third with 158.

Philip Wilson (154) won the Masters section ahead of George Watt who had a combined 173 over the period. The juniors who completed the tournament were Boys 18 & U Jerone Thomas - 178 and Jamal Stewart - 192 who competed in the Boys 14-15 category.

Corporate Area teams Pembroke Hall and St Patrick’s were crowned INSPORTS Primary Schools national football and netball champions, respectively, and walked away with JMD$200,000 (USD$1300) each on a rainy day at the Discovery Bay Community Centre in St Ann.

St Andrews’ Pembroke Hall Primary defeated Corinaldi Avenue Primary of St James 1-0 courtesy of substitute Nathan Hudson while Kingston’s St Patrick’s defeated defending champion Bethabara Primary of Manchester 18-15 in netball.

Both Corinaldi Avenue and Bethabara collected JMD$125,000 (USD$816) for second place.

Meanwhile, St Catherine’s Bridgeport defeated Holland Primary of St Elizabeth 3-1 for third place in football while Corinaldi Avenue beat White Horses of St Thomas 13-8 for third spot in netball. They each received JMD$75,000 (USD$490) while the fourth-placed teams got JMD$50,000 (USD$326).

Tianna Clarke of Pembroke Hall, the top female player was named MVP for the football competition and Danelia Clarke of St Patrick’s was the netball MVP.

In addition, the winning coaches received gift vouchers valued JMD$10,000 (USD$65) each.

Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports, Olivia Grange was impressed with the quality of play and congratulated the champions.

“Today is a special day for you,” the minister said before handing out the winners’ trophies.

“Remember, this competition saw over 200 schools starting the competitions and the fact that you are all here as the leading teams means that you have worked hard and trained hard to be here today.

“I want to congratulate Pembroke Hall for being the champion in the football competition and I want to congratulate St Patrick’s for netball. But I want to tell the others you are all winners the fact that you are here today.”

Major Desmon Brown, INSPORTS’ acting executive director noted that these competitions are all about unearthing and harnessing talents at the grassroots level.

“These schools look forward to these competitions. A lot of senior athletes came through these competitions, so it is very important. It is important that these kids have an outlet for sports and this is what it is all about,” said Major Brown.

“During Covid when we didn’t have these competitions and camps we got calls from a parent that one kid threatened to commit suicide because he had nothing to do.”

Sara Misir, the Caribbean’s first Formula Woman finalist, overcame a late car switch on Saturday to win all three races in the Modified Production 3 Class at the Dover Raceway in St. Ann on Sunday.

Misir’s car caught fire during testing on Saturday.

“I had a scare before race day on Saturday where my engine caught fire, so I had to switch cars at the last minute,” Misir explained.

Despite the setback, she qualified in pole position and then scored maximum points in all three races in her class. The victories which mirrored her performance at Dover in July represented fulfilment for the trailblazing driver.

“I always look forward to competing at Dover and, for me, it’s about testing my speed and seeing how much I have improved each time I race,” Misir said.

“I’m happy for the wins on Sunday despite the setback on Saturday.”

Winning her second hat-trick of races in consecutive meets at Dover is a testament to her continuing growth as a race car driver.  Her coach and father, Rugie Misir, explained that the maturity from racing in the United Kingdom has been evident in her performances at Dover this year.

“For the first time, I see her driving to the capacity of the car and her confidence is high. She’s more focused and more mature and it shows in her performance over the last two meets,” said Misir who is also president of the Jamaica Go Karting Association.

He also explained what went wrong with his daughter’s car during testing on Saturday.

“Her car had a damaged rod in the master cylinder on Saturday which overheated the rotor and set the brake ducts on fire,” he said.

“It was minimally damaged but rendered unusable for this meet, so we reverted to the BMW which is slower by five seconds over each lap,” he added.

Oshae Haye and Jodi Munn-Barrow headed into Monday’s final day the leaders of the three-day Jamaica Golf Association's National Amateur Golf Championship being played at the Sandals Golf & Country Club in St. Ann.

The Jamaica Premier League’ Mount Pleasant Football Academy has announced that Head Coach Paul ‘Tegat’ Davis and his technical have left the club with Technical Director Walter Downes taking over the team with immediate effect.