Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer
Anna-Lisa Myers of Wolmer's High wins the Class Three final of the girls high jump with a leap of 1.63m on day two of the VMBS Boys' and Girls' Championships at the National Stadium yesterday. - Photos By Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
WOLMER'S CHRISTOPHER Waugh and St. Andrew High's Anna-Kay Campbell soared high enough yesterday to keep their teams atop the 2005 VMBS/Boys' and Girls' High School Athletics Championships standings at the National Stadium.
Waugh cleared the Class Three high jump bar at 1.84 metres to help push Wolmer's to 27 points while Class One athlete Campbell leapt 1.71m to establish their teams early lead. The Wolmer's Class Three jumper, who picked up nine points for the win, defeated St. George's Kimarki Absalam (1.84m) and Calabar's Deuce Carter (1.81m), which ensured a climb to 22 points, five more than KC after the third final.
Calabar's Jerome Myers (1.81m) was also among the points, picking up five for fourth, while KC's Rayon Walcott (1.78) was sixth for three points.
ST. ANDREW ON TOP
Meanwhile, Campbell's jump made sure St. Andrew High closed day two on top with 49.5 points. Campbell defeated St. Jago's Suelyn Pilliner (1.65m) and Alpha's Cadeen James (1.55m).
After eight finals in the girls' section, St. Andrew lead with 49.5 points, nine ahead of predicted day-two leaders Vere (40.5), St. Jago (29), Wolmer's (28), Mannings (25) and Holmwood (21).
The boys' standing after four finals see Wolmer's out front with 27 points, followed by KC (23), Jamaica College (20), St. Jago (17.5), Mannings (17) and Calabar (15).
The highlight of the meet to date was St. Hugh's Phelecia Reynolds double victory. Reynolds, a final year Class One athlete, won the first double of the 2005 Championships yesterday when she captured the shot put open with a throw of 12.44 metres.
Reynolds, who won the Class One discus on Wednesday's opening day, returned to beat Vere's Keneisha Throughsingh (12.00m) and Mannings' Shannika Johnson (11.88m).
She was happy with her victories but said there was also a little disappointment.
"I am disappointed that I didn't record my personal best which would have taken the record (shot put), however, I am grateful for the double," Reynolds said.
Mannings' Hickel Woolery won the boys' heptathlon with 4,564 points ahead of Morant Bay's Dwight Webley (4,455) and Orlando Duffus (4,381). Bridgeport's Camoi Hood landed the boys' Class One discus with a 51.05m effort. He defeated St. Jago's Steve Hammond (50.27m) and Jamaica College's Sharif Small (49.01m).
In the girls' Class Four long jump, Holmwood's Sashawa Bennett leapt 5.51m to upset the field and pre-season favourite Tanya Bryan of Jago. Bryan, who has a season best of 5.77m and has been consistently leaping over five metres this year, had to settle for second with 5.40m.
St. Andrew High's Mellissa Walker (5.23m) and Arianne Hammond Wolmer's (5.09m) were third and fourth. Morant Bay's Kimona Smith won the girls' Class Two long jump with a leap of 5.93m to beat Wolmer's Deaydram Coleman (5.77m) and Francine Simpson of Edwin Allen (5.75m).
AWAIT SEMI-FINALS
In the day's first final, the Wolmer's pair of Anna-Lisa Myers and Janelle Gordon finished one-two. Although both athletes, along with third place finisher Terri-Ann Grant of Immaculate and St. Andrew High's Anna-Lese Nembhard cleared the same height (1.63m), Myers was adjudged the winner. After two full days of action, the big girls (Class One) sprinters are yet to touch the track as there were no 100m, 200m or 400m preliminary rounds due to a lack of entries .
All these athletes will now await the semi-finals - 400m and 100m this afternoon and 200 tomorrow morning.
However, in the preliminary round action for other classes, the big guns Vere, with four athletes, along with Holmwood and St. Jago with three each will be well represented.
In the Class Two 400m, Holmwood's Bobbie-Gaye Wilkins (56.62) and Anastasia Le-Roy (56.66), Vere's Julia Smith (56.45) and Kayon Robinson (56.80), along with St. Jago's lone hopeful Peta-Gaye Hamilton (58.63) moved forward.
