QRC, Bishop Anstey eye track and field crowns

QUEEN'S Royal College (QRC) and Bishop Anstey High School are on course to win the boys and girls titles respectively at the Walcott/Lendore/Ahye Secondary Schools Track and Field North Regional Championships, at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.

QRC and Bishop Anstey High are aiming to win their second title in the past two weeks, after they won the boys and girls crowns at the Trinbago Schools Relay Festival.

Wednesday, past the halfway stage of day two in the three-day meet, QRC and Bishop Anstey both held massive leads. In the boys category, after 79 events, QRC are leading the standings with 137 points with El Dorado East Secondary a distant second with 75 points. Holy Cross College are in third position with 58 points.

Bishop Anstey are also in command of their category with 141 points, 46 points clear of second-placed Toco Secondary (95 points). Bishop Anstey East High School sit third with 64 points.

Among the standout performers for QRC were Tafari Waldron and Nathaniel Trim.

Waldron, a 2023 Carifta champion, won the boys 5,000-metre open easily in 17 minutes, 15.64 seconds (17:15.64). Isaiah Alder of St James Secondary also had a decent race, finishing second in 17:32.29, and Jayden Alexander of Trinity College East was third in 18:07.18.

Trim just managed to cop the boys 17+ javelin event with a throw of 37.74 metres. The El Dorado East pair of Conrad Mathura (36.81m) and Jeremiah Villaroel (33.84m) finished second and third respectively. Villaroel is having a busy week as on Tuesday he represented his school in the PowerGen Secondary Schools Cricket League.

Kyle Williams also earned points for El Dorado East, but he had to settle for second spot in the boys 17+ 400m event in 49.30 seconds in timed finals run across six heats.

Kyrell Thomas of St Francis Boys College won the event in 48.34 and Keone John of East Mucurapo Secondary took bronze in 49.38.

Bon Air Secondary's Jalani Parris copped the boys Under-17 long jump title with a 5.48m effort, Ishmael Evangelist of Holy Cross took second spot after disturbing the sand at the 5.39m mark and Matura Secondary's Amiyr Ali was third with a 5m leap.

QRC earned valuable points in the boys Under-15 800m race, as Jah Michael Waldron and Lyndon George were second and third respectively in 2:26.97 and 2:32.19. However, they were not quick enough for Arima Central Secondary's Mikael Serrette who won in 2:19.07.

Tenique Vincent of Bishop Anstey High continued to show her class, winning the girls 15+ pentathlon where athletes must compete in five events – shot put, long jump, 200m, high jump and 800m.

Vincent, a TT junior athlete, won every event to end with 3,214 points. Aimee Gray of St Joseph's Convent, Port of Spain ended second with 1,119 points and Isabella Solomon of Bates Memorial High School ended third in 662 points.

Vincent (1.65m) also won gold in the girls Under-17 high jump, ahead of team-mate Megan Romany (1.25m) and Gray (1.25m).

In the girls 800m event, Mya Phillips picked up points for Bishop Anstey, but had to settle for the silver medal in 2:41.78. Zariah Pascall of El Dorado West Secondary won in 2:38.79 and Andrine Sylvester of Bishop Anstey East High School was third.

Some schools are not in contention for a title, but did have brilliant individual performances. Jael Peters of Tunupuna Secondary won the girls Under-15 200m event in 26.23 and national junior athlete Kayleigh Forde of St Joseph's Convent, Port of Spain won the girls 17+ 800m race in 2:23.46.

The final day of the meet is Thursday at 10 am.