Chinapoo, Sylvester show speed at NAAA series

AKILAH Chinapoo and Seth Sylvester sprinted to Under-13 100-metre titles when the 2024 National Association of Athletics Administrations Track and Field Series Four was held at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo on April 21.

The 100m Under-13 races were ran across heats with the fastest athletes being given the top placings. Chinapoo of Simplex won heat four in 12.82 seconds to snatch the crown. Destiny Arnold of BURN was second overall in 13.41 and J'Lenn Roberts of IG Fastlane finished third in 13.47.

Chinapoo's time was so impressive that if she ran among the boys she would have ended second.

Sylvester, representing Cougars, won the boys Under-13 100m event in 12.78. Grabbing second spot was Josiah Kaiten of Memphis Pioneers in 12.98 and Joshua Solomon of Simplex was third in 13.03.

Youngsters also challenged themselves in the 300m distance. In the girls Under-11 300m race, unattached athlete Gabriella Mendez was three seconds faster than the rest of the field, winning in 51.31. Secmyah Andrews, also unattached, finished second in 54.32 and Aquilah Greene of Cougars took third place in 54.46.

Khari John of BURN topped the field in the boys Under-11 300m event in 47.40, comfortably ahead of unattached runner Kayden Victor, who was second in 48.22. Rounding off the top three was Luke Morris of St Catherine's in 49.71.

The ball throw was also held. It is an event used to get young athletes prepared for other throwing events like javelin, discus and shot put when they get older. The Mason Hall Government Primary pair of A'Kyah Ottley and Saree Taylor were first and second respectively. Ottley threw the ball 23.20 metres and Taylor was a close second with a 22m heave. Melissa Davis of Memphis Pioneers was third with a 21.70m throw.

In the boys Under-15 javelin, Jordan Springer of IG Fastlane won with a 25.68m throw and Jayden Francis of Mounting Eagles was second with a 16.93m attempt.

The long-distance runners were also on show with Jeremy Samaroo of Richard Jones Racing Team and Chennai Moore of Cheetahs claiming the boys and girls titles respectively.