6 more days to finale - by Barbados Today March 18, 2014

The stage is now set for an exciting climax at the finals of the Pine Hill Dairy-sponsored National Primary Schools Athletics Championship (NAPSAC) next week Tuesday at the National Stadium.
Today at the NAPSAC semi-finals at the Stadium Charles F. Broome Primary emerged top of the standings with 18 points in girls’ competition, while Bayley’s Primary were ahead on ten points among male competitors. St Angela’s Primary took second place with nine points and Good Shepherd Primary’s eight points were good for third place among the girls. All Saints Primary emerged second among the boys with eight points and Hilda Skeene Primary took third position with six points.
The respective schools were awarded those points going into the finals when the open boys’ and girls’ high jump finals took place today. Charles F. Broome won the open girls’ high jump through Ebony Wint with 1.34 while Josh Dayo-Weekes of Bayley’s Primary made
a height of 1.31.

Among those providing the highlights of the day was Malachi Harris of Deacons Primary. He continued his impressive performances breaking the under-11 boys’ cricket ball throw with a distance of 67.40 which demolished his previous record of 64.46 set in the quarter-finals. The stadium beast, as Harris has been dubbed, was fully unleashed in the 100, winning in a time of 13.84 seconds.
In the 200 he clocked 27.91 seconds which was the fastest time going into the finals. Eboni Browne of Gordon Greenidge Primary proved a dominant force in the under-11 girls’ division. Browne won the 100 in 14.39 seconds and the 200 in 29.36 which were a couple seconds faster than the 29.77 ran by Talitha Bartlett of Charles F. Broome Primary and the 29.67 by Kiara Payne of St Stephens’s Primary.
Shem Williams of Luther Thorne Primary stamped his authority once again today in the under-13 division and many would be looking for him to do so in the finals. He won his pet long jump event at a distance of 4.96 which surpassed the 4.80 he jumped in the quarter-finals.

However the slender Williams had to settle for second place in both the 200M and 400. Terrico Bruce of Hilda Skeene Primary ran 26.89 seconds in the 200 which was faster than the 27.13 ran by Williams. Savion Hoyte of Sharon Primary proved to have more stamina than Williams in the 400 after he pulled away from the field during the last 40 metros to clock 1:03.29 which was just quicker than the 1:03.81 ran by Williams and the 1:03.56 by Ialpha Nedd of A. DaCosta Edwards.
Many expected Sarah Belle of St George Primary to dominate the under-13 girls’ division and she did not disappoint when she won the open girls’ 600 in 1:51.43. However Belle will be going into the finals with the second fastest time in the 600 after Indica Kellman-Wall of Wilkie Cumberbatch ran a faster time of 1:51.10 in another heat.

Belle who appeared very confident on the track also won the 400 in 1:05.42 with Kellman-Wall settling for the second fastest time of 1:05.77. The St George athlete seemingly had a knack for winning the sprint races as demonstrated in the 200 where she clocked 27.42 seconds to finish ahead of Kellman-Wall with a time of 27.94.
The battle between Skye Spencer-Layne of West Terrace Primary and Samiya Dell of Sharon Primary, competing in the under-nine girls’ division, may continue for years to come. Spencer-Layne, however, came on a mission today to take out Dell and she did exactly that in the 150 and 100. In the 150 she clocked 23.28 seconds while Dell followed closely in 23.81 and Ciara Piggott of St Stephen’s Primary in 23.73.

The West Terrace athlete jumped her way into second place in the long jump making a distance of 3.11 which was just short of the 3.16 jumped by Z’Dana Scantlebury of Roland Edwards Primary. Dell had reason to smile in the 80 sprint after winning that event in 12.45 seconds ahead of St Stephen’s Piggott who clocked 12.57 and Briana Baird of Vauxhall Primary who was timed at 12.89 seconds.
Jaquan Pilgrim did well for St George Primary in the under- nine boys’ division when he won the 150 in 22.43, while in the 80 Tevin Brathwaite of Bayley’s Primary ran a time of 12.04 to get the better of Pilgrim who clocked 12.24. Iyobosa Iyare of West Terrace Primary booked his place in the finals when he won the long jump with a leap of 3.58. The under-sevens had their turn to show what they were capable of in the 50 dash. Tia Applewhaite of St Giles Primary was victorious clocking 8.95 seconds while among the boys Joshua Moore of
West Terrace Primary won in a time of 8.54 seconds.