The roar of a capacity crowd and the blur of flying batons defined a historic night of athletics as the 17th Annual Schools’ Relay Classic concluded at the Flora Duffy South Field Stadium. Under the floodlights, the island’s finest young sprinters produced a spectacle of speed that saw long-standing records fall by the narrowest of margins.
The headline performance belonged to the Saltus Grammar Middle School girls’ quartet. Leydi Raynor, Jasmine Reid-Rubaine, Amaya Davis, and Zahra Goodchild provided a masterclass in baton exchanges, shattering a nine-year-old record in the 4x100m preliminaries with a blistering 51.10 seconds. They proved it was no fluke in the final, dipping under the old mark again to secure gold in 51.50 seconds.
The middle school boys’ title provided the night’s most dramatic finish, resulting in a rare dead heat. Saltus Grammar and Whitney Institute could not be separated, both finishing on 18 points to share the championship trophy. In the senior ranks, The Berkeley Institute showcased total dominance, racking up a maximum 20 points in the boys’ division to leave their rivals in the wake.
In the primary school ranks, Warwick Academy emerged as the force to be reckoned with. Their girls’ team secured their division with 18 points, propelling the school to the top of the overall primary standings with 29 points. Port Royal Primary also tasted glory, taking the boys’ title with a total of 16.
As the floodlights dimmed, the overall trophies were split between the island’s sporting powerhouses. Warwick Academy reigned supreme at the primary level, Saltus Grammar’s record-breaking exploits secured them the middle school overall title with 38 points, and The Berkeley Institute was crowned senior overall champions with a total of 34 points.
