- Simba French
- Nov 13, 2023
- 0
The C.R. Walker Knights and the C.H. Reeves Raptors took home the Government Secondary School Sports Association (GSSSA) senior and junior cross country titles respectively at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre grounds on Saturday.
The Knights won the under-17 boys category with 48 points and under-20 girls category with 19 points. The Raptors won the under-15 girls category with 25 points, under-13 girls category with 25 points and under-13 boys category with 19 points. The under-20 boys category was won by Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves with a score of 37 points, and the under-17 girls category was won by the C.V. Bethel Stingrays with 48 points. Winning the under-15 boys category was the D.W. Davis Royals with 29 points.https://8fbec2f49d3fabf69b0fa30e2dede794.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
“My plan was just to keep up with the person who was ahead of me at first,” Nelson said. “After I passed her, I just kept my pace and did what I had to do. I just kept pushing.”
Edouard clocked 14:20.40 for the second-place finish. The C.I. Gibson Ratters’ Stacy Humes finished third after crossing the finish line third in 15:11.99.
The Stingrays’ Marquel Newbold is known for running the shorter distances on the track, but she was victorious in the under-20 girls category. Newbold was able to get some separation on the latter part of the race and posted a time of 13:38.18.
“I am not a distance runner,” Newbold said. “It was a tough race for me at the beginning, as I went out too fast. I had to maintain my pace, run smart up the hill and finish strong.”
The 12th grader, who said that the cross-country races were good for her conditioning, was happy to get the under-20 girls title.
Finishing second was the Knights’ Raynia Russell, who posted a time of 14:12.20. The Government High Magic’s Tarell McPhee powered her way to a third-place finish with a time of 15:35.62.
It was a sprint to the finish line in the under-20 boys race, as the Pacers’ Lataji Moxey held on for the win over the Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins’ Fabian Saintil. Moxey ran a time of 9:57.08.
“It was a little hard, but I pushed through although I am a little unfit. I am very happy with the win and leaned on my coach and team’s confidence,” Moxey said.
Saintil powered his way to a close time of 9:57.78. Saintil’s teammate, Raywind Winder was third in 10:45.83.
The Raptors’ Lendrea Davis won the under-15 girls category with a time of 8:19.92. She finished ahead of the A.F. Adderley Tigers’ Dina Risque, who finished the race in 8:48.12. The Raptors took home the bronze medal when Kevenna Bain clocked 8:55.63.
The under-13 boys saw the Raptors’ Travon Moncur carrying the gold after posting 7:04.88. The L.W. Young Golden Eagles’ duo of Kaiden Newbold and Jaynez Pratt were second and third respectively. Kaiden Newbold ran a time of 7:23.27 while Pratt posted 7:56.34.
These runners will have a week off as they prepare for the National Cross Country Championships, set for Saturday, November 25 at the Fort Charlotte Grounds.