SPORTS

Red Bay Primary becomes ‘back-to-back’ Inter-primary Sports Day champions

Friday, April 9, 2004

Red Bay Primary strode confidently into the second half of the two-day Inter-primary Sports Day with a 13-point lead, having earned 90 points – 77 in field events – to George Town’s 72 points.

West Bay’s John A. Cumber was sitting in third place at the start of Day Two with 60 points

The eagerly awaited finals came late in the afternoon and, when the gun signaled the start of the Girls 60m, the air was still and no-one dared to exhale until tall and strong LaTorae Nixon from Truth for Youth breezed past the finish line first.

Since Red Bay could only place 2nd and 7th in the 60m, the flags of hopes were flying high in the hearts of all George Town and West Bay supporters.

However, after the Boys 60m, the writing was crystal clear on the wall. David Wood powered his way to the finish line and 6-year-old Hervel Pusey, who remains in division 1 next year and plans to be a force to be reckoned with, could not resist the temptation of a silver medal.

Jorel Belafonte’s and Marleena Smith’s record-breaking victories in the Division 3, 150m sealed the fate of George Town and West Bay.

The much-anticipated relays were a mere formality to Red Bay. To lose the championship and hand-over their reign to either George Town or West Bay, Red Bay would have had to be disqualified from all the relays.
When the 2004 Inter Primary came to a close, Red Bay Primary, with 380 points, had cruised to back-to-back victories.

George Town hung in with 326 points to finish in second place. West Bay, with 203 points, finished third.

Only two other schools in the history of Inter Primary Sports have achieved Red Bay’s feat of back-to-back championships; Savannah Primary won 1999-2000 and again in 2001-2002. George Town the powerhouse of the past, won it for many, many years.

There were several bright sparks for Red Bay.

Hervel Pusy placed second in the Boys Division 160m. Trevene McIntosh broke her ankles late last year and, at the time, was doubtful of participating in the Inter-primary Sports and more particularly Red Bay’s Interhouse Sports in early February. She ran a gutsy race and powered her way in the final metres of the 200 and placed third. She even tried her hand in the shot-put and placed fifth.

Sashawna Greaves, with a mighty leap on her final attempt in the Long Jump Preliminaries, inched past Marica Martin’s record of 4.30m. Her record-breaking jump was 4.31m. She placed sixth in the 800m and won both the 100m and 200m to capture the prestigious Victrix Ludorum trophy. In 2002 she had shared this honour with Marica Martin from Savannah, and teammate Dajsha Samuels.

Chelsea Bush celebrated twice on Thursday, 25 March. It was her eleventh birthday and she sped around the track ahead of the pack in the 800m. Her birthday wish to win had come true and in the process she lowered last year’s record breaking run of Sashawna Greaves 2:54:59 to 2:52:85. Marleena Smith was impressive and a delight to watch as she won the long jump and glided down the track in the 100m and 150m.

David Wood, a tall powerfully built runner in Division 1, was not the favourite in the 60m and 80m races, but pulled out both victories.

But the meet belonged to Jorel Bellafonte in Division 3, who seems to have had a bash all month long. He celebrated his ninth birthday on 2 March and is the youngest competitor to win the 800m. His time of 2:43:06 would better most of the past winning times except for Andrew Perin’s (West Bay) 2002 2:41:54 and his brilliant run of 2:34:48 in 2003.

Jorel placed second in the long jump and had to dig deep for guts, determination and strength when he was severely tested in the 100m, 150m and Jr Boys Relay. It was a fantastic achievement and so it was no surprise when his name was announced as winner of the coveted Victor Ludorum trophy. Never in recent history has this trophy been won by an athlete in Division 3. This was undoubtedly the most impressive performance of the meet.

Red Bay Primary proved to the other strong competitors, George Town and West Bay, that it was undoubtedly king of the track.

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