Running Brave Athletics Club dethroned Police Progressive Youth Club in the IV annual Boyce/Jefford Classic championships, winning half a million dollars at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground in Linden, Sunday.
The new champs, who were runners-up in the mega-event, last year, amassed 448.50 points to comfortably win the championships.
Police Progressive Youth Club, Boyce/Jefford Classic 2010-2012 champions, scored 422 points with Christianburg Wismar Track Club in third with 172 points. Mercury Fast Laners total of 160 points ensured that the Guyana Defence Force on 134 points, finished in fifth position while Upper Demerara Schools secured sixth place with 115.50 points.
Alita Moore, this year’s female champion athlete, won the sprint double while capturing two meet records after she defeated local sprint queen, Alisha Fortune of Running Brave.
The sprint ace blasted out of her blocks and stopped the time keeper’s clock at 12.00 seconds to beat Fortune’s 12.20 seconds on the damp field. Guyana Defence Force’s Letitia Myles had the pervious record of 12.20 seconds which was set in 2011.
CARIFTA Games 200m bronze medalist, Tirana Mitchell of Mercury Fast Laners clocked 12.40 seconds ahead of fourth place finisher, Neisa Allen who finished in 12.60 seconds.
Fortune was able to redeem herself in the Women’s 200m final against Moore. Fortune was first off the turn and with a strong finish recorded 25.20 seconds.
Moore clocked 25.60 seconds while Running Brave’s Neisa Allen was third in 26.10 seconds.
South American Under-23 Games bronze medallist and Running Brave sprint ace, Stephan James too captured a sprint double in the Men’s 100m and 200m to become the male champion athlete.
James, Guyana’s junior 400m record holder, in the absence of Olympian, Winston George, clocked 10.70 seconds and 21.90 seconds respectively in the Men’s 100m and 200m finals.
The CARIFTA Games medalist won ahead of Davin Fraser who clocked 10.90 seconds and Upper Demerara’s Winston Caesar (11.20 seconds) in the 100m final.
He returned later to take the half lap event ahead of national Schools’ sprint star and Mercury Fast Laner’s athlete, Kevin Abbensetts who came from behind to finish second in 22.30 seconds with Shawn Semple third in 22.60 seconds.
Former National Schools distance star, Jevina Straker engraved her name in the Boyce/Jefford meet records book again after winning the Women’s 800m finals in 2:21.40 seconds.
CARIFTA Games medalist, Andrea Foster of Running Brave sprinted to a second place finish in 2:29.50 seconds ahead of Police’s Jenella Jonas who crossed the finish line in 2:29.80 seconds.
Mark London of Trinidad and Tobago won the Men’s International 800m final but was unable to break Dennis Horatio’s meet record of 1:55.90 seconds.
The 19-year old CARIFTA Games gold medalist clocked 1:57.40 seconds ahead of Kevin Bayley who came from behind to finish in 1:57.90 seconds ahead of Cleveland Thomas’s 1:579.40 seconds.
In the field events, Lotoya Rodney of Police Progressive Youth Club broke Phillycia Burke’s games record of 29.56m with her best throw of 30.69m in the Women’s discus. Natasha Alder, last year’s female champion athlete came second with 27.85m while Nikita McCalman finished third with 26.55m.
Alder won the Women’s javelin with 35.75m ahead of Lisa Bowman (32.84m) who claimed the Women’s shot put with her best throw of 9.51m ahead of Alder’s 9.33m.
Julio Sinclair of Police Progressive Youth Club, last year’s male champion athlete smashed his personal meet record with his best throw of 13.35m in the Men’s shot put. Sinclair’s team-mate, Ronald Payne came second with 12.53m with Brentnol Hoyte of Upper Demerara was third with 11.44m.
Sinclair also won the Men’s discus with 38.16m ahead of Hoyte and Cordell English who threw 35.95m and 35.11m respectively.
Leslain Baird, national javelin record holder speared the javelin to 53.10m to claim the Men’s javelin ahead of Michael Bowman and English who had best throws of 46.59m and 44.84m respectively.
Running Brave won six relays while breaking two records in the Women’s 800m sprint medley relay and the Women’s 4x400m relay. The Guyana Defence Force and Police won the Men’s 4x100m relay and Men’s distance medley relay respectively.
