The Island Champs secondary school athletics championships exploded into action, heralding a week of intense competition set to culminate on March 22nd at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground. The opening day on Monday, March 9th, saw athletes from 25 schools across the island battle in a series of track and field preliminaries, establishing early benchmarks and setting the stage for a thrilling contest.
The initial track events, conducted on a 300m grass surface, featured the 80m, 100m, 300m, and 400m sprints, alongside the 4x300m and 4x400m relays. The schedule continues with preliminary rounds for longer distances, including the 150m through to the 1500m, on Tuesday, with semifinals scheduled for Wednesday, March 18th. Concurrently, field events commence at the Saint Lucia Sports Academy on Wednesday, March 11th, opening with ball throw, javelin, long jump, and high jump across various divisions.
While defending champions St Joseph’s Convent (SJC) and St Mary’s College (SMC) demonstrated a strong initial showing, they face formidable challenges from rivals including Vieux Fort Comprehensive (VFCSS), Soufriere Comprehensive, the Saint Lucia Sports Academy (SLSA), and Beanefield Comprehensive, ensuring the title race remains wide open.
Notable early performances emerged across all age groups. In the Under-14 girls’ division, SJC’s Jaela St Clair and Skai Sammy dominated their 80m heats with a blistering 10.7 seconds. SLSA’s Brianne Jason commanded the 300m in 45.5 seconds, while VFCSS posted the leading 4x300m relay time.
The boys’ competition was electrified by Soufriere’s Devin Mesmain, who emerged as the frontrunner in both the 80m (9.7s) and 300m (43.2s). He is poised for intense showdowns with Nasri Edwin (VFCSS) and others in the 80m, and must fend off defending champion Evan Sankar (SMC) for the 300m crown.
In intermediate categories, Ianna James set the standard in the U-16 girls’ 100m with a time of 12.5 seconds. The battle for 400m supremacy appears to be between VFCSS and SLSA, with the latter’s Laila Nicholas clocking a leading 1:03.8. The boys’ intermediate 100m finals are shaping up to be a clash between VFCSS’s Renard Bernard (11.0s) and Sir Ira Simmons’ Armni Phillips (11.1s).
The premier Under-18 division lived up to its hype, featuring clashes between established CARIFTA athletes. Beanefield’s Barbara-Marie Maximin edged ahead of Choiseul’s double champion Jady Emmanuel in the 100m, while Leon Hess’s Akaiha Weeks narrowly outperformed SLSA’s Isabella Emilienne in the 400m. The boys’ division saw the Beanefield duo of Kade Francis (10.7s) and Jermario Actille leading the 100m preliminaries, signaling a highly competitive finals week ahead.