TRELAWNY, Jamaica — During the regular monthly sitting of the Trelawny Municipal Corporation (TMC) held Thursday, Falmouth Mayor and Councillor C Junior Gager delivered glowing praise to local secondary school students from the parish who have turned in extraordinary performances across academic competition and elite regional athletic competition in recent weeks.
Gager first turned his attention to the all-girls quiz team from Westwood High School, which made historic progress in one of Jamaica’s most prestigious annual academic competitions: Television Jamaica’s Schools’ Challenge Quiz. Team members including captain Tanay Johnson, Sheanelle Brown, Kadecia Fearon and Alison Francis fought their way through multiple rounds to reach the competition’s Grand Final, where they faced off against Jamaica College in a tight, high-stakes match. Ultimately, the Westwood squad fell just two points short of the top spot, finishing with a final score of 28 to Jamaica College’s 30.
“This is the first time Westwood High School has ever advanced to the Schools’ Challenge Quiz final, and their performance was nothing short of remarkable,” Gager shared during the meeting. “Even though they took second place, the entire Trelawny community is incredibly proud of what they have accomplished. They put our parish on the map nationally in academics, and that is a huge achievement worth celebrating.”
Shifting focus to athletic accomplishments, Gager next highlighted rising track star Shanoya Douglas, a sprinter from Holland High School who turned in a record-breaking performance at the 2024 Carifta Games hosted in St George’s, Grenada. Douglas clocked an impressive 22.11 seconds in the women’s Under-20 200m dash with a 1.9m/s tailwind, breaking the national junior record she had set previously. The win also marked her second consecutive Under-20 sprint double: she successfully defended her 100m crown to take home two gold medals from the regional competition.
“Shanoya Douglas represented Jamaica and our home parish of Trelawny excellently at this year’s Carifta Games, and she deserves every bit of recognition coming her way,” Gager said. He added that Douglas, who already received an award at the recent TMC and Jamaica Cultural Development Commission Heroes’ Day Civic and Awards Ceremony in Falmouth’s historic Water Square, will be honored again by the municipal corporation at a future date.
“We want to make sure we support her growth and celebrate her success, so she can continue to go from strength to strength in her career,” Gager explained. “Shanoya is without a doubt one of the most exciting young athletic talents to emerge from Trelawny in recent years, and we are rooting for her every step of the way.”
Gager closed his round of commendations by recognizing Sanjay Seymour, a sprinter from William Knibb Memorial High School who claimed the gold medal in the Boys Under-20 200m final at the Carifta Games, alongside other Trelawny-based athletes who competed at the event. “We are so proud of Sanjay and all the other athletes from William Knibb who represented us so well at the games,” he said. “We wish them all continued success in all their future athletic and academic endeavors.”