media_artricles :: 2015

Undisputed: Tobago lifts 25th straight Sec Schools’ T&F title

Triple and double gold medal winners, Anya Akili and Tyriq Horsford were two of many standout performers from Tobago, who, apart from their individual accolades, led their district to a milestone 25th consecutive zonal crown at the end of the T&T Secondary Schools Track and Field Championship, on Thursday.

The curtain closed on the two-day event at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port-of-Spain, with Tobago amassing an unassailable 93 medals, 31 of which were gold, 30 silver and 32 bronze. Yet again, the Port-of-Spain district trailed in second with 29 gold, 17 silver and 17 bronze, while North-East placed third.

The North-East district, however, provided the most successful individual of the meet in Avindale Smith, who copped four gold medals in the boys Under-14 division.

He won the 100m (11.68), 200m (24.40), long jump (5.52) and high jump (1.62).

But among those leading the charge for Tobago was Akili, who took the triple gold after claiming the 400m hurdles on Thursday with an impressive finish in 1:06.06, a day after winning the 100m hurdles in 15.45 seconds. Also on Thursday, Akili successfully lept over 1.5m to win the U-18 girls’ high jump.

Meanwhile, Horsford, who was named among the headline acts ahead of the championship, won the U-16 discus with a 49.74m effort and the javelin with ease after a 66.04m launch.

Earlier this month, won gold for T&T at the Carifta Games in St Kitts, with a championship record 70.73m (700g) throw in the boys’ U-18 javelin.

Other Carifta medalists for T&T were successful at the Secondary Schools championship. Asha James, javelin silver medalist in the girls’ U-18 at the regional event, won the same discipline on Thursday, with a 43.40m effort, along with the U-18 discus gold (24.40m).

Copping the Girls’ U-16 100m and 200m double was Ayla Stanislaus, who clocked 12.10 and 24.82 seconds, respectively.

The girls’ U-18 equivalent saw Zakiya Denoon claim the 100m and 200m in 12.10 and 24.54 seconds.

For Port-of-Spain, Ashton Gill stood out with a triple gold series of performances in the two middle distance run, as well as the 400m hurdles. The hurdles, Gill clocked 57.70 seconds. Gill triumphed in the Over-18 800m and 1500m races in 1:59.00 and 4:13.89, respectively, while Shaquille Singuineau, Kobe Job and Jaden St Louis were other double-gold medal winners for Port-of-Spain. The Port-of-Spain also captured an impressive six of the eight 4x100m relays, as well as five of the six 4x400m relays.

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