J.T.A. Games

I am a Winner

Team St Andrew retained the Blue Cross JTA National Primary, All-Age and Junior High Athletic Championship title after edging out 2004 champions Manchester at the National Stadium yesterday.

Enjoying a healthy lead heading into yesterday's second and final day, St Andrew won after tallying 329 points, 42.2 more than Manchester and 116 more than St Elizabeth. The victory was St Andrew's 12th in the competition's 21-year history.

Meanwhile, the most outstanding boy and girl titles went to St Elizabeth's Opal James and Romaine Blake. James, who competed in the Girls Under-11 class of the five-class championship, won two races, while Blake recorded a similar feat in the Boys Under-9 class. The other classes were Under-17, 15, 13.

The most outstanding Under-17 athletes were St James' Shavel Leslie, who copped the Boys 200m and 400m double, St Andrew's Donna Lee Hylton and Manchester's Tanya Jones, who both copped a win each to finish joint champions within their class.

The other class champions were: Boys U-15 - Jevaughn Spencer, St James (18 points); U-13 - Rolando Reid, Manchester (18); and U-11 - Kamau Lawson, St Ann (12).

Girls U-15 - Christina Gentles, Westmoreland (18); U-13 - Orinthia Bennett, St Elizabeth (18); U-9 - Moesha-Ann Campbell, Westmoreland (16).

The championship, which was divided into three stages, was organised by the Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA) with major sponsorship by Blue Cross of Jamaica, to expose students from primary, all-age and junior high schools to athletic competition at the national level.

Stage one saw athletes competing at the parish level, stage two at the parish district levels and stage three, the national championships.

Overall Team Standings

Female Team Standings