SPORTS SECTION E
Friday, March 6, 2026
Raptors celebrate JUNIOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONS: The CH Reeves Raptors celebrate their championship win.
CH Reeves reclaims GSSSA junior schools’ track and field championship By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net AFTER losing their title to the SC McPherson Sharks last year, the CH Reeves Raptors returned with a vengeance as they reclaimed their Government Secondary Schools Sports Association junior schools’ track and field crown. The Raptors, who assembled for their team celebrations long before the final scores were tallied and announced last night, completed the twoday meet at the Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium with almost a 200-point difference between their nearest rivals. CH Reeves accumulated a total of 720 points, compared to 535.83 by the HO Nash Lions for second and SC McPherson, who dropped to third with 498.50. The remaining four schools in order were the DW Davis Royals in fourth with 472.50, LW Young Golden Eagles in fifth with 345.17, the AF Adderley Fighting Tigers in sixth with 324.50 and the TA Thompson Scorpions in seventh with 190. Raptors' head coach Varel Davis said this one was for the student-athletes who put in the long hours to get the title back that slipped away from them last year. "We started from the school that opened in September," said Davis about her team's preparation. "Our job was to go out there and regain our championship title." She noted that her Raptors left the stadium last year with a bitter taste in their mouth and she indicated that the hard work paid off and now they are standing on top of the GSSSA again. "We had a goal in mind and the goal was to come
back and win our championship," she insisted. "This is the 32nd year of the GSSSA. CH Reeves won 29. "That tells you about the programme, the sacrifices and the hard work of the coaches and these kids behind me. That is why we are celebrating here today." While the meet came to a close for the juniors, the senior division will be wrapped up today. The former champions CR Walker Knights are in the same position as CH Reeves as they look to regain their title they relinquished last year to the CV Bethel Stingrays. The Knights hold a 31.5point lead with 300.50, while the Stingrays are trailing with 224. The RM Bailey Pacers round out the top three with 216.50. The CI Gibson Rattlers are in fourth with 198.5, the CC Sweeting Cobras are fifth with 136, Government High Magics sixth with 127, Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins seventh with 91.50 and the Anatol Rodgers Timberwolves in eighth with 87. The 200 and 800m took the spotlight for the final day of competition for the juniors. In the under-13 girls’ division, Khasliah Brown of CH Reeves won the half-lap in 58.89 and Jahlani Major of Anatol Rodgers won the two-lap race in 2:50.37. McKaya Rahming, also from CH Reeves, won the under-5 girls’ 200m in 27.21 and Acaiya Clarke of LW Young won the 800m in 2:47.38. SC McPherson's Angel McPhee, coming off her win in the under-17 girls’ 100m the night before in 12.71, added the 200m to her collection in 26.54. Raynik Neilly of HO Nash also got her second win in the 800 in 2:45.60. She won the 400m the previous day in 1:05.21. CH Reeves' got another outstanding performance from Daniel Culmer in
CH Reeves Raptors coaching staff.
THE HO Nash Lions with their second place trophy.
SC McPherson team with their third place trophy. the under-13 boys' sprints. He won the 100m the day before in 13.22 and came back to take the 200m in 27.59. Carlos Hamilyon of SC McPherson won the 800m in 2:41.49. Elysse Garry continued the hot streak for CH Reeves with his win in the under-15 boys' 200m in 24.58. Justin LaFleur of DW Davis took the 800m in 2:21.34. He also won the 1,500m in 5:08.45.
And in the under-17 boys’ division, Lavar Deveaux emerged as another double winner for CH Reeves. He came through in the 200m in 22.79 after taking the century the day before in 11.07. Wresh Honore of DW Davis was the winner of the 800m in 2:17.67. One of the highlights from the senior division came from CR Walker's Keilesha Saunders, who
celebrated her 16th birthday with her second record breaking performance in the under-17 girls’ 100m hurdles in 14.94. "I knew I could do it again, but I wasn't expecting it, especially on my birthday," said Saunders about the record she first broke in the preliminaries on day one on Wednesday. "I don't know how I will celebrate, but I know I will do something."
Her team-mate Brittany Flowers was second in 18.00 and T'Neesha Bowleg of RM Bailey was third in 18.25. Jaden Taylor Deveaux, competing in the under20 boys’ 110m hurdles, had one of the performances to remember. He was leading the race by a large margin, clipped the final of the 10 flights of hurdles, tumbled over, got up and still managed to win. As soon as he crossed the line, he did two flips back-to-back to celebrate. Antwan Armaly of CC Sweeting was second in 16.95 and Kendrick Rolle, also from RM Bailey, got third in 17.71. Taevia Wright of CV Bethel easily won the under-20 girls' 100m hurdles in 16.12 with Kenisha Capron of RM Bailey second in 18.42 and Raven Young of CC Sweeting third in 19.80.