Signal Hill Secondary was the dominant school in the Tobago leg of the Secondary Schools Track and Field (SSTF) cross-country run, on the Mt Irvine Golf Course, last Thursday.
The event took off at 10 am under sweltering conditions.
Mykhal Paria and Angel Davidson were the marque performers for Signal Hill.
Paria led the race from the start and conquered the hilly, six-kilometre course, in a time of 24 minutes and 47 seconds. His exploits also landed him the boys over-17 title.
Kyle Reid also of Signal Hill copped second place in (26.41) along with the boys under-17 top prize. Zack La Rosa (26.42) of Speyside rounded off the top three.
Davidson was the first female to hit the tape after negotiating some stiff competition at the start, but found another gear in the final third of the race to stop the clock at 33 minutes and 37 seconds.
Natalia Eastman (35.17) of Roxborough and Q-Jhea Stewart (38.03) of Signal Hill were second and third respectively.
Commenting after the race, Davidson, who also secured the female under-17 accolade, singled out the humid conditions as her major challenge.
“The race was good,” she said, “but it was extremely hot. On the last lap I felt like my skin was leaving my body. I did not expect to win, but when I caught up with the front runners, it motivated me to push on.”
The success did not surprise Oralyn Lincoln, a Physical Education teacher at Signal Hill. “We expected the results. Some of the students backed out due to the heat, but our school have some national athletes, so it was no surprise.”
The under-15 athletes covered four kilometres. Malique Young of Bishop's topped the pack in 16 minutes and 32 seconds.
Oshea Cummings of Mason Hall was the eye-catching athlete on the day. Cummings literally kept pace with the boys to finish fourth overall in (18.27), on her way to capturing the girls under-15 pole position.
Other age-group winners were Rasheeda Cave (42.45) of Roxborough in the over-17 female category.
A’Don Young (20.20) of Bishop's was the boys under-13 winner while Amiena Ali (45.18) of Mason Hall prevailed in the female equivalent.
One hundred and 14 athletes representing six secondary schools reached the finish line. Notably absent were Goodwood and Scarborough Secondary schools.
The second event of the SSTF middle distance league will continue with a cross-run on October 18, starting at the Mt Irvine Golf Course.