Two-time defending champions, St. Peter and Paul Preparatory, have made the early move with a 1.5-point lead after day one of the GK General Insurance and GK Mutual Funds JISA National Prep Schools Track & Field Championships at the National Stadium.

After two finals on Thursday, the Old Hope Road-based Saints moved to the top with 13 points, ahead of Our Lady of the Angels Preparatory (OLA) and Hydel Prep, who garnered 11.5 and 11 points, respectively. Mona Preparatory followed in fourth with nine points, while Immaculate Prep was fifth on seven points.

Morris Knibb Preparatory sat sixth on 6.5 points, with St. Andrew Preparatory seventh on 4 points, as the first set of field events and early finals began shaping the championship picture.

The early lead, welcomed by the Saints’ head coach Jerome Kirby, who entered the meet among the favourites after retaining the title last year. Kirby foreshadowed before the championships that his team was confident of mounting another strong defence.

The Saints maximised their points in the boys’ class two high jump, where Nikolai Brown cleared 1.40 metres to win the final and set a new personal best. OLA’s Yackovenco Henry and Morris Knibb’s Milano Wright both cleared 1.35m to tie for second, with Wright also recording a personal best. Hydel’s Troy Marshall finished fourth with 1.30m, while Sts Peter and Paul’s Kejuan Hines added valuable points with a 1.25m clearance for fifth. The result helped strengthen Sts Peter and Paul’s early hold on the overall lead.

Mona Preparatory’s Leila Bell topped the second final of the day, the girls’ class two high jump, clearing 1.30 metres to take gold with a new personal best. Immaculate Preparatory’s Paris-Saige Tulloch finished second on 1.25m, also producing a personal best, while Hydel Preparatory’s Kiana Rose took third on countback with the same 1.25m clearance and a personal best of her own. OLA’s Anecia Thomas was fourth, also at 1.25m, as the event produced a competitive early field-event battle. St Andrew Preparatory’s Nahalia Walters, Lannaman’s Preparatory’s Kimoya Rose and Emmanuel Christian Academy’s Secoya Bucknol rounded out the visible placings at 1.15m, with Walters equalling her personal best and Rose setting a new mark.

Orette Duncan, Client and Partner Services Manager at GK General Insurance, a co-title sponsor of the meet, commended the students for their drive, passion, and determination throughout the day’s events. He noted the importance sports play in their overall growth and development, expressing his anticipation for more head-to-head finals as the meet continues into the weekend, noting it as ‘one of the best events for the next generation of Jamaican athletes.’

More than 1,500 athletes from approximately 45 schools are expected to compete across the three-day championships.