As coaches had predicted prior to the 103rd staging of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships, western- based athletes delivered above expectations at last week’s track and field extravaganza held at the National Stadium in Kingston.

Led by Munro College’s Delano Williams, who confirmed his place in Jamaican high school sprint lore by defending his Class 1 sprint double title, while winning three straight 200m titles, western Jamaican athletes won nine individual gold medals, as well as one relay gold.

Two of the unprecedented records broken at what has been described as the greatest ever Champs, went to western Jamaican- based athletes, as St Elizabeth Technical’s Jauavauny James set a new mark in the Class 3 1500m, winning in 4 minutes 14.51 seconds, one of his two gold medals, as he also won the 800m race.

The other came in boys 4x400m relay Open where Williams led his team to 3 minutes 09.21 seconds.

Munro also won the silver in the Class 1 4x100m in 39.92 seconds ahead of Green Island who had a school record 40.09 seconds.

Meanwhile, eight girls and eight boys’ schools from western Jamaica scored points, up from the six girls and five boys teams that got at least a point last year.

St Elizabeth Technical High, the western girls champions scored 65 points for eighth overall followed by Rusea’s High that scored 18 points for 15th place and won a gold medal for the first time in decides, and a medal for the first time since 2000 when Jovanee Jarret took a bronze in the Class 2 long jump.

Balaclava High move from two points last year to nine for 20th position followed by Petersfield on eight points in 24th place, with Mannings School and Herbert Morrison tied for 26th with six points; Green Island High scored their first ever girls points with four for 33rd place, while Grange Hill scored two points for 36th place.

Munro College scored 98 points to place 6th overall in the boys’ section followed by STETHS in 7th place with 49 points; Petersfield was ninth with 34 points, while Green Island High had their best points total ever with 23 for 12th place. Cornwall College improved from eight points last year to score 19 this year, and tied for 14th, while Godfrey Stewart, William Knibb Memorial and Herbert Morrison were tied for 35th with three points.

In addition to gold medals from Munro’s Williams and STETHS’ James; other gold medals came from the STETHS pair of Chantai Smith in the Class 2 800m and Junelle Bromfield in the Class 3 800m.

Rusea’s High’s Stephanie Barrett won the gold medal in the 3000m Open; Opal James of STETHS won the Class 1 long jump, while Munro College’s Keno Dunkley redeemed himself with a record in the Class 2 discus throw with a personal best 52.09m, beating Petersfield’s Sanjay Lawrence, who took the silver.

Williams led a western sweep of the medals in the Class 1 100m, winning in 10.28 seconds as his teammate Senoj-jay Givan was a surprise second in 10.45 seconds, with Green Island’s Odail Todd third in 10.49 seconds.

Todd who missed last year’s Champs due to injuries was second to Williams in the 200m in a personal best 20.78 seconds.

Jevaughn Shaw of Munro College gained his first medal at Champs when he won the silver in the Boys Class 1 discus in a personal best 55.56m.

Tion Grey of Petersfield was left in tears after his second place in the Class 1 1500m; Renaldo Banton of STETHS was third in the Class 3 100m hurdles, while his teammate Okeen Williams was also third in the 400m hurdles Open.

Kimone Green of STETHS was second in the 400m Open for girls; Rashell Reid scored all six of Mannings’ points with her bronze in the Class 1 shot put, while Donna-Lee Loney of Balaclava also took a bronze in the Class 2 400m.