BELLEFIELD High’s Romoy Grant is hoping to improve on his third place in the 5,000m Open at the 2019 ISSA Championships and got off to a good start after easily winning the event at the recent Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) Qualification Trials 3.0, held at St Elizabeth Technical High School Sports Complex in Santa Cruz.

Running by himself for most of the race, Grant clocked 16 minutes 15.90 seconds — beating his teammate Dontae Hudson by almost two minutes — and said he achieved his goal of running around 16 minutes.

“It felt alright, although I did not have much competition,” he told the Jamaica Observer after the race. “I had to run by myself.”

Grant, who was third at the ISSA Championships in 2019 in 15:43.98 seconds, said his goal was to do his best and qualify for a scholarship to an American institution, sharing he already had four subjects and was doing three more this year.

At Champs he could clash with defending champion Kevory Venson of Calabar High School who has run 16:03.70 minutes already this season.

Grant’s teammate Aneisha Lawrence had to settle for second place in the 3000m Open, running 11 minutes 42.12 seconds as STETHS’s Euvia Bennett won with 11:41.77 — the leading time in the country so far.

Another Bellefield runner, Tia Taylor was third in 12:29.25 seconds.

Mt Alvernia High’s Class Two jumper Aaliyah Foster opened her season with a big effort by winning the long jump with 5.75m, the best by any Class Two girl so far.

Foster, who broke the County of Cornwall Athletic Association (COCAA) Western Champs Class Three record with 5.95m last year, took only three jumps and had a 5.40m effort in her opening jump.

STETHS’s Rojrika Campbell was second with 4.88m and BB Coke’s Breanna Monteith was third with 4.65m.

The Cornwall College pair of O’Brien Brown and Kenomar Jones both had marks of 6.10m in the boys’ Class Two while STETHS’s Oshane Blackwood won Class One with 6.80m.

Manchester High’s Fabrienne Foster won the Class One girls’ discus throw with a mark of 45.50m, well ahead of STETHS’s Georgie Burton (34.65m) an Rusea’s High’s Leonie Samuels (34.19m).

On the track, Machester High’s Troydi Flemmings won the boys’ Class Three 400m in 54.21 seconds, finishing ahead of the STETHS pair of Odaine Thompson (55.21 seconds) and Kimani Phillips (56.28 seconds).

Flemmings’ Manchester High teammate Jahleel Levy won Class Two with 54.40 seconds, beating Trevon Williams (55.56 seconds) and Matthew Webster (56.19 seconds), both of Cornwall College.

Daniel Binns of STETHS won the Class One event in 51.20 seconds, with Mile Gully’s Shemar Palmer second in 51.47 seconds and Rhodes Hall High’s Romario Stewart with 52.21 seconds in third.

In the girls’ 400m, Manchester High’s Shevanae Thomas won Class 1 with 58.26 seconds, finishing ahead of her teammate Roschell Rowe (58.68 seconds) and Spalding High’s Cheriece Cope (1:00.66 minutes).

Onieka Brissett of Rusea’s High won Class Two in 58.42 seconds, STETHS’s Shanique Williams was second in 1:00.89 minutes, and Bellefield’s Adiese Bailey third in 1:01.33 minutes.

STETHS’s Shaven Griffiths won Class Three with 59.72 seconds, beating Spalding High’s Allecia Johnson in 1:03.62 minutes and BB Coke’s Ariel Lindo with 1:05.94.