No murders reported over busy Champs weekend in Jamaica

CALABAR High School easily captured their 3rd consecutive CHAMPS title and their 24th overall {VIDEO} Jovan Francis Breaks Usain Bolt's Record

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THERE were no reports of murder in the island over the busy Boys' and Girls' Championship weekend, police said.

Checks made with the communication arm of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Constabulary Communications Unit, up to press time yesterday revealed that police blotters were not showing any recorded reports of murder between Friday and Saturday.

However, the CCN reported two fatal road crashes which claimed the lives of three people, and the seizure of an illegal firearm and ammunition.

In the first accident which occurred in St Mary on Saturday, sometime after 9:00 pm, two people were killed on the Prospect main road when the driver reportedly lost control of his vehicle. The deceased were identified as 45-year-old Caswell Baylis of Donhead Avenue and 35-year-old Marsha Singh of Honeyhill Close, both of St Andrew.

The other accident occurred along Retreat main road, shortly after 6:00 am on Sunday after the driver also reportedly lost control of the motor car and crashed into a utility pole. The dead man has been identified as 20-year-old Delano McFarlane of Bessie Baker district, Hanover.

Two other passengers who were also in the vehicle were admitted to hospital in serious condition.

The police also seized a Browning 9mm pistol with a magazine containing one 9mm round over the weekend and arrsted one man.

According to police reports on Saturday a team of officers assigned to the St Andrew Central Police Division were on operation on Antigua avenue in New Kingston, about 11:30 pm when they observed a man acting suspiciously. The man was confronted and searched and the illegal gun and ammunition was found.

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CALABAR High easily captured their third consecutive ISSA GraceKennedy Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships and their 24th overall on a pulsating final day of action in which Javon Francis erased Usain Bolt's 400m record at the National Stadium yesterday.

Despite the early hiccups, the green-and-black-clad boys from Red Hills Road sorted out their glitches and easily dispatched their rivals, rattling up 305 points to win by a huge 96.5-point margin. KC finished second with 208.5 ahead of JC in third with 190 points. St Jago with 158.5 were fourth ahead of St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) on 123 points.

It was a more than deserved victory for Calabar as they showed tremendous all-round strength to secure one of the biggest winning margins in the boys' section for years.

Overall, 14 boys records were broken. Among them St Jago, with 3:08.31 minutes, erased Munro College's 3:09.21 in the 4X400m. STETHS also dipped below the previous record with 3:08.67 minutes for second, while Calabar finished fourth in 3:12.32 without the injured Javon Francis.

Calabar started the day in second spot on 105 points, one behind Jamaica College with 106 with Kingston College faltering in third with 81.5, and by time the 400m was completed, the writing was on the wall. Calabar rattled up 36 points, KC got 16 and JC garnered only four points.

Francis, the World Championship 4x400 relay silver medallist, went out like a bullet reminiscent of his heroics at Moscow last year, and in a sustained performance of speed and stamina, he lowered Bolt's Class One 11-year-old record of 45.35 seconds to 45.00 flat.

It is a world-leading time by Francis, who bettered the time 45.03 seconds of Brazil's Anderson Henriques done on March 14.

Francis also surpassed Jamaica's Edino Steele's 45.44 seconds.

St Jago's Nathon Allen was second in a respectable 46.16 with Lenox Williams of Manchester finishing third in 46.48 seconds.

Class Three record holder Christopher Taylor got things rolling, easily winning in 48.80 seconds and pulled his teammate Brandon Heath into second in 50.50 seconds. That was 16 massive points for Calabar with both JC and KC failing to add to their tally.

KC responded in Class Two picking maximum 16 points courtesy of Donte Williams and Nathaniel Bann in 47.94 and 48.01 seconds, respectively. But Calabar picked up 11 massive points, finishing third and fourth with Anthony Carpenter and Aykeeme Francis in 48.21 and 48.68 seconds, respectively.

Devon Spencer of STETHS broke the Javelin Open record, throwing 64.08m ahead of favourite Orlando Thomas of KC who was second with 60.29m and also went above the previous record of 59.66 held by KC's Zaavan Richards set in 2013. Calabar's Adrian Mitchell and Najair Jackson were third and fifth with 56.14m and 52.32m, respectively.

By that time, their school had opened up a 41-point lead after 22 finals.

The irrepressible Jaheel Hyde of Wolmer's completed the hurdles double chasing and catching Tyler Mason of JC in 110m event winning in 13.53 seconds to Mason's 13.55 seconds.

Hyde, the 2013 World Youth Championship record holder, who on Friday broke the 400m hurdles in 49.49 seconds, sprinted another 300 metres to celebrate in front of his adoring school fans waving their gold and maroon flags.

Young Devaughn Gayle gave Spot Valley High probably their first win at Champs as he took the Class Three 800m in 2:02.06 minutes, holding off the tall and powerful-looking Andrew Ashby of Calabar High in 2:02.18.

Following the completion of the 800 metres, Calabar had established a 72-point lead, racing to 200 points after 28 finals. Despite Jorel Bellafonte pulling out of the Class One 800m, his teammate Raja Hamilton outgunned the two Spalding runners in defending champion Kevon Robinson and Chadoye Dawson.

Hamilton won in 1:51.41 minutes ahead of Robinson in 1:51.76. Dawson did 1:52.41 for third.

By the end of the 200m, at approximately 5:50 pm, Calabar opened up a 79-point lead entering the relays. As the bright light of the sun went down, so did the chances of both KC and JC at that point and had officially kissed Champs goodbye.

However, in the Class One 200m, the hearts of Calabar's fans and wider Jamaicans, briefly stopped when the affable Francis pulled up while chasing Jevaughn Minzie 25 metres out from the line. But at the end, it was not that bad as he walked across the line and earned a point for his team then walked strongly back to the Stadium East Calabar tent.

In the absence of Zharnel Hughes of KC, Minzie comfortably won in 20.50 seconds ahead of the late- finishing Martin Manley in 20.73 seconds. Calabar's Michael O'Hara, running out of lane eight, finished third in a disappointing 20.86.

Tyreke Wilson completed the sprint double in Class Three and in the process broke the 200m record with 21.72 seconds. It was the eighth boys record of the meet. The previous record was held by KC's Jhevaughn Matherson of 21.87 last year.

But Matherson continued to amaze, and at 15-years-old, he ran an astonishing 20.97 seconds to win the Class Two final ahead of the 100 record holder Raheem Chambers of St Jago in 21.19 seconds. KC's pre-race favourite Akeem Bloomfield withdrew due to injury.

The famed Purples from North Street, greeted the relays with a smashing run to erase the long standing 24-year-old Medley Open record of 3:37.23 minutes. KC with a magnificent 800m anchor leg from Miguel Morrison, stopped the clock at 3:25.78 minutes. Second- placed Calabar also went under the previous record with 3:26.01 minutes.

Not to be outdone, World Youth high jump bronze medallist Christoffe Bryan of Wolmers upgraded his Class One high jump record twice from 2.19m to 2.23m.

Calabar running without Javon Francis broke the Class One 4x100 relay record of 39.78 and lowered it to 39.35 seconds. JC also dipped below the previous record with 39.69 seconds in second.

KC responded in Class Two with Matherson and won in 40.89 seconds. The champions returned in Class Three and set another record of 41.81 seconds for the 4x100m relay. It was the 13th boys record of the meet.

OBrian Frith of Holmwood Technical completed his double easily winning the 5,000m in 15:31.71 minutes, having broken the 2,000m steeplechase record on Wednesday.