Roxborough Secondary School's Darius Moore competes in the boys' 17+ 400m hurdles, on the final day of the Secondary Schools Track and Field Champs, on June 17, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain. - Photo by Jeff K. Mayers ON a day when Tobago school Roxborough Secondary retained the overall boys' and girls' titles at the Secondary Schools Track and Field (SSTF) National Championships, 2025 Carifta standout Oshea Cummings was a star in her own right as she copped two titles on the final day of action at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on June 17.
In a keenly contested battle in the girls' under-17 800-metre final alongside fellow national junior athlete Shian Lewis, Mason Hall Secondary's Cummings showed her class when she pulled away in the final stretch to snatch gold in two minutes, 24.03 seconds (2:24.03) as she gestured to her elated supporters. Lewis, who claimed bronze in the girls' under-17 800m at this year's Carifta Games, grabbed silver behind Cummings in 2:26.89. The third spot went to Malick Secondary's Jada Felix who was a distant third in 2:38.97.
CTS College's Darius Harding (front) on his way to winning the open boys' 5,000m race, on the final day, of the Secondary Schools Track and Field Champs, on June 17, 2025 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain. - Photo by Jeff K. Mayers
Having already copped the girls' under-17 1,500m title on June 16, Cummings added more gloss to her growing resume in the girls' 3,000m open when she edged out Signal Hill Secondary's Kenya Muir in a race that saw both athletes going shoulder-to-shoulder for seven-plus laps. Cummings snatched gold in 13:58.46, with Muir (13:58.64) and Felix (14:03.71) finishing second and third respectively.
Other Carifta athletes also showed they were a cut above their peers as the exciting action concluded, with Darius Harding, Alex Seepersad, Brion Scott and twins Tenique and Tyrique Vincent among those who had outstanding performances to claim gold.
On the team front, though, there was no stopping Roxborough who underscored their dominance when they wrapped up the games with victories in both the boys' and girls' 17+ 4x400m relay finals. In the girls' 17+ 4x400m final, the team of Nubian Boucher, Natalia Eastman, Kimmyah Jack and Jewelle Williams saw off the challenge of Tenique and Bishop Anstey to seize gold in 4:17.01. Bishop Anstey clocked a time of 4:20.06. Despite her best efforts, Vincent just couldn't reel in Roxborough's anchor runner Eastman.
Roxborough Secondary School's Russell John competes in the boys' 15+ javelin throw, on the final day of the Secondary Schools Track and Field Champs, on June 17, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain. - Photo by Jeff K. Mayers
Roxborough's final relay win took their overall team tally to 274 points in the girls' category, pushing Bishop Anstey (215 points) and Scarborough Secondary (209 points) to second and third respectively. In the boys' 17+ 4x400m final, Roxborough got a scorching start from first-leg runner Ben Israel Bannister and maintained their lead through to anchor leg Shezlon Gordon who helped them to the top spot in a time of 3:22.01. Fatima placed second in 3:28.56, with Speyside third in 3:39.86.
Roxborough had a landslide victory in the boys' category as they accumulated 325 points to defend their 2024 crown, with Queen's Royal College (186 points) and Bishop's High School Tobago (156 points) finishing second and third respectively.
In other 4x400m relay events contested on the final day, Bishop Anstey showed their prowess as they won both the under-15 and under-17 crowns, with QRC and Trinity College East taking the respective boys' under-15 and under-17 4x400m honours.
In the individual events, Seepersad and Isaiah Teesdale completed sprint doubles as they added 200m titles to their 100m wins the previous day. In the under-15 200m final, Teesdale had a big victory as he took gold in a meet record of 22.27, with St Mary's College's Christian Parks claiming second in 22.95. In the under-17 200m final, Seepersad's speed was too hot to handle as he won in 21.32, with Signal Hill Secondary's Jquan Douglas (21.86) and St George's College's Nickell Gill (22.02) placing second and third.
Bishop Anstey High Schools Welette Clarke, right, passes the baton to teammate Keanna Cummings for the final leg of the girls under-15 4x400m relay final at the NGC Secondary Schools Track and Field Championships, June 17, Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain. - Photo by Jeff K. Mayers
Roxborough's Eastman shone in individual events and won the girls' 17+ 400m hurdles and 800m titles. CTS College's Harding was the mark of excellence in the middle and long-distance events as he won the boys' open 5,000m, to go along with a keenly contested boys' 17+ 800m final which he won ahead of Trinity East's Jayden Alexander.
In the field, Goodwood Secondary's Kellon Potts shone as he took his gold medal tally to three with wins in the boys' under-15 discus and long jump events. Meanwhile, Tenique and Tyrique showed off their sibling power once again as they sealed commanding wins in their respective girls' 15+ pentathlon and boys' 15+ heptathlon events. Tenique amassed 3,246 points to see off Bates Memorial's Isabella Solomon (2,282 points), while Fatima standout Tyrique (4,868 points) proved a bridge too far for Bates Memorial's Terrell Hernandez (3,761 points) to cross.
