DeSantos impresses on 1st day of Nationals

Akroy DeSantos of Zeeburg Secondary stood out easily on the first day of the 2026 National Secondary Schools Championships with a stellar performance on Wednesday afternoon at the National Track and Field Centre (NTFC), Leonora, West Coast Demerara (WCD).
After a colourful opening ceremony, DeSantos looked cool, calm and collected to easily dominate the boys’ Under-14 1500 metres final with a time of 4:44.98s. Lovell Bernard from Sand Creek Secondary (4:51.35s) and Edenan Hercules (4:52.42s) of Dolphin Secondary finished second and third respectively.
Shanea Moore of Charlestown Secondary was equally impressive in the girls’ Under-14 discus throw, with a distance of 24.56 metres to claim gold. Acacia Ogle of Mackenzie High threw 22.75 metres for silver while Imani Hawker of President’s College recorded a distance of 21.26 metres for bronze.
Switching to the boys’ Under-20 100 metres, CARIFTA-bound Onesi Dunn of Chase Academic Foundation copped gold with a time of 10.58s while Ezek Willington of Mahaicony Secondary took silver with a time of 10.61s. Gordon Thompson of Mackenzie High rounded out the podium with bronze in a time of 10.62s.
Meanwhile, Nyoscie Wright of New Amsterdam Multilateral won the girls’ Under-20 100 metres in a time of 12.74s. Leanna Fraser of Mahaicony Technical And Vocational Training Centre (MTVTC) finished second in 13.30s while Malia Primo of North Georgetown claimed third in 13.79s.
In other results, Areanna Bart of Stewartville Secondary won the girls’ Under-14 1500 metres in 5:32.25s. Ebo McNeil of Mackenzie High won the male Under-20 1500 metres in 4:17.36s. Adanya Glen won the girls’ Under-20 1500m in 5:11.12s. Omari Welch of Corentyne Secondary won the male Under-16 100m in 10.93s while Angel Jeffery of Christianburg won the girls’ Under-16 100 metres in 12.05s.
The National Schools Championships will continue today, Thursday with the male and female 200 and 800 metre events.