ALTHOUGH only two records were set, secondary schools within the Lautoka/Yasawa athletics zone showed immense interest in this year’s meet and have been serious in their approach.
Meanwhile, a total of 99 records are intact at the Lautoka/Yasawa Athletics Zone meet; 48 in the girl’s division and 51 in the boy’s division.
22 records remain in the field events for the boy’s and girl’s division’s respectively; 29 records are intact in the tracks for the boy’s division and 26 in the girl’s division.
Former Pacific sprint queen, Makelesi Bulikiobo’s 200m and 400m record runs, set in 1991, is the longest record intact in the girl’s division for the track events and Mary Wesley’s record throw of 11.23m, set in 1986, in the shot-put event is the longest field event’s record.
Makelesi’s 25.95s in the 200m and 59.10s in the 400m was set in the senior girls division and Mary Wesley’s shot put throw was in the junior girls division.
Both represented Natabua High School.
Interestingly, Arthur Lidel’s 1993 run set in the 800m event, in the sub-junior grade, representing St. Thomas High School with a time of 2 minutes 12.87s is the longest record intact in the boy’s division on the tracks whilst Viggo Wesley’s 50.43m discus throw in the intermediate grade, was also set in 1993; Viggo represented Natabua High School.
Natabua High School and Jasper Williams High School contribute to the most number of athletes holding records at the Lautoka/Yasawa Athletics Zone meet.
It will take a couple of super athlete’s within the zone to stumble the longest held record’s and the Wesley siblings have set a benchmark amongst the Lautoka/Yasawa secondary school’s athletes, especially with the more than three decades of the shot put event record in the Junior Girl’s grade by the elder Wesley.
