While the 2023 Inter-Primary Track and Field Championships welcomed more than 800 students to the Truman Bodden Sports Complex last week, Sereniti Rankin separated herself from the pack.
The 11-year-old, who attends Cayman Prep, earned the Victrix Ludorum honour (overall individual high point winner female) for the championships, along with a 12-and-under high jump Division Five record.
Rankin leaped 1.42 metres on Friday, 17 March – a performance that shattered the prior record of 1.25m.
Her jump not only exceeded the competitors in her category, but also eclipsed the boys group, where the best jump was 1.32m on the day.
“It feels really good,” Rankin told the Cayman Compass. “This was my last year of inter-primary and I really wanted to leave a mark.”
And leave a mark she did. Although Rankin admitted she was intimidated heading into the competition, that feeling faded before she ultimately set the bar at the highest it had ever been in the championship’s history.
“I felt like I could win. I was just afraid of this one tall girl, but she got out quite easily,” Rankin said. “It feels amazing to break the record. My coach from Mustangs, Tyrone Yen, he’s been helping me a lot after training sessions, and also, I thank my mom.”
The overall winner for the Inter-Primary Championships was Prospect Primary School after amassing 416.33 points during the three-day track-and-field event organised by the Department of Education Services in partnership with the Department of Sports.
Speaking with the Compass, Director of Sports Kurt Hyde said that the event continues to be a platform for young athletes, like Rankin, to have breakout performances.
“They’ve been working all year long, honing their skills, and this gives them the opportunity to showcase what they’ve learned and what they’ve been working on,” he said. “Just to compete against your peers, it prepares them for life later on in the sport.
“There are so many things that a meet like this brings out. It is beneficial to our youth, it is vital to their development, and it brings unity to all the schools as well,” he said, adding that also competing were students under the Home Schoolers Association, along with young people from Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.
In all, 817 students across 25 schools participated in the event. The Victor Ludorum, for male high point winner, was awarded to Oshawney Johnson of Theoline L. McCoy Primary School.
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