WARAMURI Primary, Bartica Secondary, Queen’s College, and McKenzie High have topped their respective groups in the Guyana Football Federation-Blue Water Shipping Under-15 Girls’ National Secondary School Championship, booking their spots in the Round of 16.

Following two intense weekends on May 4 and 11, the competition has reached a boiling point with parents, coaches and student athletes eagerly anticipating which teams will be the next to advance to the second round.

Waramuri Primary has emerged as the standout performer in Region One (Barima-Waini), dominating their group and creating history as the first school to progress to the Round of 16.

With an unblemished record, they clinched victory in three consecutive matches, defeating Santa Rosa Secondary, Kwebanna Primary and Kamwatta Primary and accumulating nine points. They netted a total of 11 times, spearheaded by Allia Henry’s remarkable seven goals, supported by Sada LaCruz with two, and Erica Harris and Norismar Williams each chipping in one to the scoreboard.

Trailing closely behind is Santa Rosa Secondary, securing their place in the next round with six points garnered from victories over Kwebanna Primary and Kamwatta Primary, despite a sole defeat against Waramuri Primary. Their goal tally reached 10, with Veronica Chatta leading the charge with six goals, backed by Letisha Austin’s four valuable contributions.

Queens College dominated Georgetown North within Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), securing five consecutive wins and an impressive 15 points. They defeated New Campbellville Secondary, Institute of Academic Excellence, North Georgetown Secondary, Chase’s Academic Foundation and St. John’s College, with a total of 17 goals to their credit. Rachel Joseph contributed with nine spectacular goals, closely followed by Anika DeFreitas with seven, while Rebekah Joseph added one to the school’s tally.

New Campbellville Secondary also advanced by accumulating eight points from two wins against St John’s College and Chase’s Academic Foundation, two draws to the Institute of Academic Excellence and North Georgetown Secondary, along with one loss to Queen’s College. They netted a total of four goals, with two credited to Naomi Wilson, and one each from Serina Coy and Nikita James.

Bartica Secondary School earned the top spot in their group in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), after winning a best-of-three series against their sole opponent, Three Miles Secondary. With a total of nine points secured, Nerismar Williams led the scoring with four goals, while Noriamar Wikkiams and Nicola Joseph each contributed two and Kelys Williams added one to the tally.

In Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice), Mackenzie High asserted their dominance in their group, concluding with 13 points. They recorded wins over Christianburg Wismar Secondary, Linden Foundation, and Wisburg Secondary, combined with a draw against New Silvercity Secondary. Additionally, they received a walkover from Harmony Secondary. In total, they scored five goals with Zareika Caesar contributing three of them.

Also joining the Round-of-16 fray is Christianburg Wismar Secondary, who secured eight points by defeating Wisburg Secondary and Harmony Secondary, drawing with Linden Foundation and New Silvercity Secondary, and facing a loss against Mackenzie High. Their 10-goal collection showcased six strikes from Natalya Huntley, three from Shamika Alphonso and one from Crystal Moore.

GFF President Wayne Forde commended the dedication showcased by all participating teams and congratulated the winning squads.

“The last two weekends have produced nothing short of fantastic football. We saw some exciting matches. Just seeing the young ladies out there… enjoying themselves and not being too broken even though the results may not have gone in their favour.

“It’s encouraging for me and my team who are working hard behind the scenes to make sure the tournament is a success. We have a few more weeks of the tournament left and I think the momentum will build and we can expect to see many more exciting matches.”

In a post-match interview following the group trophy win, Queens College captain Kenisha Benedict disclosed that students were initially reluctant to join the team due to fear, but a collective decision was eventually made to compete and “do our best. ”

“When we won the first couple of rounds, we were…so surprised with ourselves and so happy and we knew that the next time we came out to play again we would do our best,” she added.

Tournament Coordinator Lavern Fraser also congratulated the winning teams and shared that she is looking forward to the forthcoming weeks of competition with optimism.

“Moving forward, I do not foresee any difficulties because so far things have been going well.”