B Div 1500m: Heng Yu Jie of Catholic High beats field by 5.74s to win in 4:23.31

Heng Yu Jie celebrates his victory in the B Division 1500m final. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)

Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Tuesday, April 10, 2012 — Heng Yu Jie blitzed the field in a time of 4 minutes of 23.31 seconds to win the B Division 1500m final at the 53rd National Schools’ Track and Field Championships.

Yu Jie also won the B Division 3000m final earlier in the championships.

The championship record is 4:07.30 and was set by C Veeramani, then of Bukit Batok Secondary, in 1994.

Abdul Tsaqif of Victoria School was second in 4:29.05 while Ray Koo of Ahmad Ibrahim was third in 4:29.31.

This was Ray’s second medal of the championships, after he won a silver in the B Division 800m final. Ray also had the distinction of winning the only two medals for his school.

Benjamin Quek of Singapore Sports School took the early lead at the start but by the time he completed the first 400m, Yu Jie, Ong Yao Jie of Queenstown Secondary and Thineshwaran of Bendemmer Secondary had overtaken him.

Over the next 300m, Ray also began to make his presence felt as he moved into the lead group and settled into second behind Yu Jie.

While Yu Jie continued to hold the lead over the next 400m, things continued to change behind him. Benjamin charged back into second place while Dai Nan Tian of Hwa Chong Institution made a move from the outside. Heading into the final lap, it was Yu Jie in first, with Benjamin, Ray and Nan Tian in a tight bunch just behind.

It then became the Heng Yu Jie show. As he rounded the bend, Yu Jie turned on the speed to start and pulled away. Nobody could stay with him and with 300m to go, Yu Jie established a 15m lead. With 200m to go, his lead became a yawning 40m while Benjamin continued to stay in second as Tsaqif and Ray follwed up in third and fourth.

With Yu Jie finishing 70m ahead, the battle was now on for second place. Tsaqif and Ray pulled past Benjamin and the two matched each other stride for stride, with Tsaqif eventually winning the the sprint for second.

Results
1 Heng Yu Jie (Catholic High) — 04:23.31
2 Abdul Tsaqif B Abdul Rahman F (Victoria School) — 04:29.05
3 Koo Jian Hui, Ray (Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary) — 04:29.31
4 Benjamin Quek Yi Liang (Singapore Sports School) — 04:30.60
5 Ariff Izzudin B Mohamad G (Anglo-Chinese School Independent) — 04:31.55
6 Thineshwaran S/O Krishnakumar (Bendemeer Secondary) — 04:31.57
7 Shohib B Abdul Wahab Marican (Raffles Institution) — 04:31.94
8 Joshua Nga Xing Hao (Catholic High) — 04:32.80
9 Dai Nan Tian (Hwa Chong Institution) — 04:35.66
10 Douglas Yeo Zhi Xiang (Nan Hua High)04:35.69
11 Ong Yao Jie (Queenstown Secondary) — 04:36.58
12 Leroi Lee Rong Zu (Nan Hua High) — 04:36.89
13 Yong Zi Quan, David (Catholic High) — 04:45.30
14 Abdul Riyaz (St Andrew’s Secondary) — 04:45.94
Muhammad Norikqaf B Mohd R (Commonwealth Secondary) — WDL
Jeremy Lim Tze En (Anglo-Chinese School Independent) — WDL