Quincy Kuzyk retained his boys title in the Heritage Day Junior Classic race from Front Street to Bernard Park, beating out Tommy Marshall by 12 seconds.

In his final participation in the race, the Somersfield Academy student turned in a strong performance to finish in 11min 02sec, with Marshall crossing the line in 11:14 to win the 11-12 age group.

Jake Brislane, 11, was third overall and second in his age group in 12:19 with 13-year-olds Matthew Elliot (12:32) and Seth Hardtman (12:40) completing the top five.

“This year was hard, but not as hard as last year,” said Kuzyk, whose time of 11:05 last year saw him edge out Ryan Outerbridge for his first title.

In the absence of Outerbridge, Kuzyk had to contend with the challenge of Marshall, an 11-12 competitor, who trailed him by a few yards on Cedar Avenue.

“It was a little breezy on Front Street but that was OK,” Kuzyk said.

“My time wasn’t as important this year, I wanted to get a good time of course, but I beat my time from last year so I’m happy with that.

“The crowd is always great on May 24, everybody has set up their tables and chairs and it really encourages me to go fast to the finish line.”

With two wins under his belt, Kuzyk, who will be 16 next year, is looking forward to participating in the Appleby Bermuda Day Half-Marathon.

“I’ll be 16 next year and too old for this race,” said Kuzyk, who represented Bermuda in the 3,000 metres at the Carifta Games in Curaçao in April.

Kai Sampson, 10, finished sixth overall in 12:42 to win the 8-10 age group. Khari Sharrieff, 9, was twelfth overall and third in his age group.

A new champion was crowned in the girls race where Jade Johnston claimed her first title, finishing tenth overall in 13:06 in the absence of Irby and Selah Tuzo.

Myeisha Sharrieff was just three seconds behind in thirteenth place and second overall female, while Katherine Bean-Rosario won the 8-10 age group in 13:45, clocking the same time as Kayla Raymond who was third in the 13-15 age group.

Jaeda Grant and Leqend Stevenson, both eight, were second and third in the 8-10 age group. Grant was 27th overall in 14:11 and Stevenson 20th in 14:22.