RAFFLES Institution (Junior College) recorded their first A Division double in four years at the Schools National Track and Field Championships when they were crowned champions on Thursday.

While their girls wrested back the title from Hwa Chong Institution, posting 197 points for a commanding 68-point victory, the double-champions achievement was all the sweeter because the RI(JC) boys barely retained their title from Victoria JC. They won by just three points.

"I was really nervous as the title race was so close that anyone could have won. Every single race was like a heart attack for me as VJC are really strong this year, especially in the sprints." Tan Chien Ming, RI(JC) boys' captain More results Athletics 3000m - A Girls: 1 Chew Hanyu [RI(JC)] 2 Louisa Chiew (HCI) 3 Raina Lee [RI(JC)]. B Boys: 1 T Haarishankar (Singapore Sports School) 2 Rodrigo Eugene Cyril (Victoria School) 3 Sumanthiran Selvarajoo (St Joseph's Institution). C Boys: 1 Heng Yu Jie (Catholic High School) 2 Marc Amiruddin Nabill (SSP) 3 Marcus Ng (VS). ... more

Entering yesterday's final day at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium, RI(JC)'s boys were in third place with 124 points, behind HCI (128) and VJC (125).

The race for the title was wide open and, with Anglo-Chinese JC a distant fourth with 38 points, the stage was set for a battle royal among the three powerhouses who were also last year's podium finishers.

This title race was the closest since 2003, when ACJC were neck and neck with the then-Hwa Chong JC. Both were tied on 138 points but ACJC won because they had more silver medals.

RI(JC) boys' captain Tan Chien Ming was on the edge of his seat throughout the day.

He said: 'I was really nervous as the title race was so close that anyone could have won.

'Every single race was like a heart attack for me as VJC are really strong this year, especially in the sprints.'

Chien Ming, 18, added that he was confident that his school could clinch the title only after the 1,500m final - the 15th of 27 events yesterday.

That event exemplified the hunger RI(JC)'s boys had for the title. Schoolmates Soh Hua Qun and Adriel Tay battled all the way to the finish line, where both collided as they attempted to lunge across for the win.

The impact threw them both over the line. While Adriel - who won by 0.05sec - was relatively unscathed, Hua Qun had cuts and bruises on his thighs and knees.

'We were fighting to win this race for our school,' said Hua Qun, who finished in 4min 19.28sec.

'Everyone wanted to contribute towards winning the title so neither Adriel nor I gave in, even till the end.'

The narrow loss was bittersweet for VJC boys' captain Koh Thong En. VJC were runners-up to Raffles last year as well, losing by 10 points.

Said Thong En, 18: 'We came into today with really high hopes of winning the title. But Raffles have stronger middle-distance runners, so we lost a lot of points there.

'For us second-year JC students, it's quite a waste that we couldn't win as it's our last year.

'But everyone in the team did his best and I can only leave the job of clinching the title to the next batch.'

While there was heartache for VJC, joy overflowed in the St Nicholas Girls' School camp when they were crowned C Division champions after a five-year drought.

Said the school's head of physical education, Susan Lim: 'We didn't have a very strong team this year but the girls were just very determined and focused.

'We have a theme every year. This year, our theme was 'Passion to Conquer', and it's printed on our shirts. The girls really stuck to that.'

St Nicholas were unable to add the B Girls' title to their haul. The Singapore Sports School claimed their fourth straight success with 134 points, beating St Nicholas by 28 points.

For the fifth consecutive year, HCI claimed the B and C Boys' crowns, triumphing over the Sports School (B Boys) and Victoria School (C Boys).

valchia@sph.com.sg