The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

A silver-medal performance by the boys 15-17 200 metre relay team of Evante Gibson, Dustin Tynes, Keith Lloyd and T'Auren Moss brought the curtains down last night on the BTC 2012 Carifta Swimming Championships. And it also propelled the Bahamas into second place overall in the points standings.

By virtue of winning the medal, Team Bahamas took advantage of their home field at the Betty Kelly Kenning National Swim Complex, posting 657 points to edge out Trinidad & Tobago (648) by just nine.

Guadeloupe dominated the four-day championships, winning over the field of 22 countries with a total of 821.50.

Head coach Andy Knowles said the team's performance turned out exactly how they calculated it going into the final day of competition.

"Mission accomplished," said Knowles, who seemingly lost his voice as a result of screaming to cheer on the swimmers as they competed. "We have been talking about stepping it up all the way through. From day one, we've been keeping track of where we were. We were tied after last night (day three) and we talked to the kids about getting back into their second swims.

"We've been keeping track all day and we knew that if it came down to the relays, and if we got at least a sixth place, we would have won by one point. We got second, so the numbers increased by nine. So I'm very happy about how the team performed. They all went out there and did what they had to do."

While Team Bahamas improved on its third-place finish last year in Bridgetown, Barbados, it also surpassed the 41-medal haul (including 12 gold) by amassing 49 - 13 gold, 20 silver and 16 bronze. In the gold medal rush, the Bahamas ended up tied for third with Aruba which also won 14 silver and 11 bronze for their 38 total.

However, Trinidad & Tobago led the medal table with 26 gold. They also collected 17 silver and 11 bronze for a total of 54. Guadeloupe got the most medals with 63 but they fell short by one gold with 25. They added 19 silver and 19 bronze.

Leading the way for the Bahamas was 12-year-old Albury Higgs, who dominated the girls 11-12 division with 65 points. She opened yesterday's competition with a silver in the 400 metre freestyle in four minutes and 49.62 seconds behind Barbados' Gail Hannah (4:45.35). But before she was done, Higgs added the gold in the 100 breast (1:22.17) and she swum the opening leg on the 200 relay team with Megan Reed, Keitra Lloyd and Jasmine Gibson to secure the bronze in 2:00.37.

Jamaica's team of Angara Sinclair, Anjuii, Tiara Myrie and Annastazia Chin won the gold in a championship record of 1:57.60 and Aruba got the silver in 1:59.04. Their team comprised of Keeley Maduro, Lizanne Farro, Junice Martin and Florence Kock.

"I went out strong and I tried to keep up for the whole 100," said Albury after she collected her fifth gold to go along with a pair of silver medals in the championships. "I was just hoping that I could do my best. I just want us to finish second."

Higgs was one of the few athletes who got a chance to receive their medals from Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham who, along with Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace and Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Charles Maynard, were all in attendance yesterday.

No other Bahamian finished in the top five in any of the respective age group divisions.

But 17-year-old Matthew Lowe completed his seven-year sting in the championships with a bronze medal yesterday in the boys 15-17 400 free in 4:08.74. Guadeloupe's Joris Bouchaut took the title in a championship record time of 3:59.79 and Joshua Romany got the silver in 4:06.89.

"I felt pretty good because I've never done as good as I did in this championships," said Lowe, who led by example for the boys' side for the Bahamas. "This is my last year so I was pleased to perform the way I did. I just wanted to break 4:10 and I did that."

Bouchant, speaking through an interpreter, said he was very happy because he broke the record and ended up with eight medals in the championships. "I'm very happy with my performance. I was very happy with representing my country and breaking the record," he said. "There were some events that I expected to win and there were some I wasn't sure of so I was happy that I got the medals that I did."

Among the medal winners on the final day for the Bahamas were Simone Sturrup, Bria Deveaux, T'Auren Moss, Drew Bastian and Dionisio Carey.

Sturrup, 13, got a silver in the girls 13-14 50 free in 28.32 just behind Guadeloupe's Charlotte Backovic (28.03). "I had a good swim, but I made a mistake when I took a break to breath coming into the wall," said Sturrup who ended up with five individual medals. "I'm proud about my performance because I swum in a lot of races that I'm not used to swimming and I did very well in them."

Moss, 16, came through with a bronze in the boys 15-17 50 free in 24.60. The gold was won by Dylan Carter of Jamaica in 23.65 and the silver went to Benedict Parfit in 24.45.

"It was a tough race from the start," said Moss, who ended up with about four individual medals. "My performance was much more than I anticipated."

Bastian, 14, picked up a silver as well in the boys 100 breast in 1:11.21 as he trailed Aruba's Mikel Schreuders (1:10.48). Jamaican Kevaughn Campbell was the bronze medallist in 1:12.55.

"It was hard, but I knew I could have gone faster, but God gave me the ability to come second so I will take it," said Bastian, who added to the bronze he got in the 200 breast. "Overall I'm very happy with my performance."

Carey, 14, got the Bahamas' final individual medal in the boys 13-14 200 back when he clinched the silver in 2:25.25. The gold was won by Matthew Lowe in 2:23.95 and Tony Hendricks of the US Virgin Islands got the bronze in 2:25.56.

"It was tough," said Carey, who ended up with five individual medals. "To me, this was the hardest race. But they were all best times so I was very pleased with what I did."

While the Bahamas got high marks for hosting this year's championships, the scene will switch to Jamaica next year.

During the closing ceremonies, the Colours junkanoo group entertained the crowd that stayed behind for the festivities.

Note: While the boys 15-17 team pushed the Bahamas into second place, the girls 13-14 200 free relay team of Doran Reed, Joanna Evans, Leslie Campbell and Simone Sturrup sent the Bahamas over the top in last year's gold rush when they won their race in 1:54.30 as the national anthem was played for the last time in the medal presentation.