The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Carifta qualifiers are starting to pile in as the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations march towards the games in

Martinique over the Easter holiday weekend.

At the 11th annual Club Monica Athletics Track and Field Classic at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium over the

weekend, at least ten athletes attained the standards in their respective events.

In the newly formed under-18 division, Brianna Bethel, of the Golden Eagles, clocked 24.50 seconds to go under the girls’ time of 24.62. She

was joined by Celine Thompson in the high jump with her winning leap of 1.62 metres to match the standard.

And in a showdown between the two stars, Brashae Wood threw the shot put 14.96m to out-distance Serena Wood (14.96m) as they both surpassed the qualifying mark of 12.00m. However, in the discus, Brown took the

victory with 35.86m, compared to Wood’s 35.23m as they again went over the qualifying mark of 34.50m.

In the under-18 boys’ segment, Naim Bourne of Swift Athletics sped to a time of 10.77 seconds well ahead of second place finisher and team-mate Samson Colebrooke (10.96) to dip under the qualifying time

of 10.92.

On the field, a quartet of high jumpers, led by Ken Mullings, of Leap of Faith, with a clearance of 1.93m, Blayre Fernande (Leap of Faith) with 1.90m, Aaron Ross (R.C. Athletics) with 1.88m and Holland Martin

(High Velocity), also with 1.88m, all went over the qualifying height of 1.87m.

In the shot put, Adrian Grant of Club Monica threw 14.35m for the victory over Perry Adderley of the Roadrunners with 14.24m as they both went over the qualifying mark of 14.10m. Adderley won the discus (43.46m) and Grant (42.65m) as they both fell short of the qualifying

mark of 41.50m.

And in the triple jump, Tamar Green of Jumpers Inc soared 14.56m and Marcellas Wilkinson of Pvs Sports did 14.02m to surpass the qualifying mark of 13.85m. Green, by the way, won the long jump with 6.55m over Wilkinson’s 6.37m as they fell shy of the qualifying mark of 6.62m.

There were no qualifiers in the under-20 girls division, but the lone athlete to attain a mark in the under-20 boys division was Janeko Cartwright of the Phoenix Track in 48.13 seconds in the 400m to just go under the qualifying mark of 48.15m. Kelson Pierre of the Star Tracker was second in 49.84.

Dianne Woodside, head coach of Club Monica and the meet director, said they had some outstanding performances over the two days of competition.

“You can see the improvement of our kids over the years and the performances over the two days was an indication of that,” she stressed. “So right now, this meet is showing the coaches where the athletes are so they can get them fine toned over the next couple of weeks for the Carifta trials and the Carifta Games in Martinique in April.”

Woodside said they had a wonderful two days and they couldn’t have done it without the support they got from their parents and volunteers, the Bahamas Association of Certified Officials (BACO) and their sponsors.

This year, Club Monica decided to host the meet in honour of former sprinter Anthonique Strachan, who is now competing on the professional circuit, sponsored by Puma,

“It’s all about giving back. She came through our system and she’s now a professional athlete,” Woodside said. “It’s all about showing these younger kids where they can go in the future because she was right now running on this same track a few years ago. She is an inspiration for our young people.”

Strachan, who will turn 21 this year, has been a two-time Austin Sealy winner of the most outstanding award at the Carifta Games and was a double sprint champion at the IAAF World Junior Championships that earned her the IAAF’s Rising Star Award in 2012.

“She’s still a young athlete and I think her coach, Henry Rolle, is doing a good job of monitoring her progress,” said Woodside of Strachan, who competed in the past two IAAF World Championships and the last Olympic Games.

“You don’t want her to get burnt out too early. You want her to mature a lot more than where she is right now, But the talent is there and we expect her to do very well in the next couple of years.”

The meet showcased a number of athletes, who shined, winning double or multiple events.

Among the list were Sarah Hepburn of Fast Forward, who won the under-10 girls 100m (14.86) and 200m (31.66); Kennedy Culmer of the Golden Eagles in the under-14 girls 100m (12.67) and 200 (26.28); Daneisha Curry also of the Golden Eagles in the under-16 girls 100m (12.39) and 200m (25.51) and Marissa White of Club Monica in the girls under-16 400m (58.98) and 800m (2:32.57).

Also, in the girls under-18, Shaquania Dorsett of Golden Eagles in the 400m (58.62) and 800m (2:26.19); in the girls under-20, Keianna Albury of Club Monica in the 100m (11.97) and 200m (24.42); Lakeisha Taylor, Una- Coach Clark in the under-20 girls 400m (59.43) and 400m hurdles (1:08.09) and Geeah Thompson of Una - N Miller in the under-20 girls 800m (2:28.90) and 1,500m (5:41.88).

In the open women’s division, Katrina Seymour of Galilee College posted a double in the 100m (12.34) and the 400m hurdles (1:00.89).

On the boys side, Kyle Ferguson of Fast Forward won the under-8 100m (16.72) and long jump (2.84m); Benjamin Sherman of the Star Trackers took the under-10 100m (15.21) and the 200m (31.75); Otto Laing of the High Performance won the under-12 100m (13.60) and the 200m (28.52), while Gareth Lewis doubled up in the under-14 100m (12.28) and 200m (24.61).

In the under-16 boys division, Jermaine Scott of High Velocity Athletics emerged as the winner of the shot put (11.29m) and discus (31.38m); Justin Pinder took the under-18 boys 800m (1:59.62) and the 1,500m (4:25.67); Claudius Russell of Phoenix Track won the under-20 800m (2:00.34) and the 1,500m (4:16.76), while Xavier Coakley of Club Monica came through in the under-20 110m hurdles (15.31) and 400 hurdles (55.03) and Kyle Higgs of the College of the Bahamas posted

his double in the under-20 shot put (14.51m) and discus (47.78m).

Justin Gray won the open men’s 100m in 10.75 and the 200m in 21.98, while Romando Jean of the Golden Eagles took the open men’s 800m (1:59.25) and the 1,500m (4:16.72).