The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Head coach Dexter Bodie was praised for opening the door and allowing so many young track and field athletes to pursue their dreams as members of the Road Runners Track and Field Club.

The recognition came from the dignitaries who spoke during the club’s 17th annual awards and presentation banquet in the Crown Ballroom of the Atlantis Resort, Paradise Island, on Saturday night.

It was held under the theme: “Opening Doors for Tomorrow’s Successors.” The scripture text came from Revelations 3:8 and theme song was “One Moment in Time” by Whitney Houston.

Among the list were businessman Geno Forbes, the patron for this year’s celebrations, as well as the keynote speaker David Higgins, who reminded the audience of where Bodie brought the club from when they first hosted the event at the Faith Missionary Baptist Church Auditorium.

Higgins, who at the time had a son competing, said he decided to stick with Bodie, supporting him every year because of the commitment he made in assisting his son in excelling all the way to the collegiate ranks.

In honour of his accomplishment, the Road Runners now present annually the Dominique Higgins Award, which is presented to the athletes with the highest grade point average. This year, there were three recipients. They were Nathaniel Rolle and Leonardo Taylor, both with 4.00, Trent Ford with a 94 percentage and Iesha Hanna with a 3.88 average.

Also in attendance and praising Bodie and the club for the strives they have made over the years were Rosamunde Carey, who holds the distinction of being the first female president of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations and Harrison Petty, the president of the Bahamas Parents Association of Track and Field Athletes.

They all participated in presenting the huge selection of awards to the deserving athletes from athletics to academics.

Phil Smith, the marketing manager at d’Albenas Agency, as well as businessman William Delancu and Timothy Ingraham from Summit Insurance, were also in attendance and assisted in the presentations.

Among the winners were Esther Cartwright and collegian Perry Adderley. “This was a good year. Although I didn’t expect to perform as much as I did because I got caught up in taking a lot of external exams this year, I wasn’t sure that I would have been able to balance the two,” Cartwright said. “But next year I am looking forward to balancing the two and having another great season.”

Cartwright, the 17-year-old sprinter from RM Bailey Secondary High, said she always look forward to the banquet because it not only inspire her and her peers to do better, but it gives their family members a chance to see exactly what they have been doing in the club.

Adderley, back home from his studies at Coffeyville Community College where he is studying Sports Management, said there’s no better feeling than sharing the special night out with all of the club members.

“I think I had a good transition, a good experience competing indoors for the first time,” Adderley said. “I think I had a pretty decent year. It wasn’t the best, but I’m looking forward to improving when I go back for my fall season.”

The 18-year-old Adderley said he was quite surprised to see his mother, Mildred Adderley, filling in as the Mistress of Ceremony for comedian David Wallace, who was not able to make it in from Grand Bahama. She was quite funny telling a couple of blonde jokes.

All jokes aside, many of the athletes were looking forward to hearing the winners of the most outstanding awards.

The winners of the most outstanding athletes were as follows:

J’Kaiyah Rolle, under-8 girls; Jude Ramsey, under-8 boys; Nasia Brown, under-10 girls; Trevaughn Miller, under-10 boys; Alyssa Ferguson, under-12 girls; Kyle Bain, under-12 boys; Rowlia Joseph, under-14 girls; Malcolm Williams, under-14 boys; Precious Rolle, under-126 girls; Kunal Bain and Jahmal Brown, under-16 co-boys winners; Shanterah Evans, under-18 girls and Elvardo Bullard, under 18 boys.

The Athletes of the Year were as follows:

Jasmine Thompson, under-8 girls; Armi Ferguson, under-8 boys; Iesha Hanna, under-10 girls; Trent Ford, under-10 boys; Sherinique Sears, under-12 girls; Avery Adderley, under 14-boys; Vandrea Knowles, under-16 girls; Anton Pratt, under-16 boys; Esther Cartwright, under-128 girls; Abiah Missick, under-18 boys and Patrick Adderley, under-20 boys.

Bodie, who received some special awards from the collegian athletes who are back home, said the night was a real success.

“It was an excellent turnout, wonderful support,” said Bodie of the packed ballroom. “Everybody was excited, the parents was pleased with the wards their children got. It couldn’t be any better.”

Bodie said they are now preparing for the upcoming season and the public can expect to hear a lot more from the Roadrunners Track Club, starting with the Odd Distance Meet on Saturday.

Carey, in her remarks, encouraged the athletes to get prepared not just for 2017, but she wanted to see some of the Roadrunners making the national team when the Bahamas host the 2018 Carifta Games.

And Petty, in displaying a booklet of the achievement of the Roadrunners, said as long as the athletes perform, he will continue to whatever he can in assisting them to take advantage of the countless amount of scholarships that his association provide every year.

Higgins said what he like about the Roadrunners Club is the fact that Bodie has opened the door and allowed athletes who would not have the financial means to compete for some of the other clubs to join and they have been able to earn their successes.

He said that is one of the reasons why he will continue to support the club, even though his son, Dominique Higgins, is no longer competing. He called himself a Roadrunner for life because even though some people at the time tried to take his son away from the club, he decided to stick weith Bodie.

The Roadrunners Club was founded by Dianne-Lynn Thompson, who groomed Bodie. Upon her death, Bodie took over the club and has taken it to higher heights. The Roadrunners are the only club that stage such a lavish awards presentation every year.