The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Further staking its claim as the region’s dominant swimming programme at the junior level, the Bahamas captured the CARIFTA Swimming Championships for the third time in four years.

The 36-member team completed the four-day meet last night at the Betty Kelly-Kenning Aquatic Centre with a total of 799.5 points. They finished 137.5 points ahead of second place finisher and defending champion Guadeloupe, who scored 662. The Cayman Islands finished third with 622.5 points, Trinidad and Tobago scored 615 and Barbados rounded out the top five with 556 points.

The high-point scorer for Team Bahamas was Lilly Higgs with 65 points while her sister Albury Higgs posted 49 points in the Girls’ 15-17 division.

Other top scorers for the team included Zaylie-Elizabeth Thompson with 43 points in the Girls’ 11-12, Davante Carey with 43 points and Kevon Lockhart with 38 points in the Boys’ 13-14 and Izaak Bastian with 37 points in the Boys 15-17.

The 100m Breast was one of the more successful events of the night for the Bahamas as the Higgs sister once again led the way. Lilly Higgs took gold in a new CARIFTA record of 1:11.92 secs followed by Albury with silver in 1:13.66 secs.

“I surprised myself last year getting it and it was really cool to break last year’s record. The Back, its really our strong suit, I know a few of us are returning in the division so hopefully next year it’ll be the same”

The Boys 15-17 proved equally as successful for team Bahamas with another gold and silver medal finish atop the podium. Shortly after the medal ceremony for the 50m Free, Bastian was back in the pool to take gold in the 100m Breast in 1:04.68 secs. Tyler Russell followed with the silver in 1:06.30 secs.

‘I wasnt expecting it,” Russell said, “I thought maybe if I had the perfect race I could sneak in there for the bronze, but when I looked up at the board and saw the results I thought it was awesome.”

Thompson took got the scoring started for the Bahamas in the opening race with a first place finish in the Girls 11-12. She lowered her preliminary time by almost three seconds to finish in a time of 1:20.52 secs.

“I was strong and poitives because I knew God was on my side and i wanted to make my team proud,” Thompson said, “My mindset was that I could do it and I could finish strong.”

In the Boys 11-12, Erald Thompson III just missed the medal podium and finished fourth in 1:15.40 secs, just behind Zachary Taylor f Barbados in 1:15.22 secs. Shawn Neely won bronze in the Boys 13-14 in 1:10.74 secs while Carey finished sixth in 1:12.71 secs.

Izaak Bastian won the lone medal for the Bahamas in the 50m free with his silver in the Boys 15-17 division in 23.76 secs.

Davante Carey 25.32 and Lamar Taylor 25.33 were fourth and fifth in the Boys 13-14 while Victoria Russell was fourth in the Girls 15-17 in 27.38 secs.

The night began with the 400m Free and in the Girls 11-12, Thompson and Salene Gibson finished fifth (4:51.51 secs) and sixth (4:56.56 secs). Nigel Forbes followed with a silver medal in the Boys 11-12 event in 4:36.93 secs and was just barely out touched by Stephen Mulongo of Guadeloupe for the gold medal in 4:36.55 secs. Trent Albury (4:28.93 secs) and Lamar Taylor (4:35.20 secs) finished fifth and eigth respectively in the Boys 13-14. Lilly Higgs continued her success in the Girls 15-17 division with a bronze medal in 4:35.70 secs.

The 200m Back was presented a challenge for the Bahamas, but Peter Morley was able to claim a medal in the final race of the six divisions. Morley took bronze in the Boys 15-17 in 2:11.30 secs. Joshua Roberts was fifth in 2:14.80 secs.

Liyah Moncur 2:45.51 secs and Jake Thompson 2:41.30 secs both finished in seventh in their respective 11-12 races, while Carey 2:24.79 secs and Taylor 2:29.15 secs were fifth and seventh in the Boys 13-14.

Virginia Stamp took fourth in the Girls 15-17 in 2:28.88 secs while Albury Higgs was seventh in 2:33.59 secs.

The meet closed out with 200m Free relay which produced two medals for the Bahamas.

Carey anchored the Boys 13-14 gold medal winning team of which also included Lockhart, Taylor and Ian Pinder. They finished in 1:41.64 secs for first place.

Bastian won his third medal of the night when he teammed with Russell, Samuel Gibson and ALbury Miller to take silver in the Boys 15-17 in 1:37.49 secs.

The Bahamas has been one of the top teams at the CARIFTA level with consistent finishes over the past few editions.

At the 2016 event in Fort-de-France, Martinique, the Bahamas finished in second place, just 21.5 points behind the winners.

Guadeloupe rebounded from a fifth place finish in 2015 to win this year’s meet with 796 points while the Bahamas was second with 774.5 points. Host country Martinique was third with 586.5 points, Barbados was fourth with 538.5 points and Trinidad and Tobago finished fifth with 437.5 points.

The last time the Bahamas hosted was in 2012 when they finished second with 657 points.

At the 2013 meet in Kingston, Jamaica, the Bahamas finished fifth in the team scoring with 509 points.

In 2014, the Bahamas topped the standings for the first time in Savaneta, Aruba. The 36-member team finished with a total of 736.50 points

In 2015, the Bahamas won the meet again with a total of 756.50 points, more than 100 points ahead of the host team Barbados, who was second with 642.50 points. Trinidad and Tobago finished third with 494.50 points, Guadeloupe was fourth with 478 points, while Jamaica rounded out the top five with 456 points.