The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Club Monica hosted its 14th Annual Track and Field Classic at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium on Saturday and quite a number of athletes attained the qualifying standards for the CARIFTA Games in April.

But while the meet turned out to be a tremendous success, head coach Dianne Woodside-Johnson said it was a costly venture moving from the adjacent original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

All local track and field meets, normally held in the original stadium, have been moved to the new stadium as the National Sports Authority renovates the infield in preparation for the hosting of the third IAAF World Relays April 22-23 at the new stadium.

“It was a good meet. The coaches and the athletes all enjoyed it,” she said. “They charge four times as much for the new stadium as they do for the use of the old stadium.  My bill was $4,413. We now have to look at additional ways of raising money.”

Despite the cost of hosting the meet, Johnson said it turned out to be a very successful one and they had a number of CARIFTA qualifiers, especially in the 100, 200 and 400 metres where they staged both heats and finals.

“This is a good push to keep having these meets, although the cost is astronomical,” Johnson said. “It seems as if people don’t like the new stadium for the local meets. The cost is just too much. Maybe the kids like it, but from an organisational point of view, we prefer to be in the old stadium for the local meets.”

Whether it was a change in the venue, the third local meet held in the new stadium this year, there were a number of qualifiers at the Club Monica meet mainly coming from the under-18 boys and girls divisions.

Among the qualifiers for the Carifta Games, scheduled for April 15-17 in Curacao, were the following:

Girls Under-18 Division

100m - Devine Parker, Bahamas High Performance, 11.92 sec.

200m – Devine Parker, Bahamas High Performance, 23.96 (in the heats).

400m – Doneisha Anderson, TWD Athletics, 55.36 (in the final) and 55.83 (in the heats).

Boys Under-18 Division

100m - Adrian Curry, Club Monica, 10.64; Denvaughn Whymms, Club Monica, 10.70; Max Azor, Swift Athletics, 10.89.

200m – Max Azor, Swift Athletics, 21.75 (in the heats).

800m – Nathan Burrows, Fast Forward, 1:58.00.

Discus – Jordan Lewis, Blue Chip Athletics, 45.48m.

Girls Under-20 Division

Discus – Laquell Harris, Blue Chip Athletics, 42.27m.

Boys Under-20 Division

200m – Tavonte Mott, Star Trackers, 21.35 (in the heats).

The meet also saw a number of athletes, who posted two or more victories in their respective events:

Among them was Harris, who doubled up in the open women’s shut put with a heave of 12.06m.

V’Alonee Robinson, hoping to make the team for the IAAF World Relays and the IAAF World Championships in August in London, England, won the open women’s 200m in 12.40. The TWD Athletics representative also cleared the long jump with 5.47m.

Maicel Uibo, representing Bahamas Speed Dynamics, picked up another win in the men’s open long jump with a leap of 6.72m. The Estonia’s decathlon is here training as he prepares for his married to Olympic champion Shaunae Miller.

Miller was on hand to view the meet and support Uibo. She also took the time out to sign autographs for many of the exciting youngsters.

Wayne Major of Bahamas Speed Dynamics was the double winner of the open men’s 100m in 11.41 and the 200m in 22.54. Raygene Minus of the Bahamas High Performance won the open women’s 200m in 26.52.

Fast Forward’s Zara Fraser picked up a double dose of victory in the girls under-8 100m in 16.69 and the 200m in 35.10. Rolando Thompson of the Beginners Track Club won the boys’ under-8 century in 17.0 and the 200m in 36.42.

Kids Athletics’ Darvinique Dean pulled of the double in the girls’ under-10 straight away race in 15.27 and the half-lap race in 32.36. Kion Burrows of the Ambassadors did the same in the under-10 boys division with times of 14.39 in the 100m and 29.73 in the 200m.

Philip Gray and Darius Pratt shared the honors in the under-13 boys sprints. Gray, representing DTSP Wolf Pack, won the 100m in 14.08 with Pratt of the Roadrunners coming in second in 14.22. Pratt reversed the order in the 200m in 28.59 with Gray getting second in 28.65.

Club Monica’s D’Arjha Davis came back after getting third in the under-12 girls 100m in 13.11 behind Danielle Saunders of the Bahamas High Performance (12.97) and Halicia Russell of Heats Athletics from Andros (13.07) to win the 200m in 26.61.

And Club Monica’s Otto Laing, runner up in the boys’ under-14 100m in 11.95 behind Fast Forward’s Jamal Flowers (11.81), won the 200m in 24.62.

Joseph Daxon of Triple Threat Throwers pulled of the double in the boys’ under-16 discus with a toss of 37.30m and the shot put with 12.81m.

And Acacia Astwood of the Blue Chip Athletics secured her pair of victories in the girls’ under-18 discus with 37.70m and the shot put with 12.02m.

Star Trackers’ Catalyn Blayre, making her return after being injured last year, won the girls under-20 100m in 12.39 and the 200m in 25.31.

Also, back home after leaving Queen’s College to attend high school in the United States, Charisma Taylor of Club Monica pulled of the win in the 100m hurdles in 14.80 over her teammate Sasha Wells, who did 15.02.

Taylor added the long jump title to her ledger with a leap of 5.30m over her QC teammate Daejha Moss, who did 5.29m. Moss, representing Leap of Faith, won the high jump with 1.60m.

Ands Anthon Lightbourne doubled up in the open men’s discus with 40.86 and the University of the Bahamas competitor threw the short put 12.61m.