The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

BASED on who showed up and what they did at the National Junior and Open Track and Field Nationals, the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations selected its teams to represent the Bahamas at the IAAF World Junior Under-20 Championships and the North American and Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Championships.

BAAA president Rosamunde Carey, releasing the names, said they would have liked to have selected more athletes but they made it quite clear to the athletes that in order to make any of the teams, they had to compete in the nationals and meet the qualifying standards.

The World Jr Championship team will travel to Tampere, Finland on July 7 and will compete July 10-15. Margo Major is the team manager and the head coach is James Rolle. He will be assisted by Rashad Patton (sprints) and Ednol Rolle (hurdles). The team physician is Nadia Gilbert.

The team will be led by Jaide Knowles in the girls' 100 and 200 metres and the combo of Adrian Curry and Joel Johnson in the boys' two sprint events.

Kayvon Stubbs will join Knowles in the girls' 200m, while Megan Moss is entered in the 400m, pending her fitness. She had pulled up coming off the curve in the 200m during the trials. Sasha Wells will contest the girls' 100m hurdles and Charisma Taylor will compete in the girls' triple jump.

Along with Curry and Johnson on the boys' side are Corey Sherrod in the 400m, Oscar Smith and Denvaughn Whymns in the 110m hurdles, Branson Rolle in the 400m hurdles and Jyles Etienne in the high jump.

"A lot of our athletes on this team made the qualifying standards, so based on the performances turned in from all year, all of them should get into the final," Carey said. "We're trying to be very efficient in that once we get our athletes into the final, our quota will increase for more athletes to compete in the next World Juniors.

"We are also taking a 4 x 400m relay team and we feel that they can produce a very good time and, if not medal, finish within the top five."

The NACAC team will by travelling to Toronto, Canada on August 8 to compete August 10-12 and will be managed by Dexter Bodie. The head coach is Wendal Collie and his assistants are Patrick Adderley and Dereck Wells. Ken Bazard will serve as the team's physician and Dwight Marshall will be the physio-therapist.

Only three female athletes are on the team, led by Devynne Charlton in the 100m hurdles. The other two members are Katrina Seymour in the 400m hurdles and Bianca 'BB' Stuart in the long jump.

Warren Fraser and Cliff Resias will math-up in the men's 100m and Resias and Teray Smith (pending fitness) will contest the 200m. Alonzo Russell is the lone competitor entered in the 400m. However, Donald Thomas and Jamal Wilson will battle it out in the high jump and Latario Collie and Kaiwan Culmer contest the triple jump.

Ken Mullings, the new national record holder, will be the lone competitor in the decathlon.

"For this team, we only took qualifiers," Carey said. "So we are looking for some very good performances. We only have three females but we are looking for some very good performances from them. We have a strong men's team, so we are looking for our 4 x 4 team to do well and we are looking for the individual athletes to do very well."

Carey said the BAAA stands behind the athletes selected to the teams and they wish them all the very best as they represent the country.

The team for the Senior Central American and Caribbean Games, scheduled for Barranquilla, Colombia July 19 to August 3, is expected to be released by the Bahamas Olympic Committee, as well as the Youth Olympic Games, set for Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 6-18.