FANTASTIC FOUR: St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine quartet, from left to right, Shayann Demeritte, Amari Pratt, Darvinique Dean and Nya Wright.
By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
Sprinter Denisha Cartwright had another grand appearance over the weekend, this time to lead a small field of competitors at the Drake Relays at the Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
In other meets this weekend, Ras Jesse Delancy, Anthaya Charlton and Antoine Andrews secured wins in two separate meets, while Laquan Nairn got third in Botswana and the St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine led the charge for three high school teams competing at the Penn Relays.
Cartwright, a junior at Minnesota State, missed out on a clean sweep of all three events she competed in as she had to settle for second in the women’s 100 metres in 11.49. The race was won by her senior team-mate Amira Young in 11.31 on Saturday.
Young (11.44) and Cartwright (11.50) had the top two fastest qualifying times from the preliminaries on Friday.
Cartwright, running the opening leg, helped to lead Minnesota State women’s 4 x 100m relay team to victory in 45.30.
The other members of the team were Ja’Cey Simmons, Rose Cramer and Makayla Jackson. Lewis was second in 46.24.
And in the sprint medley, Cartwright appeared on the third leg of Minnesota State’s team of Jackson, Cramer and MaKenna Thurston that also won in 3:52.52.
Also competing at the meet was Devynne Charlton in the women’s invitational 100m hurdles.
The Bahamian national record holder, representing Puma, clocked 12.71 for firth place as she trailed Nigeria’s world record holder Tobi Amusan in 12.69. Amusan and Tia Jones, who won the race in 12.44, both represented Adidas.
SAIC Championships
Fresh off winning his second consecutive Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year, Ras Jesse Delancy switched to track and field where he soared to victory in the men’s high jump at the Cricket SIAC Track and Field Championships.
Delancy, a junior at Benedict College, cleared 6-feet, 10 3/4-niches or 2.10 metres to secure the win in Atlanta, Georgia. Sundiata Washington, a senior at Tuskegee, placed second with 6-8 3/4 (2.05m).
Jim Green Invitational
At their outdoor track in Lexington, Kentucky, University of Kentucky’s freshman Anthaya Charlton showed off her speed as she stopped the clock in 11.27 for the victory in the women’s 100m, well ahead of second place finisher Karel Ziketh, unattached, in 11.54.
Charlton has the fastest qualifying time of 11.32 in the heats to advance to the final. And Megan Moss came through in second place in the women’s 400m in 53.34 as the Kentucky junior trailed her senior team-mate, Karimah Davis, who won in 52.52.
On Friday, Charlton and Moss also contested the 200m where Charlton got sixth in 23.97 and Moss followed in seventh in 23.98. Their senior team-mate Masai Russell won the race in 23.26.
Corky/Crofoot Shootout
At the Fuller Track and Field Complex in Lubbock, Texas, Antoine Andrews, a freshman at Texas Tech, took the tape in the men’s 110m hurdles in 13.46 with Justin Guy, a sophomore at South Plains, coming in second in 13.57.
Lacarthea Cooper, a freshman at New Mexico Junior College, ran 54.31 for fifth place in the women’s 400m that was won by Grace Obour, a freshman at Western Tech College in 52.71.
Botswana Golden Grand Prix
Commonwealth Games champion LaQuan Nairn, the only Bahamian competing in Botswana, finished third in the men’s long jump with a leap of 26-7 (8.10m) on his sixth and final jump in the competition.
He was shy of the qualifying standard of 27-0 3/4 (8:25m) for the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August that was surpassed by American Marquise Dendy in taking the win with 27-4 1/2 (8.34m) on his third attempt. Norway’s Ingar Bratseth was second with 26-11 1/4 (8.21m) on his second attempt.
Rock Chalk Classic
At Kansas University, Wendira Moss, a junior, ran a personal best of 54.56 for third place in the women’s 400m. Na’asha Robinsdon won in 53.64 and Shalysa Wray was second in 54.36.
Penn Relays
St Augustinee’s College
The Big Red Machine’s team of Amari Pratt, Nya Wright, Darvinique Dean and Shayann Demeritte rolled to a fifth place finish in the High School girls’ 4 x 100m Championship of America in 46.61.
It was the best performance by any of the three Bahamian teams at the 127th running of the meet at the Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The quartet, running in the same order, clocked 46.80 for fourth place in the preliminaires on Friday to advance to the final.
SAC’s team of Khalon Christie, Andrew Brown, Trent Ford and Jonathan Fowler ran 42.78 for seventh in the high school boys 4 x 100m international race.
The same team ran 43.15 for 28th place in the High School Boys’ 4 x 100m heats.
In the high school girls 4 x 400m, SAC’s team of Ezthia Maycock, Bayli Major, Antonecia Moultrie and Alexis Roberts came in eighth in 4:02.04.
On the field, Kamara Strachan,coming off her record breaking performance at the CARIFTA Games, picked up seventh place in the high school girls’ javelin with 131-8 (40.13m) on third attempt. Her other throws in the series were 130-0 (39.62m), 122-9 (37.42m), 127-8 (38.93m), 121-7 (37.07m) and a scratch.
And Major, who contested the high school girls triple jump, soared 37-01/4 on her first attempt for 11th place. She did 32-2 (11.02m) and 36-8 1/2 (11.19m) on her second and third tries respectively.
Apryl Adderley, also representing SAC in the event, was 17th with her only legal mark coming on her first attempt with 35-8 1/2 (10.88m). She scratched her final two attempts.
Queen’s College
The best showing at the Penn Relays for the Comets came in the high school girls’ 4 x 100m international race where the team of Rache Pantry, Nia Richards, K’Leigh Davis and Jamiah Nabbie ran 47.61 for fourth place.
The same team, in the same order, ran 48.32 for 17th place in the preliminaries of the high schools girls 4 x 100m. but it wasn’t enough to get them into the final.
And their boys 4 x 100m relay team of Alexander Dean, Matthew Chandler, Zion Miller and Tairjov Armbrister did not finish in their heat.
On the field. Kaden Cartwright ended up sixth in the high school boys’ javelin championship with a best of 193-7 (59.01m) on his second heave In his series of throws, Cartwright did 173-7 (52.92m), 190-6 (58.06m), a scratch, 187-2 (57-06m) and 188-10 (57.57m).
In the high school girl’s triple jump championship, Lanaisha Lubin was ninth with a leap of 37-6 3/4 (11/42m). Lubin, who made it to the final, had a series of jumps of 36-9 1/2 (11.21m), 35-11 1/2 (10.96m), a pair of scratches and 36-2 (11.02m) on her final attempt.
And Annae Mackey was 16th in the high school girl;s shot put championship with 28-10 (8.80m) being the only mark she registered on her second attempt. She scratched both the first and third tries.
St John’s College
The Giants boys 4 x 400m relay team of Jayden Cooper, Zion Davis, William Minors and Maxwell McNeil placed 10th in 3:39.20, as did their girls team of Kennedi Knowles, Tamia Taylor, Shania Major and Payton Knowles in 4:08.56 in their 4 x 400m relay.
St John’s, with a very small team at Penn’s, saw their boys 4 x 100mn relay team of Tayshaun Robinson, Earle Johnson, Maxwell McNeils and Ishmael Rolle didn’t finish in their heat.
Corky/Crofoot Shootout
At the Fuller Track and Field Complex in Lubbock, Texas, Lacarthea Cooper, a freshman at New Mexico Junior College, ran 54.31 for fifth place in the women’s 400m that was won by Grace Obour, a freshman at Western Tech College in 52.71.
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