The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net    

THE 2024-25 track and field season officially got underway with the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) Odd Distance Track and Field Meet staged on Saturday at the original Thomas A Robinson Stadium.

A number of field athletes attained  the CARIFTA qualifying standards at the one-day meet to kickstart what is expected to be a successful season.

Five throwers from the Blue Chip Athletics Club cracked open their season by posting CARIFTA qualifying marks.

Taysha Stubbs, a 2024 CARIFTA gold medallist, had no problems clearing the CARIFTA qualifying mark of 39.75m in the under-20 girls’ javelin throw (600g) event. She was the lone competitor in the event and posted a throwing distance of 47.95m.

The 16-year-old is competing in the under-20 division for the second year and was proud to get the CARIFTA qualification out the way early.

“It feels great to be able to qualify this early in the season. I have been putting in the work this past offseason, especially leading up to the meet so going out there and being able to compete is all thanks to God.

“It was definitely an exciting feeling. I know I still have a lot of improvement and tuning up to do but for the first meet of the season I am proud of what I have done so far and I know that this is just the beginning so I am super excited,” she said.

With the pressure of qualifying now behind her, the Queen’s College senior student is looking forward to improving the rest of the way.

“I want to prioritise becoming more sound and consistent with better technique, getting stronger, staying disciplined and overall just becoming a little bit more confident in my sport and what I know I am able to do,” Stubbs said.

Another standout CARIFTA Games performer Annae Mackey had a strong start to the season in the under-20 girls’ shot put 4k and discus throw 1k events.

She surpassed the qualifying standard of 40.36m in the discus throw event with her heave of 42.04m. 

Placing second in the event was Blue Chip Athletics’ Farrah Saunders with a toss of 16.78m. The third spot also went to Blue Chip with Nazariya Adderley posting a throw of 13.52m.

Mackey was pleased to qualify at the first meet of the season.

“Qualifying early was expected. It’s better to get things done early so I can prepare for better and bigger goals,” Mackey said. 

She was just shy of achieving the CARIFTA qualifying mark of 12.49m in the shot put event. She ended her attempts with a throwing distance of 12.42m.

Her goal is now to fix some of her errors as the season progresses.

“Through perseverance I intend to perfect my errors and do my best as I conclude my high school era and at the end of the season I would be able to say I did my all on the field,” she said.

The top three finishers in the boys’ under-17 javelin throw (700g) event all made the CARIFTA Games standards.

Ahkeel Williams hit the qualifying mark in the javelin throw event a few times last season but was too young to make the CARIFTA cut, this time around he is right in the mix. 

He won the under-17 boys’ javelin throw event with a qualifying mark of 51.30m which is well above the CARIFTA standard of 44.95 m. 

Wyatt Cartwright clinched the second position with a strong opening throw of 49.65m. Kendal Turner, of Blue Chip Athletics, also surpassed the qualifying mark, posting 46.45m in the event.

Blue Chip head coach Corrington Maycock spoke about the early success of his athletes to open the season.

“Today was basically to see what the offseason did for their strength and technique and also to see where the new kids are at this point. It was not really a focus on qualifying but we will take the qualifiers anyway,” Maycock said.

He outlined the focus of the throwers club as the season picks up.

“Our focus mainly is to compete at a higher level each meet and also improve our techniques. The coaches here are all about progress. We preach getting better each rep and not one day you should not see improvement,” he said.

Jazae Johnson, representing Leap of Faith, cleared the under-17 girls’ long jump qualifying mark in the under-15 event. 

She eclipsed the qualifying mark of 5.45m with a leap of 5.56m for first place. 

Taree Forbes, of Red-Line Athletics, was second overall, jumping to a height of 4.94m. Symiah Strachan, who is also a part of Red-Line, came third at 4.82m.

CARIFTA bronze medallist Davon Davis cleared the qualifying standard of 12.92m in the under-17 boys’ triple jump event. 

He ended the event with a wind-aided leap of 14.04m. 

Lyndavion Storr, of Bahamas Speed Dynamics, came second at 12.66m and Red-Line’s Landon Moxey was third at 12.44m.

Over on the track, Eagan Neely, of Bahamas Speed Dynamics, collected two victories in the under-17 boys’ 300m dash and 150m dash respectively.

He bested his teammates for a first place finish in 34.19 seconds in the 300m dash. Johanthan Higgs trailed for second in 35.06 seconds and Jahcario Wilson got the third podium spot at 35.46 seconds.

Neely was once again on top in the 150m dash. 

He clocked 15.54 seconds to once again outrun his competitors Higgs and Wilson. 

Higgs finished the event in 15.84 seconds and Wilson in 15.99 seconds.

Red-LIne Athletics’ Darvinique Dean also doubled up on the victories in the under-17 girls’ division.

She crossed the finish line at 40.30 seconds in the under-17 girls’ 300m dash. Star Elite’s Kei-Mahri Hanna had to settle for the second position at 40.87 seconds. Alexis Roberts, of Red-Line Athletics, placed third in 41.20 seconds.

Dean was also successful in the under-17 girls’ 150m dash. She cruised to a first place finish in 17.91 seconds. Speed Capacity’s Synia Lockhart was the second best finisher at 18.06 seconds. 

Red-Line Athletics’ Khylee Wallace secured the third place finish in 18.35 seconds.

Zion Davis, representing Star Elite, had a successful showing on Saturday.

He clinched the victory in the under-20 boys’ 300m event in 34.18 seconds. He was just a few steps ahead of Bahamas Speed Dynamics’ Zion Miller who wrapped up the race in 34.64 seconds for second place.

Speed Capacity’s Alexidieu Sufoir was right in the fold but fell to third in 34.99 seconds.

Davis also showed out in the under-20 boys’ 150 yard dash. He stopped the clock at 15.80 seconds en route to a first place finish. Jayden Mcphee, of Speed Capacity, was second  and K’Juan Johnson, of Bahamas Speed Dynamics, was third overall

Next up on the BAAA calendar will be the T-Bird Flyers Classic slated for January 10-11 at the original Thomas A Robinson Stadium.