The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE Blue Chip Athletics Club, powered by Norwegian Cruise Line, continues to serve as the first stop on the journey to long-term success in the throwing events for Bahamian athletes.

Top junior throwers Dior-Rae Scott, Taysha Stubbs and Annae Mackey are now moving on to the next level of their athletic careers after officially signing with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Louisville respectively.

The Blue Chip Athletics trio saw the ink dry on their contracts yesterday at Empire Fitness in a room filled with their loved ones and supporters. 

All three gifted throwers have experienced immense success since joining the Blue Chip Athletics programme and are now looking forward to the next chapter of their careers. 

Scott, the under-17 javelin CARIFTA record holder, came on board with the club back in 2021. 

Despite her love of softball and basketball, she gave javelin a shot and has erased and set new records in the sport ever since.

She expressed that it feels amazing to finally be able to relish in this moment with her family and friends.

“I am really grateful. I want to give all the glory to God. I didn’t have the vision that I was gonna be able to be here going from playing basketball to throwing and playing softball. I never knew that I was gonna do javelin. I am just grateful that God put me on the path and allowed me to see what I was capable of and now I am here,” she said.

Earlier this year, the CARIFTA gold medallist set a new record in the under-17 girls’ javelin event. She pulled off a phenomenal throw of 52.53 metres to replace Kamera Strachan’s former record of 46.07m.

Additionally, she set a new BAISS record, once again erasing Strachan’s former record of 42.00m and replacing it with a new distance of 49.83m.

The mark was also listed as the farthest throw by any female in the Caribbean for the javelin 500g. The St Augustine’s College (SAC) student is ready to add to the rich Bahamian legacy that currently exists in Lincoln, Nebraska. “We are gonna keep on showing that Bahamian pride with Keyshawn and Rhema now it’s going to be me and Taysha there up and coming. We are just gonna just shine,” she said.

Scott’s plan is to major in Architecture and Interior Design in Fall 2025.

Stubbs, a twelfth grader at Queen’s College, has steadily proved herself to be a dominant force in the javelin event at the under-20 level. She was nothing short of remarkable during the 2024 track and field campaign, earning eight first place finishes out of the ten events she competed in. 

Her most notable accomplishments last season came at the 2024 CARIFTA Games, Penn Relays and Fritz Grant Track and Field Invitational.

She secured a gold medal finish in her CARIFTA Games debut with a personal best toss of 50.94m. She followed up the winning performance with another top spot at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she won the javelin event with a heave of 47.17m.

The former NACAC under-18 bronze medallist was on the cusp of topping her personal best throw of 50.94m at the Fritz Grant Track and Field Invitational. She posted a toss of 50.55m at the event.

According to Stubbs, it feels rewarding to make it to this point in her athletics journey.

“It feels very rewarding. First I just want to say thank you to God I could not have done any of this without him and my coaches especially, my supporters, my family and just my entire village. We worked so hard to get to this point and to be here tonight with Annae and Dior-Rae I am just super proud of us,” she said.

The CARIFTA gold medallist is hoping to continue her winning ways while continuing to set records at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

“We are just gonna go there and make a difference. We are going there to do big things and I cannot wait to see what we are gonna do, what records we are gonna break and just the ways and paths we are gonna take,” she said.

She plans to major in Biological Engineering starting this August.

Mackey, who hails from Andros, got her journey to success in shot put started at the 2022 BAAA Carifta Trials. She finished second at the event to make her CARIFTA debut in Kingston, Jamaica and has improved her craft ever since.

The Queen’s College student clinched a silver medal finish at the NACAC U18 Championships last year, tossing the shot put to a distance of 13.09m.

She also came up big at the 2024 CARIFTA Games, placing second in the girls’ under-20 shot put event with a personal best toss of 13.58m.

The 18-year-old was overwhelmed with joy but was proud to be to make it to this far.

“I am overwhelmed. I am very proud of myself. The sacrifices I have made have finally been executed and I am here just to say that I am blessed. I want to give praise and honour to God that I am able to have this opportunity. Not a lot of people are able to have an opportunity like this but I will be looking forward to the future and what I have to bring to the table,” she said.

She spoke about the decision to join the Louisville Cardinals.

“The coach is very organised and he knows what he is doing. Last year’s results with the female who is in my event and how she was able to go to the Olympics, how she was there with him for four years. When I went there and saw how they worked, how they moved and how the teammates worked with each other I just knew it was similar to home and it was meant to be,” she said.

The CARIFTA silver medallist now intends to study Industrial Engineering starting in Fall 2025.

The three signings marked the 14th, 15th and 16th Blue Chip throwers to sign a full ride division one scholarship since the club’s inception.

Head coach Corrington Maycock said moments like this always mean a little bit more than the accolades achieved along the way.

“This is what we train for. Accolades are fine but when these kids can actually ink their name on a document, they have four years obligation and everything is free that is what Blue Chip is all about. We want to continue that. Especially coming from the field, this is a proud moment so we are just hoping that these girls go on to represent and they help to replenish things through their hard work. With kids seeing what they do and what they accomplish and they move away from the track and try to encourage themselves to come to the field,” he said.

Drumeco Archer, president of the BAAA, wished all three ladies success on the next phase of their athletic careers.

“I am proud to see that we have women who can continue to lead the charge. It is almost intimidating to see the amount of athletes that are inspired by you three. Dior-Raè is going to Nebraska, Annae is going to Louisville, and Taysha is going to Nebraska and I think it is just a wonderful story about track and field. One thing that I ask of you is that you continue to tell the story of what we do and continue to inspire young kids,” Archer said.

All three throwers will begin their collegiate careers in Fall 2025.