The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

Last season the Queen’s College Comets had to watch in disappointment as the St Augustine’s College (SAC) Big Red Machine relished in championship glory to close out the 2025 Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) Track and Field Championships.

One season later, the Comets got their revenge in emphatic fashion to derail the Big Red Machine and emerge as the 2025 BAISS Track and Field champions.

The Comets had a strong meet from start to finish, leading from day one to three, to wrap up with a winning total of 1,344 points.

Queen’s College celebrated their first BAISS crown since 2019 and claimed just their fourth track and field championship in the school’s history. 

The Big Red Machine had to settle for second place this time around with a total of 1,299.50 points.

The Temple Christian School Suns started and ended the three-day meet in the third position with 541 points.

The neck-and-neck battle between the sister Anglican Schools was won by St John’s College. 

The Giants wrapped up the meet in fourth at 382 points and the St Anne’s Blue Waves dropped down to fifth place at 271 points.

QC bead coach Everette Fraser was all smiles as he spoke about QC’s wire-to-wire performance at the inter-school track and field championships.

“We are feeling great right now. We are feeling good and everybody is excited and happy. This has been a long three days of competition between us and the other school and if we slipped for just a second we would have lost. We had to tell the kids to stay focused and sometimes it may not go the way we want it to go but we have to keep on going and that’s how we did it. We just kept on fighting,” he said.

Coach Fraser admitted that it felt awesome to avenge last year’s narrow loss to the Big Red Machine and gave special credit to athletes that displayed great school pride.

“They painted the track red last year and that was painful for us. It was a dramatic finish to the end last year and it was close and has been for the last couple years so this year we knew we had to do it. We didn’t execute last year, we gave it to them, but we did the job this year,” he said.

The Comets dominated five out of the eight age divisions to conclude the track and field championships. It was all Queen’s College in the under-13 female division, under-15 female division, under-17 female division, under-20 female and under-20 male divisions.

SAC had the edge in the under-13 male division, under-15 male division and under-17 male division.

Track Events

There were a number of records broken on day three on the track.

CARIFTA double gold medallist Jamiah Nabbie had the final say in the under-20 girls’ 200m finals.

She won the event with a CARIFTA qualifying time of 23.73 seconds. SAC’s Alexis Roberts also dipped under the CARIFTA qualifying mark 24.35 seconds with her second place finish of 24.21 seconds.

K’Leigh Davis, representing QC, trailed both CARIFTA qualifiers for third at 24.83 seconds.

Andrew Brown notched another win for the Comets in the under-20 boys’ 200m finals. He ran a swift time of 21.83 seconds for first place.

His teammate Ishmael Rolle placed second in 22.41 seconds and Nassau Christian Schools’ K’Juan Johnson was third with a time of 22.56 seconds.

Jazae Johnson, representing SJC, had a stellar performance in the under-15 girls’ 200m finals. She outran her competitors with a new BAISS record of 24.69 seconds.

She dipped under Brianna Bootle’s former BAISS record of 25.08 seconds set just last year.

Bootle trailed for second in the event at 24.94 seconds and her schoolmate Taree Forbes came third in 25.44 seconds.

SAC’s Jahcario Wilson was well under the CARIFTA qualifying standards of 55.72 seconds in the under-17 boys’ 400m hurdles event.

He crossed the finish line at 52.25 seconds to win the race.

Wilson also broke Tieanno Ferguson’s BAISS record of 54.17 seconds set just last year. 

Placing second was the Comets’ Nathan Walker with a time of 56.33 seconds.

The Suns’ Delvon Barton rounded out the top three at 56.34 seconds.

SAC’s Darvinique Dean hit her stride in the under-20 girls’ 400m hurdles event to shave some time off the CARIFTA qualifying standard of 1:02.08.

She stopped the clock at 1:00.12 to wrap up the event first. 

Her time erased Pedrya Seymour’s former BAISS record of 1:01.23 set March 8, 2013.

QC’s Taylor Robinson claimed the second spot at 1:05.09 and SAC’s Yulianis Akompi came in third place at 1:05.73.

The Comets’ Zion Davis had a strong showing in the under-20 boys’ 400m hurdles event.

He posted a winning time of 52.03 seconds to set a new BAISS record and attain the CARIFTA qualifying mark of 54.47 seconds.

The former BAISS record of 52.89 seconds belonged to Wendell Miller who achieved it in 2020.

The next two spots in the race went to the Suns’ Ferguson and Breck Kemp.

Ferguson ran 54.29 seconds to shave some time off the CARIFTA standard while his teammate came in third at 56.85 seconds.

The Suns’ Jasmine Thompson requalified in the under-17 girls’ 400m hurdles event.

She won the event in 1:02.60 which was well under the CARIFTA qualifying mark of 1:06.19.

Thompson also broke Darvinique Dean’s previous BAISS record of 1:02.62 achieved last year.

SAC’s Symirah Crawley was also in top form. She had to settle for second in 1:02.94 but was also successful in making the CARIFTA qualifying mark.

Taylor Moss, representing St Andrew’s, was third overall.

The Comets set new BAISS records in the under-20 boys’ 4x100m and 4x400m relays.

The QC quartet of Andrew Brown, Ishmael Rolle, Daniel Strachan and Everette Fraser ran a time of 41.53 seconds in the 4x100m event for first and to erase SAC’s former BAISS record of 41.58 seconds.

The Comets under-20 boys were also fantastic in the 4x400m event, leaving behind a new BAISS record of 3:17.80.

The previous BAISS record of 3:18.28 was set by QC last year.

Field Events

William Mckinney, representing Bahamas Academy, requalified in the under-20 boys’ triple jump event with a leap of 14.63m. 

He smashed the CARIFTA qualifying standard of 14.29m.

SAC’s Carlin Archer also requalified in the event with a jump of 14.61m for second place.

Third place went to his schoolmate Demian Brice at 14.20m.

SAC’s Wyatt Cartwright was a cut above the rest in the under-17 boys’ javelin throw event.

He surpassed the CARIFTA qualifying standard of 44.95m with his winning throw of 59.17m.

His teammate Sherman Ferguson dropped to second at 44.63m and Kingsway’s Kendal Turner got the  third podium spot with his toss of 42.64m.

Annae Mackey, representing QC, got the BAISS title in the under-20 girls’ discus throw event.

She posted a winning mark of 34.20m to seal the win. SAC’s Kamera Strachan came second at 23.23m and QC’s Morgan Bethel ended in third at 22.22m. 

QC’s Keely Deveaux got the winning throw in the under-17 girls’ javelin throw event.

She recorded a first place heave of 33.15m.

SJC’s Jazae Johnson had a wind-aided jump of 5.87m to win the under-15 girls’ long jump event but it would be SAC’s Taree Forbes to emerge with the new BAISS record of 5.76m at second place.

Forbes took Danielle Gibson’s former BAISS record of 5.40m set in 2010. 

Third place went to SAC’s Symiah Strachan at 4.96m. 

It is indeed a special moment for the QC Comets as they picked up their fourth BAISS Track and Field Championship. The school previously won titles in 2015, 2016, 2019 and now 2025.

The remaining BAISS track and field results can be found at www.tekresults.net.