Jamaica dominate in CARIFTA

TRINIDAD AND Tobago athletes captured 11 additional medals on Sunday evening to push their tally to 21, but Jamaica continued their dominance as the 32nd annual CARIFTA Track and Field Championships continued at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.

Striking gold for TT were Rhonda Watkins in the Girls Under-17 high jump, and Sheron Mark in the Girls U-20 triple jump, while the silver medals were presented to Sandino Nero in the Boys U-17 3,000 m, Shawn Thomas in the Boys U-20 long jump, Charisse Bacchus in the Girls pentathlon, as well as the Boys and Girls U-20 4x100 m relay squads; and the bronze medals were awarded to Josanne Lucas in the Girls U-20 400 m hurdles, the Boys U-17 4x100 m relay team, Mikel Courtney in the Boys heptathlon and Cuquie Melville in the Girls pentathlon. Watkins, who won the Girls U-17 long jump on Saturday morning, claimed her second gold in the three-day meet when she cleared the bar at a personal best attempt of 1.73 metres. Silver went to Latroya Darrell of Bermuda in 1.68 m while Andrea Moss of Bahamas took bronze in 1.65 m. And Sheron Mark made her mark at the triple jump - literally and figuratively - when she won in 12.82 m, also a personal best, with the Guadeloupe pair of Zelica Montout 12.74 m and Prescillia Corneille 12.63 m among the medals.

Spurred on by a vocal Grenada contingent, Neilon Joseph held off a late burst from TT’s Nero to win the Boys U-17 3,000 m in nine minutes 20.50 seconds, with Nero following in 9:22.75 and Martinique’s Lorry Lucea third in 9:29.60; while Thomas’ best attempt in the long jump was 7.27 m, the same as Martinique’s Cedric Bergoz with Jamaica’s Damion Young well ahead in 7.40 m. Personal records were set by Bacchus and Melville in the Girls pentathlon, with Bacchus bettering her previous standard of 3,455 points when she amassed 3,548 while Melville’s 3,401 was 270 more than her old mark. But Jamaican Nadina Marsh was an easy winner with 3,868 points.

Jamaica set new CARIFTA best times in the Boys and Girls U-20 400 m relays, with the boys, inspired by Usain “Thunderbolt” Bolt on the final leg and 100 m bronze medallist Tesfa Latty on the third, sped past the finishing line in 39.43 seconds, well inside the 40.19 time set by Trinidad and Tobago in 2001. The injured Darrel Brown and Dion Rodriguez earned TT a silver in 40.64, with Bahamas trailing in 40.80. And the Jamaican girls, led by 100 m gold and silver medallists Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson, lowered their 2000 mark of 44.63 seconds with a time of 44.42 seconds, with the TT quartet of Diana Cooke, Wanda Hutson, Monique Cabral and Kelly-Ann Baptiste following in 45.09 and Bahamas third in 46.47. And the night’s third new championship record was set, by Jamaica, in the Girls U-20 400 m hurdles, when Camille Robinson crossed the finishing line in 56.61 seconds, lowering Tonya Jarrett’s 1995 time of 58.14, with another Jamaican, Carlene Robinson, the runner-up in 58.47 and Lucas third in a personal record of 58.55.

The national Boys U-17 4x100 m relay squad took bronze in 42.19 seconds, with Jamaica cruising to victory in 41.77 and Barbados silver in 42.13; while Courtney had a combined score of 4,523 points in the Boys heptathlon, behind Jamaica’s Wilber Walker’s 4,837 and Grenada’s Akido Noel’s 4,613. And Antiguan Janil Williams rebounded from her runner-up position in the Girls U-20 1,500 m to gain a convincing win in the open 3,000 m in 10:12.32, with Jennifer Chichester of Guyana behind in 10:14.08. Jamaican Lorain McKenzie 10:15.47 and dreadlocked national Pilar McShine 10:29.87.

Other Results:
Girls U-17 300m hurdles - 1.Sherene Pinnock (Jamaica) 42.24 sec; 2.Melony McKay (Jamaica) 42.61; 3.Nerissa Phillip (Grenada) 43.08.
Girls U-17 4x100m relay - 1.Jamaica 46.07 sec; 2.Bahamas 46.75; 3.Guadeloupe 47.20.
Girls U-17 discus - 1.Sasha Ferguson (Bahamas) 36.23m; 2.Marie Vulcain (Martinique) 36.02m; 3.Brittany Marshall (Bermuda) 35.66m.
Boys U-17 400m hurdles - 1.Joseph Robertson (Jamaica) 53.69 sec; 2.Terry Marshall (Barbados) 54.81; 3.Andre Pratt (Jamaica) 56.44.
Boys U-17 triple jump - 1.Brandon Joseph (Antigua/Barbuda) 14.21m; 2.Barry Batson (Barbados) 14.14m; 3.Joel Phillip (Grenada) 14.06m.
Boys U-20 400m hurdles - 1.Kimani Williams (Jamaica) 51.22 sec; 2.Isa Phillips (Jamaica) 51.29; 3.Andretti Bain (Bahamas) 53.68.
Boys U-20 pole vault - 1.Wasim Walker (Jamaica) 4.01m.
Boys U-20 javelin - 1.Jamal Forde (Barbados) 65.46m; 2.Nely Marie (Martinique) 60.83m; 3.Densley Joseph (Grenada) 59.05m.