Despite minor delays throughout the day due to inclement weather, junior and elite athletes still took part in the Ambassadors Track Club's eighth Annual Fritz Grant Invitational.
The one-day meet on Saturday at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium was held in honor of Grant, the head coach of the Ambassadors Track Club. RBC, Vitamalt, Coca-Cola, CIBC and Commonwealth Bank sponsored the meet.
Complete results of the meet, which had to be suspended because the track was too wet to contest the men's 5,000 meters (m) and the 4x400m relays, were unavailable. However, one of the highlights of the day saw one of The Bahamas' "Golden Knights" Ramon Miller run under 46 seconds in the men's 400m for the first time since suffering a foot injury at the inaugural International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) World Relays last May.
Miller won the open men's 400 in a time of 45.91 seconds on Saturday, followed by Andretti Bain, who is also returning off an injury with a time of 46.50 seconds. Jordan Minnis finished a distant third in a time of 48.34 seconds. Dreshanae Rolle took the open women's 400 in a time of 58.13 seconds. Teja Roker finished second in a time of 1:01.65 followed by Vanaillan Walker with a time of 1:02.07.
V'Alonee Robinson cruised to victory in the open women's 100 in a time of 12.03 seconds. Jerinique Brooks finished second in a time of 12.14 seconds, and she was followed by Rickera Moxey with her time of 12.20 seconds. Shane Jones won the open men's 100m dash in a time of 10.51 seconds, followed by Keanu Pennerman in a time of 10.65 seconds and Yurick Dean with a time of 10.68 seconds.
Over in the field, LaQuan Nairn won the open men's long jump with a personal best leap of 7.72m (25' 4"). Troy Bullard finished second with a jump of 7.09m (23' 3-1/4"), while Oral Rolle finished third with a leap of 7.06m (23' 2").
Coach Grant, whom the event is named after, said that he was pleased with the way the meet went, despite the interruptions caused by the rain. He added that he likes the condition that some of the senior athletes are in this early in the season, and that he feels The Bahamas is in for a major year in international competition.
"Things are going to be very, very interesting come next month's nationals," he said. "I was pleased with the way that everyone came out and performed. You had Ramon running under 46 for the first time in a long time, and you also had strong performances from both V'Alonee Robinson and Keanu Pennerman, so I can say that the meet was still a success in my opinion, despite the fact that we didn't get to finish the 4x400 relays."
Over the next few weeks, athletes will be trying to qualify for various international meets this summer such as the Central America and the Caribbean (CAC) Junior Track and Field Championships in Morelia, Mexico, and the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China.
Originally, the world championships was planned to be held every four years, but this changed after the third edition in 1991, and it has since been run biennially.
The CAC junior championships is an athletics competition held between the nations of Central America and the Caribbean. It is promoted by the Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation (CACAC).
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