If the 100 meters (m) final for under-20 girls at the Colina CARIFTA Trials over the weekend was an indication of what's to come at the CARIFTA Track and Field Championships in Hamilton, Bermuda, then The Bahamas could be in for quite a treat in the event.
In her first local meet of the season, junior sprinter Anthonique Strachan not only qualified for all of the junior championships, set for this year, but she also dipped below the 'A' qualifying standard for the London Olympic Games. In the final on Friday, she defeated Shaunae Miller, who had dominated the sprints on the local front so far. Strachan's time of 11.22 seconds was below the Olympic Games 'A' qualifying standard of 11.29, and Miller came in just shy of the Olympic Games 'B' standard, of 11.38. She ran a personal best 11.41 seconds. Third place went to Carmeisha Cox who posted a time of 11.76 seconds.
All three athletes were below the qualifying standard for the International Association of Athletic Federation's (IAAF) World Junior Championships, and in the case of Strachan, she was just three one hundredths of a second off Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie's junior national record time.
Pulling out of the 200m final, after posting the fastest qualifying time, was Miller. Her absence left Strachan to pull off the double in the sprints.
Strachan got the win over Freeport native Rashan Brown and Cox. The winning time was 23.23 seconds. Brown and Cox posted times of 23.64 and 24.03 seconds respectively. Miller did not compete in the final due to a slight injury. She also opted out of the 400m.
A record number of athletes competed in the Colina CARIFTA Trials this past weekend which was sanctioned by the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA).
More than 20 athletes had already qualified for CARIFTA prior to the trials. Janae Ambrose was one of those athletes, so all she needed to do was finish in the top two this weekend to book a seat on the plane headed to Hamilton, Bermuda. Ambrose did just that, as she won the under-17 girls' 100m, dipping under the qualifying time for CARIFTA again, as well as meeting the standard set for the Jr. Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championships and the World Junior Championships. Ambrose stopped the clock in 11.85 seconds. The BAAA had set 12.10 seconds as the standard for the Easter weekend CARIFTA Championships, and the standard for the Jr. CAC is 11.90 seconds. The international governing body for the sport, IAAF, set a qualifying time of 11.96 seconds for the World Junior Championships. This meet will be held in Barcelona, Spain, July 10-15.
In the under-17 final, Keianna Albury, Makeya White and Kadeisha Hield were all under the CARIFTA standard set. Albury clocked 12 seconds flat for second, and White ran 12.05 seconds for third. Hield finished fourth in 12.06 seconds.
The half lap event was also won by Ambrose, in a time of 24.38 seconds, which was also under the qualifying time for the World Junior Championships. Coming in second in that race was Juannae Lewis and Hield was third in times of 24.70 and 24.76 seconds respectively. Both times were under the mark set by the BAAA for CARIFTA.
Lewis won the 400m in 56.89 seconds and Geordine Thurston came in second in 57.64 seconds. The third place time was 58.36 seconds turned in by Dreshanae Rolle, who turned around and won the 800m in 2:19.32.
Booking her ticket to Bermuda was Taryn Rolle in the under-17 girls' triple jump. She had a best jump of 11.62m (38' 1-1/2"). Brashae Wood and Janelle Curtis qualified for CARIFTA and the Jr. CAC Championships in the discus throw. Wood led the charge with a best throw of 34.89m (114' 5") and Curtis recorded a best throw of 33.87m (111' 1"), done on her third attempt in the circle.
The top two finishers in the under-17 boys' 100m were Cliff Resias and Ian Kerr. Resias was also the winner of the 200m, leaving Kerr to settle for third in that event. Theotis Johnson split the duo for second.
Resias' time in the 100m was 10.82 seconds and Kerr followed in 10.97. Keanu Pennerman was third in 11.10 seconds. The clock was stopped at 21.79 seconds in the 200m. Johnson turned in a time of 21.86 seconds and Kerr finished in 21.93 seconds.
The two fastest times in the under-17 boys' 400m hurdles were well below the qualifying time for the Jr. CAC Championships. Xavier Coakley won the event in 54.46 seconds and D'Mitry Charlton came in second in 54.73 seconds. Both easily qualified for CARIFTA as well, which had a standard time of 57 seconds flat.
Coakley will also contest the long jump event. He soared 6.62m (21' 8-3/4") for the win over the weekend.
Strong man Drexel Maycock will lead the charge on the field in the shot put and discus throws events. Maycock qualified in both events.
Jonathon Farquharson will line up in the 100m for the under-20 boys. He crossed the finish line in 10.47 seconds. Blake Bartlett won the 200m in 21.19 seconds, and Elroy McBride took the 400m in 47.54 seconds.
Ashley Riley had the best time in the 800m, 1:53.93, and Patrick Bodie ran 14.27 seconds for the win in the 110m hurdles.

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