There were not many finals on the track on Thursday, but the St. Augustine's College (SAC) Big Red Machine was able to do enough, slightly extending their lead over the Queen's College (QC) Comets after two days of action at the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) Track and Field Championships.
After leading by 62.5 points at the end of the first day, SAC leads the Comets by 84 points entering the third and final day. They have 691.50 points. The Comets have 607.50 points and moving up the standings to third place was the Temple Christian Suns with 221.50 points. The St. John's College Giants dropped to fourth, scoring 210 points, and the St. Anne's Blue Waves round out the top five with 131.50 points.
A champion will be crowned by the end of today.
Most of the action was in the field events at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium on Thursday and there were two BAISS records broken with a CARIFTA standard being met with one of the records.
In the final event of the day, the under-17 girls triple jump, SAC's Bayli Major leapt her way to a new BAISS record and a CARIFTA qualifying distance of 11.89 meters (m) – 39' 0-1/4". The CARIFTA qualifying standard is 11.42m (37' 5-1/2"). She broke Charisma Taylor's 2015 record in that event – a distance of 11.72m (38' 5-1/2"). Major qualified for CARIFTA in the 400m hurdles earlier in the season.
Placing second behind Major yesterday was CARIFTA qualifier and her teammate Shayann Demeritte. She posted a jump of 9.89m (32' 5-1/2"). The Suns' Antonia Thompson placed third with a jump of 9.40m (30' 10-1/4"). Demeritte has qualified for CARIFTA in the under-17 girls 100m, running a time of 12.10 seconds earlier this season. The standard is 12.20 seconds.
In the under-13 girls shot put, the Comets' Rocelis Moxey broke the BAISS record of 7.65m (25' 1-1/4") with a winning throw of 7.84m (25' 8-3/4"). She broke D'Yontae Mackey's record which was set in 2020.
The Comets won four out of eight of the 100m races yesterday, despite some serious headwinds.
Moxey kicked off the victory parade for the Comets in the under-13 girls division. She crossed the finish line in 12.98 seconds. SAC's Kyla Smith stopped a first and second finish for the Comets when she finished second with a time of 13.42 seconds. Azalia Henderson, of QC, was third, finishing in 13.98 seconds.
The Comets' Jamiah Nabbie, who is a sprinter to keep an eye on, was brilliant in the under-17 girls 100m. Nabbie clocked 12.30 seconds to secure the win. She set the BAISS record of 11.98 seconds during the heats on Wednesday.
"I could have had a better start but I finished strong," said Nabbie. "I could have gone faster. I just wanted to represent my school and run hard."
She returns to action today, competing in the 200m and the relays.
SAC's duo of Demeritte and Madison Moss were second and third, respectively. Demeritte ran 12.39 seconds and Madison stopped the clock at 12.93 seconds.
The Comets were unstoppable in the under-13 boys division as Joel
Cumberbatch and Nevari Knowles ensured they got maximum points in that event with a first and second finish. Cumberbatch ran 13.30 seconds while Knowles recorded a time of 13.93 seconds. Jordan Prince William Falcons' Sean Spencer crossed the finish line in third in a time of 14.11 seconds.
In the under-15 girls division, the Comets' Sarsha Wright powered her way to victory in 13.05 seconds. Caitilyn Smith, from St. John's College, was second in 13.06 seconds. Finishing third was Vanessa Mackey, of St. Anne's, with a time of 13.32 seconds.
SAC's Eagan Neely ran a strong race, clocking 11.46 seconds in the under-15 boys 100m. He missed Karlton Rolle's BAISS record of 11.28 seconds by about two tenths of a second.
"I'm not a 100m runner, but it felt good to win it," said Neely. "I could have run better but a slight headwind stopped that. I ran slightly short of my personal best of 11.37 seconds."
Neely's teammate Terrin Beckles finished second with a time of 11.95 seconds. The Comets' Rohman Rolle settled for third with a time of 12.05 seconds.
Amari Pratt, from SAC, managed to hold off the Comets' duo of Nia Richards and Lanaisha Lubin to win the under-20 girls 100m. Pratt crossed the finish line in 12.33 seconds.
"Going into the race I was nervous," said the 12th-grade student. "I trusted the process and got out hard and came home strong. It feels great to come back and be the champion."
Richards was second with a time of 12.57 seconds and Lubin ran 12.94 seconds for third.
The St. Andrew's Hurricanes' Grace Farrington won the under-20 girls 3,000m with a time of 12:32.16. The Comets' Chrislynn Smith placed second with a time of 12:45.91. The Kingsway Academy Saints' Tellica Seymour was third in 12:57.98.
Taking the under-15 girls 75m hurdles was Jayla Smith of SAC. She out-leaned her closest competitor to win in 12.67 seconds. Dallas Strachan, of Queen's College, was second in 12.68 seconds and SAC's Kaiya Bennet finished third in 13.17 seconds.
Today is the final day of competition and it is clear that it is a two-school race between SAC and the Comets. The 4x100m and 4x400m relays are set for today along with the 200m sprints. The 400m hurdles and 800m finals will also be held today. On the field, there will be action in the under-17 girls high jump, the under-20 boys triple jump, the under-20 girls discus and the under-15 boys and girls long jump, just to name a few.
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