The Bahamas had its second best performance ever at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Under-18 (U18) and Under-23 (U23) Championships, winning six gold medals, nine silver and seven bronze for a total of 22 medals at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica in San José, Costa Rica, over the weekend.
Additionally, in a pair of exhibition events, The Bahamas got two gold medals from Kenny Moxey Jr. - one in the under-18 boys pole vault and the other in the under-18 boys decathlon.
Moxey held off Leonardo Jeremiah Oliveros, of Guatemala, the only other competitor in the pole vault competition, clearing 3.90 meters (m) – 12' 9-1/2" – compared to 3.45m (11' 4") for Oliveros. In the decathlon, Moxey took the title with 6,095 points, defeating the only other athlete in the under-18 boys decathlon, Maxwell Denzel Alvarez, of Guatemala. Alvarez scored 5,528 points.
Zion Miller was a double gold medalist for The Bahamas, and both of his medals were added to the team's total.
The two Zions, Miller and Shepherd, finished first and third, respectively, in the under-18 boys 400m in times of 48.08 seconds and 49.10 seconds. Joshua Wint, of Jamaica, split the Bahamian duo, in 48.68 seconds. Miller and Shepherd both ran on the winning mixed 4x400m relay team and the under-18 boys 4x400m relay team.
On the mixed team, they joined Nya Wright and anchor leg Alexis Roberts, winning the gold medal in 3:31.29. Canada was second in 3:31.96 and Trinidad and Tobago won the bronze in 3:33.13. In the under-18 boys 4x400m relay, Miller and Shepherd teamed up with Berkley Munnings and Morgan Moss. They won the silver medal in 3:19.80. Jamaica won the gold in 3:12.80, The Bahamas was second and Trinidad and Tobago claimed the bronze in 3:26.81.
The Bahamas got a gold from Johnathan Rodgers in the under-18 boys triple jump. He produced a best jump of 15.01m (49' 3"). Banjuan Kulainthiran, of Canada, won the silver medal with a jump of 14.92m (48' 11-1/2") and Aaron Massiah, of Barbados, took home the bronze with a best jump of 14.12m (46' 4"). The other Bahamian in the field, William McKinney, placed fourth with a best jump of 13.98m (45' 10-1/2").
Cailyn Johnson was special in the under-18 girls discus, turning in a massive throw of 40.85m (134') for the gold medal. Ruth Irvine, of Trinidad and Tobago, won the silver medal with a toss of 33.82m (110' 11") and Luna Sherlyn Mora, of Costa Rica, won the bronze with a throw of 32.76m (107' 6"). The other Bahamian in the field, Annae Mackey, just missed out on the bronze, turning in a throw of 32.67m (107' 2").
Johnson and Mackey was back it, competing in the under-18 girls shot put. Mackey was second with a toss of 13.09m (42' 11-1/4"), and Johnson finished fourth with a best throw of 12.28m (40' 3-1/2"). Peyton Winter, of Trinidad and Tobago, won the gold medal with a toss of 14.53m (47' 8"). Mikayla Brown, of the Cayman Islands, won the bronze with a toss of 12.65m (41' 6").
Javelin throwers Keyshawn Strachan and Rhema Otabor continue to lead by example for The Bahamas, winning gold medals in the under-23 men and women's javelin events.
In the under-23 women, Otabor had a record-setting throw of 57.48m (188' 7") for the gold medal. Maura Huwalt, of the United States, was a distant second with a throw of 49.25m (161' 7"), and Kimberly Smith, of the British Virgin Islands (BVI), won the bronze medal with a toss of 37.54m (123' 2").
Among the men, Strachan had a throw of 78.37m (257' 1") for the gold medal. Dash Sirmon, of the United States, won the silver with a throw of 75.28m (246' 10), and his teammate Braden Presser finished third with a throw of 72.60m (238' 2").
Antoine Andrews won a pair of silver medals for The Bahamas. He originally crossed the finish line in third in the under-23 men's 110m hurdles, but was upgraded top second after Canada's Craig Thorne was disqualified. American Connor Schulman won the race in 13.40 seconds. Thorne crossed the finish line in 13.49 seconds but was disqualified. Andrews was timed in 13.57 seconds. Jamaica's Jaheem Hayles was upgraded to the bronze medalist, finishing in 13.73 seconds.
Andrews was also a part of the silver medal-winning 4x100m relay team for The Bahamas. That team included Adam Musgrove, Carlos Brown and Terrence Jones, and they stopped the clock in 39.59 seconds. Jamaica won that race in 39.04 seconds, The Bahamas was second and the United States finished third in 39.62 seconds.
Darvinique Dean also picked up a pair of silver medals for The Bahamas. She crossed the finish line in second in the under-18 girls 400m hurdles, out-leaning Keneisha Shelbourne, of Trinidad and Tobago, for the silver medal. Dean was second in 1:01.13 and Shelbourne settled for the bronze in 1:01.68. Michelle Smith, of the U.S. Virgin Islands, won the gold in a meet record of 56.99 seconds. The other Bahamian in the race, Jaynae Pinder, finished fourth in 1:07.66.
Dean was also a part of the silver medal-winning 4x400m relay team for The Bahamas. The team of Dean, Shatalya Dorsett, Nya Wright and Alexis Roberts, crossed the finish line in 3:51.20 for the silver. Canada won the gold in 3:49.97, The Bahamas was second and Costa Rica won the bronze medal in 4:08.98.
Dorsett was also on the silver medal-winning 4x100m relay team. The team of Phebe Thompson, Dorsett, Nia Richards and Shayann Demeritte, finished in 46.42 seconds for the silver medal. Trinidad and Tobago won the gold medal in 45.99 seconds, The Bahamas was second and Puerto Rico won the bronze medal in 46.49 seconds after their anchor leg hobbled to the line after apparently suffering a hamstring injury. Puerto Rico had a good lead until that unfortunate turn of events on the last leg.
The Bahamas also got a silver medal from Brenden Vanderpool in the under-23 men's pole vault. Vanderpool cleared 4.95m (16' 3") for the silver. American Hunter Garretson won the gold in a new meet record of 5.61m (18' 4-3/4"). Taking the bronze was Jonathan Jose Lopez, of Puerto Rico, with a leap of 4.75m (15' 7").
The Bahamas secured silver and bronze in the under-18 girls javelin. Dior-Rae Scott won the silver with a throw of 41.39m (135' 9") and Taysha Stubbs claimed the bronze with a throw of 40.68m (133' 5"). Ciara Marie Martinez, of Puerto Rico, won the gold with a throw of 44.94m (147' 5").
Cayden Smith won a pair of bronze medals for The Bahamas. He crossed the finish line in third in the under-18 boys 200m, finishing in 21.76 seconds. Kasiya Daley, of Antigua and Barbuda, won the gold in 21.40 seconds and Ainsley McGregor, of Jamaica, took the silver in 21.70 seconds.
Smith also ran as a part of the under-18 boys 4x100m relay team. The quartet of Johnathan Rodgers, Smith, Trent Ford and Ishmael Rolle, finished in 41.19 seconds, just behind Jamaica who won the silver in 41.18 seconds. Trinidad and Tobago took the gold in 41.14 seconds. That was also the second medal of the meet for Rodgers – the gold medalist from the triple jump.
Koi Adderley won a bronze medal for The Bahamas in the under-18 girls high jump, clearing 1.65m (5' 5"). Jah'Kyla Morton, of the British Virgin Islands, won the gold with a meet record clearance of 1.74m (5' 8-1/2"). Trinidadian Shelbourne added to her bronze from the 400m hurdles, winning the silver medal in the high jump with a clearance of 1.71m (5' 7-1/4"). Adderley was third and the other Bahamian in that event, Androsian Tylah Pratt, finished fourth with a height of 1.60m (5' 3").
Shaun Miller Jr. won a bronze medal for The Bahamas in the under-23 men's high jump event, clearing 2.15m (7' 0-1/2"). Romaine Beckford, of Jamaica, won the gold with a height of 2.21m (7' 3") and Kason O'Riley, of the United States, won the silver medal with a clearance of 2.18m (7' 1-3/4).
Shaun's sister, Shaunece Miller, won a silver medal in the under-23 women's heptathlon event, but that was an exhibition. She scored 4,291 points to trail American Jadin O'Brien who won the gold with 5,778 points.
Overall, 24 young men and 24 young women competed in the three-day biennial championships for The Bahamas, giving the country 48 athletes in total. A total of 442 athletes from 28 of the 31 countries of the NACAC region competed in the championships.
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