by RENALDO
The St. Augustine’s College Big Red Machine reclaimed their top spot in the standings and won their second consecutive BAISS Track and Field Championships title.
They closed out the three-day event at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium with a total of 1,400.50 points and claimed the 28th meet title in the school’s history.
The Queen’s College Comets took the lead for a brief moment on the final day, but eventually finished second with 1,375 points. In a close race for third place separated by just five points, the St John’s Giants finished with 421.50 points while the St Anne’s Blue Waves were fourth with 416.50.
The Temple Christian Suns rounded out the top five with 311 points.
The Comets took five of the eight contested divisions, while the Big Red Machine claimed the other three. The two programs finished first and second in each of those divisions.
The Big Red Machine won the Bantam Boys, Intermediate and Senior Girls. The Comets had the advantage in the Bantam and Junior Girls, Junior, Intermediate and Senior Boys.
The Big Red Machine had the largest margin of victory in the Senior Girls division by 41.50 points, 220.50 – 179 points over the Comets. The Comets took the top spot in the most closely contested division, the Junior Boys, by a two-point margin, 179-177.
A total of 11 athletes surpassed the CARIFTA qualifying standards in their respective events including Megan Moss, Anthaya Charlton, Jaida Knowles, Doniesha Anderson, Raymond Oriakhi, Tarajh Hudson, Adrian Curry, Oscar Smith from the SAC, Rhema Oteabar from NCA, Jasmine Knowles from St. Anne’s and Shauniece Miller from QC.
The Big Red Machine ended the final afternoon with a series of dominating performances in the 4x400m, winning four of the six divisions.
The Comets began the series with a win in the Junior Girls and ended with the final race, a win in the Senior Boys.
The Junior Girls team of Adonya Taylor, Paige Archer, G’Shan Brown and Javonya Valcourt won in 4:11.03 secs, while the Senior Boys team of Gareth Lewis, Max Azor, Shaun Miller and Lavardo Handfield took first place in 3:21.96 secs.
The Big Red Machine took the remainder of the divisions.
Shimar Bain, Alexis Brown, Brayden King and Otto Laing won the Junior Boys division in 3:45.79 secs; Tanisha Floyd, Anthaya Charlton, Jaida Knowles and Megan Moss won the Intermediate Girls race in a new meet record of 3:55.38 secs; Joel Brown, Kyle Humes, Avery Adderley and Raymond Oriaki won the Intermediate Boys in 3:30.67 secs and in Senior Girls the team of Marissa White, Aliyah Adderley, Tristan Walters and Doniesha Anderson took first in 3:58.84 secs.
SAC also took six out of eight divisions in the 4x100m relays.
Moss, Knowles and Charlton teamed with Troyva Sweeting to also win the Intermediate Girls 4×100 in a new meet record of 46.74 secs. The Junior Boys team of Bain, Laing, Stephan Farquharson and Zachary Evans also set a new meet record in 45.18 secs.
Anderson, Aliyah Adderley, Tanae Dorsett and Lakelle Kinteh took the Senior Girls in a meet record time of 46.69 secs while Andreas Seymour, Joel Johnson, Oscar Smith and Adrian Curry won the Senior Boys in another meet record, 41.70 secs.
In the Bantam Boys the team of Sebastian Strachan, Hugo Minnis, Jelani Morrison and Tumaini Skinner took first in a record setting 51.89 secs and In the Junior Girls event, the team of Apryl Adderley, Reshae Dean, Sanai Forbes and Danielle Saunders set another meet record in 50.42 secs.
The Comets took the Intermediate Boys race with the team of Jonathan Weech, Nathan Moss, Rishard Knowles, Kendrick Major in 43.90 secs and in the Bantam Girls their team of Nia Richards, Lanique Thompson, Alexis Williamson and Sarah Hepburn took first place in 53.67 secs.
Headlining the 200m winners were a trio who achieved the coveted sprint double and added to their 100m titles from Thursday.
Carlos Brown of St. John’s won the Junior Boys title in 26.04 secs, Jamal Flowers of Queen’s College took the Junior Boys in 22.92 secs and Jaida Knowles won the Intermediate Girls race in 24.78 secs.
Joel Johnson of the Big Red Machine took the Senior Boys boys event in 21.70 secs, followed by teammate and 100m champion Curry in 21.82 secs and 400m champ Handfield of the Comets.
In the Junior Girls half lap, Paige Archer of QC took first place in 26.36 secs and fellow Comet Sarah Hepburn took the Bantam Girls in 27.52 secs. Lowell Bethel of SAC took the Intermediate Boys race in 23.28 secs and Wendira Moss of St. John’s won the Senior Girls event in 24.92 secs.
In the 800m, Mookie Rolle continued to be the middle distance leader in the Senior Boys division. He took first place in 1:57.88 secs to follow up on his 1500m title. Rolle also finished second in the 5000m (19:38.82 secs) later that afternoon, behind Lynden Johnson of SAC in 19:01.70 secs. The Comets also got another pair of 800m series from Grace Farrington (2:49.76 secs) in the Bantam Girls and Devin Cuffy-Bethel (2:29.96 secs) in the Junior Girls.
Jasmine Knowles of St. Anne’s won the Intermediate Girls in a record-setting time of 2:20.87 secs and her teammate Kevannio Smith won the Bantam Boys in 2:37.74 secs. SAC’s Anderson showed her versatility in winning the Senior Girls 800m in 2:23.70 secs. Deyton Albury of TC won the Intermediate Boys in 2:09.33 secs and Paulindo Boyer of St. John’s won the Junior Boys in 2:13.31 secs,
In the 400mH series, SAC’s Oscar Smith and the QC’s Shaun Miller had the most competitive race of the afternoon. Both ran 55.50 secs and Smith was awarded the race in a photo finish in the Senior Boys race.
Oriaki won the Intermediate Boys in 58.74 secs, the only member of the field to finish with a sub 60 sec time. Alyson Taylor of Kingsway Academy won the Senior Girls in 1:06.09 secs and Indea Cartwright of St. John’s won the Intermediate Girls in 1:06.13 secs.
One record was set in the field on day three when Zachary Evans broke a 21-year old record in the Junior Boys long jump.
Evans took first in 6.07m to surpass the mark of 5.83m set in 1997 by Leroy Burrows.
Rhema Otabor of the NCA Crusaders reached the CARIFTA qualifying standard (35.0m) in the Intermediate Girls Javelin with her throw of 35.45m. Fellow Crusader Jevonte Curray won the Intermediate Boys javelin with a throw of 42.19m
QC’s Archer added to her busy day three with a first-place finish in the Junior Girls long jump. In the Triple Jump, the Comets’ Tristen Hanna won the Senior Boys at 13.75m and Vinajah of Adderley of SAC won the Senior Girls in 10.99m.
In the High Jump, both M’Kayla White of SAC and Shaunece Miller of QC both jumped 1.57m in the Senior Girls division with White as the first place leader. In a competitive Intermediate Boys division, Christian Sturrup of TC won the event at 1.78m. Nathan Moss and Lucas Simmons of QC along with Chima Johnson of SAC all equaled the mark.
Sean Rolle of QC won the Senior Boys discus at 37.47m and Acacia Astwood of St. Anne’s won the Senior Girls at 39.69m. Ann-Marie Oriakhi of SAC won the Junior Girls shot put at 11.30m and Reagan Hidalgo of QC won the Junior Boys event in 12.98m
Last year, the Big Red Machine tallied 1,427 points to defeat the Comets by a margin of 88.50 points.
The Big Red Machine led by 45 points after day one, but the Comets trimmed that deficit to just 14.50 points at the end of day two.
Full event results can be found at www.tekresults.net
Points Standings
- SAC Big Red Machine – 1400.50
- QC Comets – 1375
- St John’s Giants – 421.50
- St. Anne’s Blue Waves – 416.50
- TC Suns – 311
- NCA Crusaders – 306
- Kingsway Saints – 193
- JPW Falcons – 177.50
- Aquinas Aces – 49
- St Andrew’s Hurricanes – 29
- CW Saunders Cougars – 28
