- Simba French
- 3 hrs ago
- 0
The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) staged a successful odd distance meet on Friday, officially getting the 2023-2024 track and field season underway at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium. There were three unofficial qualifiers for the 2024 CARIFTA Games, set for the Easter holiday weekend, March 30 to April 1, 2024, in St. George’s, Grenada.
Attaining those CARIFTA standards at the BAAA Odd Distance Track and Field Meet on Friday were Demian Brice, Calea Jackson and Dior-Rae Scott.
“I went out there and tried but I did not do as good as I wanted to. The qualifying throw was not my best throw because I did not have the proper technique but as I go on in more meets I can improve my technique,” Scott said. Finishing a distant second was her teammate Elizabeth Prosper who posted a throw of 13.28m (43’ 6-3/4”).
Scott has a long season ahead of her and is looking to improve as the season goes along.
Jackson, who throws for Blue Chips Athletics, competed in the under-20 girls shot put and discus events and won both. The University of Miami freshman surpassed the standard of 40.36m (132’ 5”) in the discus with a throw of 46.36m (152’ 1-1/4”).
“I just came out here with a goal to qualify early. I am still in progress with the training, and I am not peaking as yet. I have some time to go before the discus season starts,” Jackson said.
Triple Threat’s Cailyn Johnson placed second in the discus with a throw of 39.71m (130’ 3-1/2”). Jackson’s teammate Annae Mackey placed third after recording a throw of 36.35m (119’ 3”).
Jackson will head back to school and train, waiting for the collegiate outdoor season to get underway in March. She said her goal for this season is to throw at least 50m in the discus.
Jackson won the shot put event with a throw of 11.53m (37’ 10”). Mackey was second this time with a toss of 11.35m (37’ 3-1/4). Finishing third was Johnson with a throw of 10.10m (33’ 1-3/4”).
Brice had to juggle between the under-17 boys triple jump and high jump events but was able to provisionally qualify in both. The approaches were modified in both as is the standard at the odd distance meet.
In the high jump, he managed to clear 1.87m (6’ 1-1/2”) to come away as the champion in that event. In doing so, he matched the qualifying height.
“It feels good to qualify at this meet. I have been waiting for this for a long time. I qualified last year and now I just want to build on last year. Now I just want to get the gold. I’m glad I went out there and executed and qualified,” Brice said.
Placing second in the high jump event was Alvardo Rolle who was able to clear the bar at 1.57m (5’ 1-3/4”).
In the triple jump event in that division, Brice was able to hold off Jumpers Inc J’Lin Roberts to win. Brice leapt to 13.83m (45’ 4-1/2”) which was wind-aided. Roberts’ jump was also wind-aided and he posted a leap of 12.22m (40’ 1”). The CARIFTA qualifying standard for that event is 12.92m (42’ 4-3/4”).
Fast Forward’s under-20 girls athlete Koi Adderley won three events on the day, namely the 150m, the 300m hurdles and the long jump. In the 150m, she clocked a time of 18.82 seconds. In the 300m hurdles, she posted a time of 45.85 seconds. She leaped 5.34m to win the long jump event.
The under-11 boys sprint races were dominated by Unique Athletics’ Jayden Jones. In the 60m, he crossed the finish line in 8.67 seconds for the win and took the 150m in 20.73 seconds.
Bahamas Speed Dynamics’ Eagan Neely won both of his races in the under-15 boys division. Neely ran 16.47 seconds to win the 150m. He then got a win in the 300m after running a time of 35.78 seconds.
In the under-15 girls short sprints, Brion Ward, representing the DTSP Wolfpack, picked up a double victory. Ward won the 60m dash in a time of 7.91 seconds. She then came back and won the 150m in 18.62 seconds.
The next event on the local track and field calendar is the T-Bird Flyers Track and Field Classic, set for January 5-6, 2024, at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium.