Home|Sports|The Bahamas repeats as champions of NACAC Age GroupSports

Sheldon LongleySend an emailJuly 18, 2023 84 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

The Bahamas has once again shown its might in athletics, winning the overall title at the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Under-13 (U13) and Under-15 (U15) Age Group Championships in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, over the weekend.

The Bahamas repeated as NACAC Age Group Champions, winning the overall team competition with 27,984 points. Jamaica was second, finishing with 27,043 points and Cuba rounded out the top three, finishing with 26, 641 points.

In the under-13 girls pentathlon, The Bahamas came out on top, scoring 5,411 points. Jamaica was second with 5.065 points and the host nation Dominican Republic rounded out the top three, with 5,044 points. In the under-13 boys pentathlon, Cuba took the top spot with 5,940 points. The Bahamas was second with 5,927 points and Barbados rounded out the top three nations with 5,855 points.

The Bahamas finished third in both the under-15 girls and under-15 boys heptathlon events.

In the girls, The Bahamas scored 7,617 points to trail the Dominican Republic with 7,813 points and Curaçao with 7,620 points. In the boys division, The Bahamas finished with 9,029 points to trail the British Virgin Islands with 9,478 points and Jamaica with 9,126 points.

“We knew that we had an opportunity of winning it because we had a strong team – there were four kids out of Grand Bahama and four out of Nassau and they performed very well,” said Head Coach Sharon “Sherry” Francis on the team’s return to the country yesterday. “The kids had a cultural shock with the environment, but we told them to look beyond that and just go and do what they had to do. The facilities were not as good as what we have here in The Bahamas so the kids were a bit disturbed at first but after that they went out there and performed. They did an awesome job and we are very pleased with them. 

“This goes to show that the coaches here in The Bahamas are doing a wonderful job with the developmental stages of these young athletes. This is our feeder program and we have to concentrate on development. So far, it looks like we are doing a great job of developing these young kids. They went out there, performed to the best of their ability and came out on top. They continued to fight and I’m extremely proud of what they were able to accomplish. They left it all out on the track and came out with personal best times, distances and heights and we are very proud of them. They did their best and that’s all we could ask of them.”

Individually, Symiah Strachan won a gold medal in the under-13 girls pentathlon, finishing with 2,733 points. Danelia Clarke, of Jamaica, was second with 2,691 points and Trinity Rolle, of The Bahamas, won the bronze medal, with 2,678 points.

In the under-13 boys pentathlon, Emmile Higgins was fifth with 2,986 points and Avonte Lotmore came in seventh with 2,941 points. Bryson Walters, of the British Virgin Islands, won the gold medal in this division with 3,080 points. Oslandys Domingue, of Cuba, won the silver medal, with 3,040 points and Marcado Williams, of Jamaica, secured the bronze, with 3,003 points.

Keyezra Thomas was special in the under-15 girls heptathlon, winning a silver medal with 4,355 points. Alexandria Komolafe had to settle for 19th, finishing with 3,262 points. Patricia Sine, of the Dominican Republic, won the gold medal in this event, finishing with 4,386 points. Thomas was second and Sharifa Fernandes, of Curaçao, captured the bronze, with 3,940 points.

The Bahamas got another gold in the under-15 boys heptathlon as Jachario Wilson took the top spot with 4,798 points. He finished just two points ahead of Othniel Gillings, of the British Virgin Islands, who finished with 4,796 points. The bronze went to Tarique Jackson, of Anguilla who finished with 4,766 points. The other Bahamian in that event, Kamron Henfield, was 21st overall, finishing with 4,231 points.

The under-13 girls and boys competed in five events over two days – the 60 meters (m), high jump, long jump, ball throw and the 800m for the girls; and the 60m, high jump, long jump, ball throw and the 1,000m for the boys.

The under-15 girls and boys competed in seven events over two days of competition on Saturday and Sunday. The under-15 girls did the 80m, 60m hurdles, high jump, long jump, ball throw, shot put and the 1,000m. The under-15 boys competed in the 80m, 80m hurdles, high jump, long jump, ball throw, shot put and the 1,200m.

 Coach Francis was assisted by coaches Kenrid Munroe and Mikhilo Strachan. The team doctor was Dr. Karlton Rolle and the chaperone was Sonia Black.