Young Bahamian track and field athletes have been forced to sit at home, for the most part, over the past two summers, missing out on regional competitions due to the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now with the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Under-18 (U18), Under-20 (U20) and Under-23 (U23) Championships on the horizon, they are excited and looking forward to competition. The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) named a 40-member team yesterday, and they will represent the country this weekend in San José, Costa Rica. The championships is set for July 9-11 at the National Stadium of Costa Rica in San José.
Named to represent the country are: Lacarthea Cooper, Paige Archer, Kasha Neilly, Javonya Valcourt, Shavantae Roberts, Anne-Marie Oriakhi and Calea Jackson in the under-18 girls category; Zachary Evans, Shamar Smith, Shimar Bain, Stephan Farquharson, Mateo Smith, Otto Laing, Adam Musgrove, Kaden Cartwright, Nathaniel Zervos, Jamal Flowers and Lavardo Deveaux in the under-18 boys age group; Camille Rutherford, Jasmine Knowles, Carnitra Mackey and Rhema Otabor in the under-20 girls; Wanya McCoy, Wendell Miller, Antoine Andrews, Alton Roker, Keyshawn Strachan, Terrance Jones, Tarajh Hudson, Lamont Moss, Brandon Hutchinson and Demetrius Rolle in the under-20 boys; Charisma Taylor, Sasha Wells, Gabrielle Gibson, Denisha Cartwright and Acacia Astwood in the under-23 girls division; and finally Shaun Miller, Kyle Alcine and Gabriel Curtis in the under-23 boys division.
Kim Hanna is the team manager and she will be assisted by Nikita Thompson. John Ingraham is the head coach of the team and he will be assisted by Corrington Maycock, Alcine Alce, Vandyke Pratt and Nekeno Demeritte. Dr. Lavardo Knowles and Jonathan Higgs will travel as the two physiotherapists. Also, a COVID-19 compliance officer will travel with the team to ensure that the COVID-19 protocols and guidelines of the host nation are being followed.
“Costa Rica is well-prepared to deliver a first-class meet and a safe meet,” said BAAA President Drumeco Archer. “This year was an exceptional year for our junior program in spite of the challenges we faced. In the absence of the CARIFTA Games, I believe that this is a wonderful replacement. We are excited to have these young people competing for Team Bahamas and we look forward to The Bahamas winning this meet.”
Meet organizers created an invitational under-20 division this year, so as to cater to the young athletes who would have missed out on the opportunity to compete at the CARIFTA Games. CARIFTA was cancelled for the second year in a row in 2021.
“What that does is fill the void from the cancellation of the CARIFTA Games,” said Archer. “That particular category would not have been disenfranchised in this instance and what we have done in The Bahamas is adopt all of the qualifying standards from the CARIFTA Games, and all who would have qualified for CARIFTA in this age group would have been named to this team. We have managed a sustainable season where there has been upward progression all the way up to the nationals and we are excited about the team going into Costa Rica.”
The NACAC Under-18, Under-20 and Under-23 Championships is a non-spectator event. Head Coach Ingraham said he likes the make-up of the team and he is expecting some fantastic performances.
“I’m very excited about this team. We have quality athletes and I know what they’re capable of doing,” he said. “We’ve always been strong in the sprints, but we also have some good throwers and good jumpers. Our strengths are going to make up for our weaknesses and we should perform well.”
Coming out of the BAAA Junior and Senior National Championships at the Thomas A. Robinson Stadium two weekends ago were a couple of outstanding performances from two junior athletes, both named to the NACAC team. Keyshawn Strachan and Wendell Miller, both still high school athletes at St. John’s College, rewrote The Bahamas’ national record books in the javelin and 400 meters (m) events, respectively.
Strachan, 18, tossed the javelin 71.62m (234’ 11”), breaking The Bahamas’ junior and senior national records. The previous junior record of 69.94m (229’ 5”) was set more than 30 years ago, by Kevin Smith in 1989; and the former senior national mark of 70.72m (232’) was done by Eleuthera native Denzel Pratt at the Big South Championships in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2017.
Miller, also 18, ran 45.81 seconds in the men’s 400m to break The Bahamas junior national record of 45.94 seconds that was done Stephen “Dirty” Newbold at the CARIFTA Games in 2013.
Junior national record holder and two-time CARIFTA Champion in the girls javelin Rhema Otabor said she is looking forward to a personal best (PB) performance in Costa Rica.
“I felt like I had a good season. There were some hiccups, but overall I was happy with the way I performed,” she said. “I think this is going to be a wonderful experience. This is the first national team for me, and a lot of us, since COVID happened so we’re looking forward to it. I’m excited and I’m expecting great things. My biggest goal is just to have a PB at this meet and continue to progress.”
Two-time CARIFTA Champion in the boys high jump Shaun Miller missed out on his final eligibility year at CARIFTA this year due to the pandemic. He said he’s looking forward to a strong performance in Costa Rica.
“It’s nice to be back on a national team after being forced to sit out because of COVID,” he said. “I’m looking forward to making things happen. There are a lot of ambitious athletes on this team and I think we will have some good performances. For me, I’m just looking to go out there and have some fun. I’m looking to get a PB. We’ve been working toward it and training has been going good. I feel like I’ll be able to do some good things.”
The team is sponsored by J.S. Johnson Co. Ltd. at the platinum level and silver sponsors Original Patties and Equity Bank and Trust Bahamas Ltd.
The post BAAA names a 40-member team for NACAC Championships appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/baaa-names-a-40-member-team-for-nacac-championships/
No comments:
Post a Comment