It was a holiday weekend this past weekend but that did not stop the kiddies from coming out and participating in the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) Age Group Trials and Kids Athletics Championships at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium.
Speed Begins sprint sensation Keyezra Thomas out of Grand Bahama won the under-15 girls 100 meters (m) and 200m races. Thomas, who took the Bahamas National High School Track and Field Championships by storm in March, powered her way to cross the finish line first in the 100m dash with a time of 12.19 seconds. Team Velocity’s Sarsha Wright was second after clocking 12.86 seconds. Fast Forward Athletics’ Zara Fraser was close behind her with a time of 12.89 seconds.
Thomas ran a strong 200m race, posting a blistering time of 24.25 seconds to win that race. She finished ahead of Fraser who ran a time of 26.72 seconds. Zara Fraser’s club teammate Savannah Fraser was third when she stopped the clock at 26.85 seconds.
Hurray Murray’s Breyteisha Kemp doubled in the under-15 girls 800m and 1500m races. Kemp won the 800m race with a time of 2:35.92. She led a trio of Hurray Murray athletes in the podium finish. The others were Ramonique McLennon who was second and Breynice Kemp who placed third. McLennon posted a time of 2:37.00 and Breynice Kemp ran the two-lapper in 2:41.71.
Breyteisha Kemp ran a very focused race and created a huge gap between her and the second-place finisher in the 1500m. She clocked 5:48.14. Breynice Kemp was second in 6:02.84. Team Velocity’s Eden Johnson ran 6:41.33 to place third.
Fast Forward’s Rohman Rolle doubled in the 100m and 200m races in the under-15 boys division. Rolle clocked 11.78 seconds to win the 100m dash. He held off Team Velocity’s Kamron Henfield who ran 11.95 seconds. Bahamas Speed Dynamics’ Denim Stuart finished third with a time of 12.02 seconds.
Rolle came back and took the 200m dash in a time of 23.98 seconds. He was the only competitor to run under 24 seconds in that race. Swift Athletics’ Adam Knowles powered his way to second place when he ended with the clock at 24.26 seconds. Red-Line Athletics’ Aalijah Taylor recorded a time of 24.60 seconds to finish third.
Breyteisha Kemp’s club teammate Rion Larrimore also doubled in the 800m and 1500m races. Larrimore posted a time of 2:13.55 to hold off Core Athletics’ Kymani Bowe in the under-15 boys division. Bowe was right on Kemp’s heel as he finished in 2:13.60. Team Velocity’s Cordell Munroe was third after finishing the race in 2:27.49.
Larrimore and his teammate Joel McPhee were first and second respectively in the 1500m distance race. Larrimore powered his way across the finish line in a time of 5:03.23 to win that race. McPhee ran his way to second place in 5:07.91. Munroe ran 5:31.73 for third.
In the under-13 boys division, there were two competitors who won both of their races. They were Swift Athletics Justin Shepherd and Hurry Murray’s Ramonick McLennon. Shepherd won the 100m and 200m while McLennon won the 800m and 1500m races.
Shepherd was the only runner to run sub-13 seconds in the 100m dash when he clocked 12.90 seconds. Fast Forward’s duo of Demih-Devaj Cash and Ahkeel Williams were second and third respectively. Cash clocked 13.03 seconds and Williams ran a time of 13.47 seconds.
The Swift Athletics athlete ran a time of 26.41 seconds to cross the finish line first in the 200m. Fast Track Athletics Emmile Higgins out of Freeport, Grand Bahama, ran 26.51 seconds to place second. Unique Athletics’ Ayden Russell posted a time of 26.72 seconds to finish third.
Shepherd also won the ball throw event as he threw a distance of 44.35m (145’ 6”).
McLennon’s time of 2:33.74 was far ahead of his closest competitor, Red-Line’s Patreco Sherman, in the 800m. The latter was second in a time of 2:46.74. It was enough to hold off Ayden Rolle who was third in a time of 2:46.82.
The Hurry Murray athlete’s time in the 1500m run was 5:25.12 to win the race. Rolle was second with a time of 5:31.55. Sherman was third this time after running 5:35.46.
Unique Athletics’ Jayden Jones won the 100m and 200m races and the long jump in the under-11 boys division. In the 100m, he ran a winning time of 14.19 seconds. He came back and ran 29.89 seconds to win the 200m. He leapt 3.89m (12’ 9-1/4”) to win the long jump event.
Swift Athletics’ Daythan Ingraham won the under-9 boys 80m and 200m races. He ran 12.16 seconds in the 80m dash and then he recorded a time of 31.76 seconds in the 200m race.
Beginners Track Club’s under-9 girls athlete Laveah Johnson ran away with the 80m and 200m titles. She won the 80m with a time of 13.11 seconds then won the 200m in 35.42 seconds.
In the under-7 girls division, Boost Athletics’ Summer Strachan ran away with the 50m and 150m titles. She won the 50m dash in 9.52 seconds and the 150m dash in 29.09 seconds.
In the under-15 boys shot put, Boost Athletics’ Kendal Turner won with a throw of 9.53m (31’ 3-1/4”). Unattached athlete Khristian Wright was second in the two-man battle with a throw of 4.73m (15’ 6-1/4”).
Red-Line’s Anniesha Rahming threw 6m (19’ 8-1/4”) to win the under-15 girls shot put. The Roadrunners Track Club’s Johniya George recorded a throw of 3.57m (11’ 8-1/2”) to finish second.
Next up on the local calendar for track and field is the BAAA National Junior and Senior Track and Field Championships set for July 5-7.
