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Secondary Schools' Track & Field 

Carifta 2017 Day 2

​​​by Joseph Brewster (TTSSTFA); 17.4.17

High Jump
Boys under 18
Jaydon Antoine of Academic College of Excellence, yesterday's long jump bronze medallist and Shaquill Benjamin of Bishops High School Tobago, participated in the high jump. Jaydon was injured after one jump and could not continue, finishing in 15th place. Shaquill did not fear much better, finishing in 12th place with a height of 180cm.

Long jump
Girls under 18
Safiya John of Scarborough Secondary School was the lone Trinidad and Tobago athlete in the long jump. She would make a jump of 5.40m. The winner,

Chantoba Bright of Guyana, set a mark of 5.91m

Shot Putt
Boys under 18
Randolph Isaac of Tunapuna Secondary School threw the iron ball a distance of 14.74m,  earning him 11th place.

200M
The morning session was defined by the 200m qualifiers, with all Trinidad and Tobago athletes making it through to tomorrow’s finals.

Medals and more medals!!


Heptathlon and Octathlon
Tyra Gittens of Ensworth High School USA and Anya Akili of Bishops High School  Tobago, began the day sitting 1st and 3rd respectively after four events. They ended the day in the same fashion, but not without drama. Tyra who captured the gold medal, did not get any points in the javelin as all her throws were fouled and she finished in second to last position in the 800m. However, she did enough to hold on to the top spot. Akili on the other hand, went into the final event – the 800m- needing to beat her nearest rivals convincingly to move up to third spot. For 500m, Anya seemed like she had run out of “gas”, but then she made her move and the field could not respond. She sprinted home to finish second and earned her herself a bronze medal. Tyra finished with 4854 points and Anya finished with 4360 points beating the fourth-place finisher by just 15 points. In the Octathlon, Kerlon Ashby of Speyside High School had to dig deep to complete his four events for the day. But after eight events Kerlon amassed 5247 points which solidly placed him in third position.

Javelin Throw
Tyriq Horsford of Signal Hill Secondary School quietly strolled into the throwing area – which was outside of the stadium because of the artificial surface inside – as the defending Carifta Javelin Champion, with a 2016 throw of 73.00m. Throwing in position number ten, with the wind gusting and pushing javelins sideways in the air, Tyriq Horsford on his first throw broke his own record and set a new Carifta record of 76.50m. This all took place so quietly that not even the announcer inside the stadium made any mention of it at the medal ceremony. His next best throw was 75.17m, followed by 73.21m which would have broken the record as well. His closest competitor was from the Bahamas who threw 65.51m

4x100m relays
Three of Trinidad and Tobago’s relay teams qualified for the evenings finals – under 18 boys and girls, and under 20 boys. The under 20 girls did not field a team.
In the under 18 girls, Akilah Lewis and Deleth Charles of Bishops Anstey High School Port of Spain, Ayla Stanisclaus of Scarborough Secondary School and Rae-Anne Serville of St Joseph’s Covenant Port of Spain running out of lane 2, finished the race in third place in a time of 46.49s, but was elevated to second because of a zone violation by the Jamaicans. Following them, the under 18 boys Timothy Frederick of Vessigny Secondary School, Avindale Smith of Queens Royal College, Andell Colthrust of Debe Secondary School and Aron Cruickshank of Erasmus Hall, powered to third place in a time of 40.84s. Jamaica placed first, posting a new Carifta record of 39.97s; Bahamas placed second in 40.77s. In the last track of the evening, our under 20 boys 4x100m team of Onil Mitchell of Point Fortin East Secondary School, Jalen Purcell of NESC Couva, Tyrell Edwards of Toco Secondary School and Jerod Elcock of Queens Royal College, muscled their way to the line in a time of 40.24s, edged out of the pole position by the Jamaicans who finished in 40.10s.

Medal Count
Gold – 5
Silver – 2
Bronze – 5

Final thoughts
It was another good day for Team Trinidad and Tobago. One record, two gold, two silver and two bronze and yes, a national flag or two for the occasion (beg, borrowed or stolen). I don’t know, but it was necessary and it made the occasion so much more meaningful. Sir Sebastian Coe, President of the IAAF and Sir Austin Sealy of Barbados, founder of the Carifta games, were both in attendance and addressed the lively crowd. The Bahamian rhythm section kept things going as new records were set. As the sun disappeared over the horizon and the night took full effect, the prospect of another day grew stronger. Day 3 is coming, the final day of Carifta Games 2017, Curacao – how will Trinidad and Tobago end in the standings, where will we be in the medal table. 12 medals for two days, not the best, but good so far. Keep going Team T&T.


Hasta manana, bon nochi (good night)

Joseph Brewster
Reporting from Curacao
Trinidad and Tobago Secondary School Track and Field Association    

For full results, click here

CURACAO - It is Day 2 Carifta 2017; a really good day awaited Trinidad and Tobago on the track and in the field. 

Hurdles
Boys 400m under 18
In the morning session Tyrese Rawlins failed to advance in the hurdles, placing 9th overall in a time of 1:00.12

Girls 400m under 18
Cheziah Phillip of Toco and Patrice Richards faced the starter in the finals. Patrice Richards of Holy Faith Convent Couva finished 5th in 1:03.02 and Cheziah Phillip 7th in 1:08.54

Pole Vault
A field of nine athletes was registered to take part in the pole vault, among them Anderson Subero of Sangre Grande Secondary School. With a strong wind gusting from behind the athletes, Anderson struggled to clear the bar and was out without making a mark. The event was won by hometown boy Glen Kunst, who broke the record of 4.20m and set a new mark at 4.70m.