by SHERRYLYN A. TOPPIN
SOME ATHLETES shook off the cobwebs but others got horribly entangled in them on Friday, the first night of the all-important Barbados Olympians Classic at the National Stadium.
During the compulsory qualifier for the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Junior Championships, several athletes came up short of impressing the selectors for the July 2 to 4 meet in the Dominican Republic.
Once again, it was the hurdlers who seemed to be in the best shape. Shakera Hall (14:40), Greggmar Swift (13:98) and Raphael Jordan (14:18) all had “A” qualifying marks in the Under-17 and Under-20 sprint hurdles, respectively.
Tramaine Maloney (13:64) and Daley Carter (13:70) both had personal best times in the Under-17 division, but they were both “B” standards. Sadé-Mariah Greenidge narrowly missed the “B” standard with 14:65 seconds and Kenrisha Brathwaite, who missed the CARIFTA Games through injury, did not finish the race.
Jerrad Mason reached the “A” standard with 49:29 seconds in the Under-17 Boys’ 400 metres, while Nikolai Gall (49:70) was second with a “B” mark. Nicholas Deshong (48:51) and Shaquille Alleyne (48:52) both narrowly missed the “B” standard in the Under-20 quarter-mile.
In the 100 metres, Deon Hope made a case for himself with a “B” mark of 10:97 seconds in the Under-17 Boys’ race.
In the girls’ race, Darnetia Robinson of the British Virgin Islands won the final in 12:14 seconds from Foundation’s Katrina Weir (12:26), the same time as 12-year-old Tristan Evelyn, who again beat several girls older than herself.
Shekeim Greaves won the men’s race in 10:68 seconds, a “B” qualifying standard.
In the field events, Tristan Whitehall had an “A” shot put throw of 14.75 metres and John Jones had a best throw of 60.41 metres in the javelin. National record-holder Justin Cummins would have been less than pleased with his 60.70 metre throw.
Janeil Craigg (55.65 metres) and Nicoliai Bovelle (55.30) both met the “B” standard in the Under-17 event.
However, CARIFTA record holder Akela Jones also managed only 1.65 metres in the high jump for the second time in as many attempts.
