Ryan turns it on

FOR A mere $10 or $15, the spectators who bothered to show up at the National Stadium last night got a world-class display of hurdling by world champion Ryan Brathwaite.Competing at home in the City of Bridgetown National Track and Field Championships for the first time since his victory in Berlin, Germany, last August, Brathwaite blazed to the finish in 13.39 seconds as promised, just outside of the record 13.37 he ran last June.For the first two hurdles, he was neck and neck with Rising Stars teammate Ronnie Griffith, but hit the fuel injectors and smoothly, almost effortlessly, left the others in his wake. Griffith was second overall in 14.51 and Foundation’s Jesse King third in 14.98.Personal bestPacers’ Shane Brathwaite, who had been disqualified in the heats, and was running “exhibition”, clocked 13.90 seconds.Quantum leap’s Greggmar Swift won the Under-17 Boys’ event in a personal best 13.64 seconds – shattering his own record of 14 seconds – followed by the Rising Stars’ duo of Raphael Jordan and Tyrell Forde in 14.46 and 15.86, respectively.Swift, like Kierre Beckles before him, was still pressing the brakes when he tripped and fell. He got up and walked off on his own steam, but Beckles left the track on a stretcher.She won the women’s event in 13.76, followed by Rising Stars’ teammate Kenrisha Brathwaite (14.34) and Sadé-Mariah Greenidge (14.47) of Springer Memorial.Shakera Hall of Elite Distance won the Under-17 Girls’ race in 14.52 seconds, ahead of Quantum Leap’s Jessica Theobalds in 15.13.Christian Rock won the men’s 800m in 4:18.07, pulling away from Dominica’s Mac Nerquim Saureas (4:18.61), while Freedom Striders’ Sabrina Welch took the women’s event in 5:12.61For the second year, the little ones were also included in the meet.In the Under-11 Girls’ 100 metres, Akayla Morris of BC Trac raced to a new meet record of 14.30 seconds, down from the 14.98 she set last year; followed by Toriann Alleyne (14.56) of Rising Stars and CUT’s Shontae Cole (14.81).Members of the CUT squad swept the boys’ race, with Jamahl Burke (13.46), Matthew Clarke (13.59), and Shaquille Ifill (13.75), all shattering the 14.54 record. Eight of the finalists were within record time.CUT’s Jalisa Burrowes won the Under-15 Girls’ race in 13.05 seconds and teammate Oyinpreyre Ekiyor took the boys’ event in 11.85 seconds from Dylan Caddle (11.88) and Tré Adamson (11.91).Earlier, Springer’s Tanice Watson celebrated her call to the Central American and Caribbean Juniors team with a personal best 11.46 metres in the women’s triple jump. Ashley Branch of Quantum Leap also had the same distance, with Stacy Maughan of Foundation third with 10.49m.Dominica’s Melissa Alfred won the women’s shot put with 11.69m, but coach Wendy Barrow-Smith was the national champion with 9.25m.Tristan Whitehall of BC Trac was the victor in the Under-17 Boys’ discus with 40.58m, followed by clubmate Romario Antoine (33.20). Dominica’s Dillon Simon won the Under-17 event with 49.50m, followed by BC Trac’s Troy Waltress (34.32).André Jones won the men’s event with 42.39 metres, followed by BC Trac’s Kemar Holder-Edghill (41.01) and Foundation’s Akeem Blenman (38.41).Springer’s Akela Jones jumped 1.85 metres in the Under-17 Girls’ high jump to shatter Paulette Reid’s 1994 record of 1.77m, while former CARIFTA Games gold medalist Kyann Maynard made a return to competition with 43.05 metres.