Carifta games in St Kitts

[Peter R]

Is the JA squad a "full strength" squad?

Can't get a full report from the TT papers.

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Double trouble Bellille

Kwame Laurence St Kitts & Nevis

Monday, March 24th 2008

PATRIOT: Trinidad and Tobago's Gavyn Nero celebrates, following his victory in the boys' under-20 1,500 metres, on day one of the 2008 Carifta Games, at the Silver Jubilee Athletic Stadium, in St Kitts and Nevis, on Saturday. Nero returned a time of three minutes, 56.14 seconds to retain his senior boys' metric mile title. -Photo: KWAME LAURENCETrinidad and Tobago's Janeil Bellille completed an impressive girls' under-20 one-lap double at the 2008 Carifta Games, here in St Kitts and Nevis, when she got the better of Jamaica's Shana-Gaye Tracey in a tight battle in yesterday's 400m hurdles final.
Drawn in lane three, Bellille quickly made up the stagger on Tracey, in four. And by the time she entered the Silver Jubilee Athletic Stadium home straight, the Chaguanas lass had gold in her grasp. Tracey, though, challenged Bellille in the dying stages of the race, forcing the T&T athlete to battle hard for the top spot.
A lively crowd of some 4,000 witnessed the exciting duel, Bellille underlining her tremendous potential with a fine win, the 18-year-old crossing the line in 58.08 seconds. Tracey earned silver in 58.17, beating another Jamaican, Nikita Tracey (59.69), into third spot.
After the race, Bellille, who had captured the flat 400 title on Saturday, told the Express she did not expect to earn double one-lap gold at Carifta 2008.
"I was looking forward to the gold in the 400 hurdles because I see that as my pet event this year. It was shocking in the 400, but I was quite thankful for it."

Bellille, whose personal best in the 400m hurdles is 56.94 seconds, said she was disappointed with the clocking she produced in yesterday's championship race.
"I think I could have done better, but by the last hurdle I chipped too much and it slowed down my pace."
Elton Walcott led from start to finish in the boys' under-17 triple jump. In the opening round, the T&T jumper disturbed the sand at 14.60 metres to stamp his class on the competition. He was unchallenged for the top spot, bettering his nearest rival four times, the best of Walcott's efforts-14.66m-coming in the fourth round.
There were bronze medals yesterday for Hilenn James (girls' under-20 shot put), Deandra Daniel (girls' under-17 high jump), Omar Charles (boys' under-17 400m hurdles) and Jahue Gordon (boys' under-20 400m hurdles).
At press time, yesterday, T&T had claimed six gold medals, two silver and five bronze.
Late on Saturday, Michelle-Lee Ahye produced a mid-race surge to separate herself from the field in the girls' under-17 100m final. Her rivals could not respond, the 15-year-old T&T sprinter stopping the clock in 11.66 seconds to repeat her 2007 success. Alison Peter of the US Virgin Islands earned silver in 11.91, the same time recorded by Bahamian bronze medallist V'Alonnee Robinson.
Yesterday, Ahye won her 200m qualifying heat in 24.62 seconds. Towards the end of the race, though, the Tranquillity Government Secondary student hurt her right hamstring. After crossing the finish line, she collapsed to the track in pain, and is not expected to face the starter in today's championship race.
Moriba Morain clocked 10.84 seconds to seize silver for T&T in Saturday's boys' under-17 100m.
And in the boys' under-20 century, T&T's Joel Dillon bagged bronze in 10.57. As expected, Yohan Blake retained the "Fastest Boy in the Region" title, the Jamaican sprint sensation winning the event in 10.32.

SELECTED DAY 2 RESULTS

Boys' under-20 400m hurdles
1 Andre Peart (Jamaica) 51.81
2 Keiron Stewart (Jamaica) 53.05
3 Jahue Gordon (T&T) 53.18
4 Ansil Nicholson (T&T) 53.91

Girls' under-20 400m hurdles
1 Janeil Bellille (T&T) 58.08
2 Shana-Gaye Tracey (Jamaica) 58.17
3 Nikita Tracey (Jamaica) 59.69
5 Sparkle McKnight (T&T) 1:04.47

Boys' under-17 400m hurdles
1 Nejmi Burnside (Bahamas) 52.81
2 Tyrell Forde (Barbados) 55.08
3 Omar Charles (T&T) 55.29

Girls' under-17 high jump
1 Petergaye Reid (Jamaica) 1.74m
2 Akela Jones (Barbados) 1.71m
3 Deandra Daniel (T&T) 1.65m
6 Jeanelle Ovid (T&T) 1.60m

Boys' under-17 triple jump
1 Elton Walcott (T&T) 14.66m (wind: +1.3 metres per second)
2 Jonathan Reid (Jamaica) 14.17m (wind: +3.2)
3 Julian Forte (Jamaica) 13.59m (wind: +2.6)

Girls' under-20 shot put
1 Myriam Lixfe (Martinique) 14.61m
2 Gianni Robard (Martinique) 13.93m
3 Hilenn James (T&T) 13.29m
7 Akeela Bravo (T&T) 12.10m

SELECTED DAY 1 RESULTS

Boys' under-20 100m (wind: +0.1)
1 Yohan Blake (Jamaica) 10.32
2 Dexter Lee (Jamaica) 10.48
3 Joel Dillon (T&T) 10.57
4 Kendall Bacchus (T&T) 10.60

Boys' under-17 100m (wind: -1.6)
1 Geno Jones (Bahamas) 10.76
2 Moriba Morain (T&T) 10.84
3 Christopher Garia
(Netherlands Antilles) 11.00
8 Jonathan Holder (T&T) 11.27

Girls' under-17 100m (wind: +0.4)
1 Michelle-Lee Ahye (T&T) 11.66
2 Alison Peter (USVI) 11.91
3 V'Alonnee Robinson (Bahamas) 11.91
4 Kai Selvon (T&T) 11.96

[Peter R]

From the Observer (CMC report)

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K'Don Samuels leads a plethora of Jamaican wins at CARIFTA
CMC
Monday, March 24, 2008

BASSETTERE, St Kitts (CMC) - Defending champions Jamaica registered a plethora of victories during the evening session on the second day of the 37th CARIFTA Games yesterday.
K'Don Samuels set a new record in the Open Boys' Pole Vault to highlight the Jamaican effort.
He raised the bar to 4.60 metres, erasing the 21-year-old mark of 4.26 jointly held by Jamaican Mark Godfrey (1987) and Bahamian Brent Johnson (1987).
The sprint relay results were not official, but Jamaica won the Under-17 Girls' and Under-20 Boys' events, while The Bahamas copped the Boys' U17 and Girls' U20 events.
Petergaye Reid gave Jamaica their third consecutive Girls' U17 high jump title with a 1.74-metre win, defeating Barbadian Akela Jones (1.71m).
Reid tried three times at a record 1.81 metres, but failed each time to top the mark of 1.80m by Jamaican Sheree Francis.
Jamaica also took the Girls' U17 discus through Monique Henry (34.02m) over Barbadian Kyshona Knight (32.86m).
Martinique's Keisha Willix (12.91m) won the Girls' U20 triple jump over Jamaican Salcia Slack (12.81m).
Jamaican Andre Peart recorded only the sixth CARIFTA Games sub-52-second clocking ever in the Boys' Under-20 400 hurdles as he won in 51.81 seconds ahead of his teammate Keiron Stewart (53.05) and T&T's Jahue Gordon (53.18).
In the Boys' U17 400 hurdles race, Bahamian Nejmi Burnside clocked 52.81 for a massive win over Barbadian Tyrell Forde (55.08), with T&T's Omar Charles (55.29) third.
Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago shared the Girls' intermediate hurdles' titles.
Danielle Dowie won the Under-17 Girls' 300 hurdles for the Jamaicans in 42.63 seconds, topping the Barbadian pair of Kenrisha Brathwaite (43.61) and Sade Greenidge (44.61).
Trinidad and Tobago's Janeil Bellille completed a fine Under-20 Girls' double when she added the 400-hurdles crown to the 400-metre title she won Saturday evening.
Bellille repelled threats from a pair of Jamaicans to win in 58.08 seconds, chased by Shana-Gaye Tracey (58.17) and Nikita Tracey (59.69).
Neisha Morgan, of Jamaica, won the Open Girls' 3,000 metres in 10 minutes, 15.22 seconds over Guyana's Alika Morgan (10:15.28), while the U17 Boys' 3,000 went to the impressive Barbadian Matthew Wright (9:05.11) ahead of Jamaican Dwayne Hibbert (9:24.89).