By BVIAA

Ashley Kelly’s 53.33 and 23.87 are the second best indoor times by a BVI female athlete. Photo courtesy of Swiftsports.com

Showing her best form since her days at Illinois, sprinter Ashley Kelly, posted the second fastest 200 and 400m indoor times by a BVI female athlete, competing in the Boston Last Chance meet at Boston University on Saturday.

The Illinois graduate began her day by lowering her 400m personal best of 53.69 seconds from 2011, to 53.33 and placed third in the competition. Only Chantel Malone’s 53.23 national standard is faster. She followed up with a second place finish in the 200m chopping the 24.04 seconds she ran earlier this season down to 23.87, the No. 2 mark behind Karene King’s 23.73.

Meanwhile, veteran sprinter Tahesia Harrigan-Scott ended her European tour in Metz, France, with a third place finish in the 60m dish, covering the distance in 7.45 seconds. She ran 7.43 in the prelims.

At the Highlander Invitational in Orlando, Fla., Montverde Academy Sr. Tahj Malone equaled his High Jump personal best with a clearance of 6’4″–the same measurement as the winner–but was third overall after missing at a lower height.
At the same competition, Jude Kinkead had a personal best of 12 minutes 15.99 seconds in the 3200m.

Field event specialists competing for JC titles
Three BVI natives attending Central Arizona College tuned up for the March 5-6 National Jr. College Athletics Association Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico on home soil on Saturday.

Eldred Henry who tops the Jr. College Shot Put rankings with the only 20.00m throw in the event, warmed up for the championships with a heave of 18.14m in Coolidge, Az.

Trevia Gumbs and her twin sister Tynelle, had a 1-2 finish in the Shot Put with marks of 13.61m and 12.86m respectively. Trevia’s winner came on her final attempt. Trevia has the No. 2 Shot Put mark in the Jr. Colleges’ rankings, 3¼” behind Jamaica’s Glenveve Grange of New Mexico Jr. College, with whom she has had several Carifta Games battle in the event. Grange had a best mark of 47’9″.

Tynelle used an opening 17.76m measurement to bury the field in the Weight Throw, while Trevia was fourth with a first round effort of 15.53m–a personal best. Tynelle’s 59’6¼” mark leads the field heading into the championships.

Development Series continues
After a week off, BVI athletes will have their final tune up for the March 13-14, Premier Dental National Jr. Championships with a meet on Friday afternoon at the A. O. Shirley Recreation Grounds.

Highlighting the event will be the 400m Hurdles, where Jr. Record holder Kyron McMaster is expected to face competitors from St. Kitts and Trinidad and Tobago over the barriers. Deya Erickson will seek to defend home turf in the 100m against her St. Kitts counterparts. St. Kitts will host the 44th Carifta Games, April 3-6.

By BVIAA

Tarique “Tweety” Moses, left and Tallulah Kinkead were the winners in the 2015 opener of the Blenheim Trust 5K Series on Saturday. Photo: Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway

Tarique “Tweety” Moses and Tallulah Kinkead were the respective men’s and women’s division winners during Saturday’s kickoff off of the 2015 Blenheim Trust 5K Series.

The series, which has different tour stops around Tortola, began and ended at the A. O. Shirley Recreation Grounds in a tour of the city and dubbed the City Circuit. Soon to be 20 year old Moses overhauled the early leaders to win in 18 minutes and 47 seconds while Kinkead, 14 later this year, seized the lead from Katrina Crumpler near the end to take the women’s division in 21:23, in a race that attracted 60 participants.

“This race this morning was better than expected,” Moses stated of his debut. “When I came, I knew the competitors I had to tackle in the race and they went out fast. I stayed 10-20 meters behind them and caught them around the softball field. When we made the turn to come home, I knew I was stronger than them and they’d have to run to catch me so I left them.”

Moses who won the 800m in 2 minutes 01.64 seconds in the Feb 13 BVI Athletics Association Development Series meet, said it was like a training run, but had hoped to go under 18 minutes, said it wasn’t a bad opener and he’ll be back. “I know those guys will be looking out for me,” he noted.

Early women’s leader, Kinkead, who was passed by both Katrina Crumpler and Rosmond Johnson who placed second and third respectively, didn’t have any particular goals for the race. “I really just wanted to run,” she explained. “Rosemond was ahead of me and then I caught Katrina on a sprint at the very end.”

“It was great to see so many people for the series opener,” Race Director Kay Reddy stated. “We had 60 people hit the road today despite a little bit of early morning rain making it flat and fast. Our youngest was eight years old and our oldest was, well I’m no allowed to say, but we had a wide spread and today, the youth won out over experience.”

With the race contributing points towards the 2015 Road Racer of the Year, Reddy noted that Moses has thrown down the gauntlet. “Over the drinks, I could hear the old and the young throwing down the gauntlet at each other so I think the next race is going to be very fast, as people push to take the bullets back,” she said.

The next tour stop will be in Carrot Bay on March 28, followed by the race on Beef Island. The Dive BVI 5K Series continues on Virgin Gorda on March 7.

Final results.

Men: 1. Tarique Moses, 18 minutes and 47 seconds.  2. Guy Williamson, 19:08.  3. Julius Farley, 19:27.  4. Curwin Andrews, 19:43.  5. Zebalon McLean, 20:01.  6. Ravindra Sukha, 20:03.  7. Emrol Amsterdam, 20:18.  8. Michael Killourhy, 20:27.  9. David Kinkead, 21:34.  10. Aaron Gardner, 21:45.  11. Joash Victor, 22:15.  12. Adam Holdt, 22:21.  13. Adrian Dale, 22:46.  14. Patrick Ormond, 22:48.28.  15. Charles Kerins, 22:28.  16. Chris Conway, 23:18. 17. Anton Goldstein, 23:32.  18. Luka Chalwell, 23:43.  19. Sam Potgieter, 26:09.  20. Julien Johnson, 26:10.  21. Claudius Rhymer, 26:53.  22. Stephen Bridson, 27:14.  23. Andrew ‘Birthday Boy’ Willins, 29:08.  24. Charlie Potgieter, 29:18.  25. Marvin Flax, 30:15.  26. Stephen Beard, 30:24.  27. Howard Moore, 31:07.  28. Chris & Joey Potgieter, 33:40.  29. Rommel Sofia, 34:04.

Women: 1. Tallulah Kinkead, 21:23.  2. Katrina Crumpler, 21:24.  3. Rosmond Johnson, 22:30.  4. Melissa Brunner, 23:43.  5. Anna Kinkead, 25:17.  6. Juliane Potgieter, 26:09.  7. Lauren Julien, 26:19.  8. Natasha Ruscheinski, 26:36.  9. Ariana Forbes, 27:03. 10. Lisa Bridson, 27:13.  11. Sarah Caroll, 27:24.  12. Eva Askuly, 27:25.  13. Jenny Dobbie, 28:07.  14. Zoe Bickerton, 28:24.  15. Ixora Williams, 28:45.  16. Catherine Ouriach, 29:28.  17. Sophie Jackson, 29:33.  18. Roslyn Gilbert, 29:45.  19. Ghislaine Hoogendijk, 30:00.  20. Candy Holdt, 30:48.  21. Simone Dabreo, 30:53.  22. Clair Burke, 31:40. 23. Fayona Creque, 32:09.  24. Joanne Mijares, 32:50.  25. Simpa Ganadillo, 33:10.  26. Sandra Fichtner, 35:18.  27. Claire Santillan, 35:54.
Walkers: 1. Liz Tapley, 46:36.  2. Sophie Bennett, 46:37.

By: BVIAA

Eldred Henry, right, with his Central Arizona College Coach Tony Dougherty after shattering the school record. Photo: Provided

British Virgin Islands strongman Eldred Henry – with one mammoth heave on Saturday – demolished three records, at the Glendale Community College Invitational in Glendale, Arizona.

Henry obliterated his own BVI Shot Put mark of 18.25m (59’10½”) hitting the vaunted 20.00m (65’7½”) plateau for the first time in his career on his final attempt in a series the began with an 18.34 effort followed by long fouls.

In the process, Henry became the first Central Arizona College athlete in its history to crack the 20m barrier with the 16lbs canon ball, taking down Nigerian two times Olympian, Chima Ugwu’s 10-year old outdoor mark of 18.96m (62’ 2½”). His throw also shattered the 41-year old National Jr. College Indoor mark of 18.82m (61’ 8¾”) by Mesa College’s, Mark Semkiw, a measurement that stood since 1974.

“It was ok. But, I was expecting more,” Henry a 6’5” and 350 pounds specimen stated in an email. “All I did was do what I was doing in practice and kept in the ring without fouling.”

Henry then expended his personal best in the Weight Throw from 16.38m to 16.84.

At the same meet, teammate, Trevia Gumbs won the Shot Put with a throw of 13.74m with twin sister Tynelle following with a career best mark of 12.98m. She won the 20lb Weight Throw with a 16.90m toss.

In Europe, Tahesia Harrigan-Scott ended her second tour on Saturday at the Sainsbury Indoor Grand Prix in Manchester, England by finishing one spot out of a 60m finals berth with a time of 7.31 seconds. She was coming off running 7.29 to win her heat at the AIT Invitational in Ireland on Thursday, where the clock malfunctioned in the final after placing second.

Chantel Malone kicked off her European tour with a leap of 6.39m to place seventh at the ISTAF Berlin Germany. She finished third in her 200m heat at the Stockholm XL Galan in Sweden with a time of 24.49 seconds and then placed seventh in the Long Jump after cutting the sand at 6.19m.

On her next stop at the AIT Invitational in Ireland, she was third in the Long Jump with a 6.35m mark. She completed her tour at the Sainsbury Indoor Grand Prix with a sixth placed finish following a best effort of 6.08m

Competing in 30+ degrees at the Carl Friedland Memorial Invitational in Orlando, Fla., Montverde teammates, Tahj Malone and Jude Kinkead opened their respective season with marks of 6’0” in the High Jump and 12:23.50 in the 3200m.

Hayde climbs Youth Javelin Throw ladder
Heptathlete, Aranna Hayde continued her vast improvement over a year ago. Already with a throw of 34.05m with the senior 600g spear used in her discipline in her last outing, the soon to be 15-year old dropped down to her age specific weight, then hurled the 500g spear out to 39.59m. It is the #2 mark for U18 female athletes behind Tynelle Gumbs’ national standard of 41.46 from 2012, among highlights of Friday’s BVI Athletics Association Development Series meet.

Ronique Todman became just the third school boy to break the 50.00 seconds barrier in the 400m on home soil while still enrolled in school, when he stopped the clock for a personal best of 49.45 seconds, finishing ahead of his Fast Lane Track Club teammate, Kyron McMaster’s 49.65. McMaster, who ran 48.75 in his season opener, won the 100m in 11.03, with Todman finishing second in 11.18. Tarique “Tweety” Moses is the other schoolboy to dip under 50 at home. All have done it since the new track was laid in 2008.

Judine Lacey ran 58.84 seconds for her second U18 Girls 400m victory and was followed by Sha’Kida Lavacia who celebrated her birthday by cracking the 60 seconds barrier for the first time in 59.65 to edge Shaniyah Caul’s 59.70 effort.

Competition resumes on March 6 ahead of the Premier Dental National Jr. Championships.