BVI ends Carifta Games with two Silvers and a Bronze

April 7, 2015 by

By BVIAA

The BVI’s 4x4 team of Lakeisha "Mimi" Warner, Tarika "Tinker Bell" Moses, Taylor Hill and Jonel Lacey, showing their silver medal. Photo: Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway

The BVI’s 4×4 team of Lakeisha “Mimi” Warner, Tarika “Tinker Bell” Moses, Taylor Hill and Jonel Lacey, showing their silver medal. Photo: Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway

Anchor leg Jonel Lacey capped off her Carifta Games career in fine fashion on Monday night, to end the 44th edition of the regional premier Jr. Championships at the Kim Collins Stadium in Bird Rock, St. Kitts and Nevis, helping the BVI to snatch the U20 Girls 4x400m Relay silver medal from the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago, ending the competition with two silver and one bronze medal.

With Jamaica winning its seventh straight relay of the games, it came down to see who would grab the remaining medals from among the three teams—and who would go home without. The BVI—with its quarter that won the 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships Medley Relay together for the first time—they trailed the Bahamas as sprinter Taylor Hill ran a strong leg after getting the stick from Tarika “Tinker Bell” Moses—who wasn’t at her best—and held off the Trinidad and Tobago runner trying to pass at the exchange.

Lacey immediately put the team in third place behind the Bahamas with Trinidad and Tobago challenging. Lacey—who won individual silver in the 400m Intermediate Hurdles on Sunday night—unleashed a ferocious kick over the last 120m, surging past the Bahamas runner and kept the distance for the silver medal ahead of Trinidad and Tobago, finishing in 3:46.43—the territory’s 40 Carifta Games medal in its history.

It was the first time the BVI had fielded an U20 Girls 4x400m Relay since it began participating in the Carifta Games in 1976.

The final day began with Tynelle Gumbs in the U20 Girls Javelin Throw with a heave of 37.90m—the second best mark of her career—during the morning session, to finish sixth overall. She was seventh in the Discus Throw during the evening session with a best effort of 38.86m. Twin sister Trevia finished fifth with a personal best twirl—while cracking the 40m mark for the first time in her career—with a heave of 40.18m. She beat Tynelle for the second consecutive time, increasing her best from 38.74 in her last meet in Arizona.

The afternoon didn’t start off well for the BVI as U20 Girls 100m Hurdler, Deya Erickson, who was in medal contention and clipped the fifth hurdle, lost her balance, stumbled into the next hurdle and disappointingly, did not finish the race.

Moses, a 2013 U17 Girls 400m silver medalist, ran a strong race her first 800m at a championships level, but finished fourth in 2:14.80 in her outdoor debut in the event, after running 2:12.46 indoors.

Beyonce DeFreitas —the only 14-year old to make the U18 Girls 200m final— ran a personal best of 24.50 seconds to place fifth, with a +1.5 meters per second tailwind, running from Lane 7. She lowered her best from 24.79 in the prelims. Only eight other BVI athletes have run faster.

In the U20 Girls 200m, running from the inside lane, Nelda Huggins had a sixth place finish in a wind aided 23.92 seconds aided by a +4.3 tailwind. U.S. Virgin Islands’ Tashira McIntosh was eighth in 24.17.

Triple Jumper Akeem Bradshaw, competing in the U20 Boys division, finished eight after getting a best measurement of 14.18m.

Filed Under: Athletics Tagged With: , , ,

Personal bests for Fahie, Hill in Carifta Games 100m

April 7, 2015 by

By BVIAA

L’Tisha “Bella” Fahie, 2nd left, runs 11.85 seconds in the U18 Girls 100m semifinals a time she matched in the final for a personal best. L-R: Shaeil English, Jamaica, Fahie, Nia Jack, U.S. Virgin Islands and Jessie Zali, Martiniqu. Photo: Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway

L’Tisha “Bella” Fahie, 2nd left, runs 11.85 seconds in the U18 Girls 100m semifinals a time she matched in the final for a personal best. L-R: Shaeil English, Jamaica, Fahie, Nia Jack, U.S. Virgin Islands and Jessie Zali, Martiniqu. Photo: Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway

L’Tisha “Bella” Fahie and Taylor Hill’s personal bests 100m performances highlighted the first full day of action in the 44th Carifta Games with a historical flair in the twin island federation of St. Kitts-Nevis.

Aided by a +2.7 meters per second wind, Fahie advanced to her first Carifta Games U18 Girls final when she ran 11.85 seconds to grab one of the two automatic spots on offer in the second of three heats in the semifinal competition. Fahie then placed sixth in the 100m final matching the time in the semis—but the wind was +1.3 mps, well below the legal limit of 2.0—chopping her best from 12.01, jumping to No. 8 on the territory’s All Time List.

The U20 Girls 100m race was historic in that it contained three athletes from the U.S. and British Virgin Islands who advanced to the final. Hill ran a personal best of 11.83 into a -0.1 wind to finish fourth in the second of two semifinal heats. U.S. Virgin Islands’ Quashira McIntosh automatically advanced to the final when she finished third in 11.88 seconds while the BVI’s Nelda Huggins was fourth in 11.98 and like Hill, advanced as being the two fastest losers.

Hill—who drew Lane 2 and had Huggins on her inside in Lane I with McIntosh on the outside corridor in Lane 8—ran the fastest of the three to place fifth in 11.86. Huggins—who has seven Carifta Games medals to her credit—was a well beaten sixth placer in 12.13—and did not stand on the podium for a 100m medal the first time since 2011. She also lost to Hill for the first time since 2010, with Hill’s 11.83 moving her to No. 7 on the All Time Listing. McIntosh was 0.01 back of Huggins in seventh, stopping the clock at 12.14.

The afternoon began with Arianna Hayde and Kala Penn competing in the U18 Girls Long Jump, where Hayde finished seventh with a leap of 5.17m while Penn was 10th after cutting the sand at 5.01m. As she wasn’t among the eight Long Jump finalists Hayde went straight to the Javelin Throw and settled for a best effort of 37.80m on her opening throw and fouled the others to finish ninth.

Sunday morning’s competition will find twin sisters Trevia and Tynelle Gumbs in the U20 Girls Shot Put and the U18 Girls quartet of Beyonce DeFreitas, Zacharia Frett, Penn and Fahie contesting the 4x100m prelims.

Akeem Bradshaw will see action in the Long Jump on Sunday afternoon. Lakeisha “Mimi” Warner and Jonel Lacey will run the finals of the U18 Girls 400m Intermediate Hurdles followed by Kyron McMaster in the U20 Boys equivalent. McMaster ran 54.43 seconds to advance on Saturday morning.

Filed Under: Athletics Tagged With: , ,

VI to send squad of 13 to 2015 Carifta Games

March 31, 2015 by

By BVIAA

Home based BVI Carifta Games athletes along with officials, BVI Athletics Association Executive Committee members and BVI Olympic Committee President, Ephraim Penn. Five athletes will join those at home to make up the 13 for competition. Photo: BVIOC

Home based BVI Carifta Games athletes along with officials, BVI Athletics Association Executive Committee members and BVI Olympic Committee President, Ephraim Penn. Five athletes will join those at home to make up the 13 for competition. Photo: BVIOC

A squad of 13 — including 11 females — will participate in the 44th annual Carifta Games to be held at Silver Jubilee Stadium in the twin islands federation of St, Kitts-Nevis from April 3-6, 2015.

Considered one of the strongest teams ever assembled, the bulk of the squad— which doesn’t include any U18 Male athletes for the first time in years — is in the U20 division with 11 athletes, eight of them female. Additionally, 11 of the 13 athletes have recorded a personal best performance this season with eight of the marks being a national record.

Athletes comprising the team with their season’s bests are:

U18 Girls: L’Tisha Fahie, 100/200m  (12.01/25.19); Arianna Hayde, Long Jump, Javelin Throw (5.42m/39.59m); and Kala Penn, Long Jump, Triple Jump (5.58/11.47m).

U20 Girls: Tarikah Moses, 800m (2:12.46); Tynelle Gumbs, Javelin Throw, Discus Throw, and Shot Put (36.95/42.16/12.98}; Treivia Gumbs, Shot Put and Discus Throw (14.59/37.77m); Nelda Huggins, 100/200m (11.85/24.95 seconds); Taylor Hill, 100/200m (12.02/24.38 seconds); Jonel Lacey, 400m Hurdles (1:02:61); Deya Erickson, 100m Hurdles (14.09 seconds); Lakeisha “Mimi” Warner, 400m Hurdles (1:04.71).

U20 Boys: Akeem Bradshaw, Long Jump/Triple Jump (7.25/14.78m); Kyron McMaster, 400m Hurdles (51.83 seconds).

Four athletes who have competed at the Carifta Games before —two of them with individual medals— will be debuting in five different events. Moses, a 2013 U17 Girls 400m silver medalist who missed the event last year because of injuries, will contest the 800m. Warner —who won U17 Girls 800m bronze medals in 2012 and 2013 but missed the podium last year— will see action in the 400m Intermediate Hurdles along with Jonel Lacey, who ran the 100, 200m and 300m Hurdles before, but wasn’t on last year’s squad. It also marks the first time that the BVI will field female 400m Hurdlers.

Arianna Hayde, at 15 the team’s youngest member who established a National Jr. Record in making her Heptathlon debut last year, will compete in the Long Jump and Javelin Throw.

An U20 4×100 and 4x400m Relay squad has also been entered for the first time since the territory began participating in the event in 1976. Last year’s squad earned four bronze medals.

BVI Athletics Association General Secretary Delva Thomas will manage the team, which will be coached by Erwin “Reds” Telemaque, Winston Potter, Karene King and Bianca Dougan. Marie Lumley and Christine Jackson will provide medical services.

Filed Under: Athletics, BVI Olympic Committee Tagged With: , ,