McMaster Hurdles To BVI’s First IAAF World Jr. Championships Medal

July 25, 2016 by

By BVI Athletics Association

Kyron McMaster made history when he became the territory's first IAAF World Jr. Championships medalist in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on July 23. Photo: Provided

Kyron McMaster made history when he became the territory’s first IAAF World Jr. Championships medalist in Bydgoszcz, Poland, on July 23. Photo: Provided

After 30 years of participation in the IAAF World Jr. Championships, the Virgin Islands gained its first medal since 1986  when Kyron McMaster claimed the 400m Hurdles bronze on Saturday in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

The long striding McMaster placed third with a personal best and National Record of 49.56. McMaster came behind the USA’s Taylor McLaughlin, who passed him just before the line for silver, in a personal best of 49.45 while Jamaica’s Jaheel Hyde successfully defended his title in 49.03 seconds to become the first two times winner.

“Coming through the last three hurdles, I took a look at the field to see what position I was in and my intent was to stay in medal contention by any means and I prevailed with that,” McMaster said. “I was in second until the last hurdle and couldn’t feel my legs but at the same time, I had to keep mentally focused and run through it.”

McMaster said he has been working hard since 2014 when he failed to get out of the preliminary rounds at the Youth Olympic Games.

“To come here in 2016 and make each of the rounds to the final and win a medal, is a big deal for me,” he said.

Through early May, McMaster wasn’t even thinking about World Juniors. As a student at Central Arizona and winning the Jr. Colleges Indoor 400m title in March, he turned his focus on competing in the Carifta Games but missed the meet and the outdoor season after Doctors told him not to run because of a lower back stress fracture.

“Not being able to compete outdoors, really affected me,” he said. “When I came home, my coach (Dag Samuels) began working with me. We had a meeting and he said ‘let’s do this. Let’s go World Juniors.’ And I said ‘coach, you know the situation.’ At that moment, I couldn’t run. Within a week, Coach worked on me, got me to the point where I could be able to train, then to the point where I could compete and then qualify, so he played an important role and I thank him for that.”

Samuels said it was unfortunate that McMaster was unable to train properly or compete, even at a single outdoor meet, as he was plagued with excruciating pain between January and May.

“When he returned home, immediately we went to work. The first task was getting him healthy and while doing so, have him compete to achieve the qualifying standard for the World Jr. Championships,” Samuels explained. “With that being accomplished it became a matter of TLC to his injury but at the same time enforcing the daily work and that was a crafty task. We knew that he was capable of running 49 but we had to be patient and wait. After the first round, we knew two things: he would medal and secondly he would run 49 and he accomplished both. Kyron is a talented but hard worker, a coach’s dream. His goals are very high and he pursues his endeavor daily and with zeal.”

McMaster said being out of collegiate competition affected him badly. If he had the chance, he would have come into the meet with a higher ranking. He said being released from Central Arizona-before being able to even compete outdoors-put him into a different zone where he had to strive and become more focused.

“People would say getting released from Central Arizona would have a negative impact, but getting released was probably the best thing because it showed me how to work, achieve my goal and don’t take anything for granted,” he said, noting that recruiters have been after him after easily winning his preliminary heat in 51.77 seconds followed by a 50.49 semifinal. “Getting the bronze medal and running 49.56 just seals the deal that a lot of people are after me. Off the top of my head, Florida, Georgia, UTEP, Nebraska and South Carolina have all shown interest so far.”

The BVI has now won medals in three of four IAAF World Athletics Series events. Tahesia Harrigan-Scott won 60m indoor bronze in 2008, the relay quartet of Taylor Hill, Nelda Huggins, Jonel Lacey and Tarika Moses, World Youth Championships bronze in 2013. Harrigan-Scott was also an IAAF World Outdoor Championships 100m semifinalist in 2009.

McMasters’ 49.56 seconds run breaks Antigua and Barbuda Rai Benjamin’s Leeward Islands Record of 49.82 and is .06 off Grenada’s Shane Charles’ OECS record of 49.51 from 2006.

McMaster and Grenada’s Anderson Peters are the only OECS athletes winning World Jr. Championships medals-the first pair of males in the region to ever do so at the championships-after Peters grabbed Javelin Throw bronze with a personal best and national record throw of 79.65m.

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Warner, Fahie Advance To World Jr Championships Semifinals

July 20, 2016 by
Photo: Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

Photo: Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway

By BVI Athletics Association

British Virgin Islands 400m Hurdler Lakeisha “Mimi” Warner and sprinter L’T’Sha “Bella” Fahie, advanced to today’s semifinals of their respective events in the XVI IAAF World Jr. Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland on Wednesday.

Carifta Games silver medalist Warner, ran “a safe race” over the barriers finishing in one minute 00.93 seconds to automatically advance and has drawn lane two in the second semifinal today.

“After I started, I hit the first hurdle with the wrong leg and from there, I chipped and hurdled with the wrong leg for the whole race,” Warner pointed out. “After that, I was trying to come in the top four. It wasn’t a hard race and I wasn’t really tired at the end. I just tried to make sure I positioned myself so I could advance. I was trying to fix what I messed up because I have to run even faster, if I want to make it to the finals.”

Warner said she’ll adjust her blocks setting so that she can attack the hurdle and lead with her preferred leg.

Fahie, a 2015 IAAAF World Youth Championships semifinalist, grabbed one of the six fastest losers spots to reach the 100m semis, after running 11.78 seconds just .01 off the 11.77 personal best she ran in the Invitational segment of the 2nd OECS Championships on July 2.

“Warming up, I was very confident in myself, trusted my coach and my training and pictured the race in my head,” said Fahie who will run from lane two in the third heat of the semifinals today. “I was nervous going to the call room but as I hugged my teammate Tarika (Moses) all the nerves went out the door. When I got on the line, I told myself that I’d been working long and hard to get kicked out of the first round, so go out and do your thing.”  Nelda Huggins placed fourth in her 100m heat in 11.87 seconds and the US Virgin Islands’ Nia Jack, was seventh in the same heat in 12.33.

The BVI’s Kyron McMaster will contest the 400m Hurdles today. He will run from lane six in the third of seven heats of the event.

Action began on Tuesday, when the USVI’s Mia Dorsey finished sixth in the first of five 400m heats. She had a time of 55.21 seconds. The BVI’s Tarika “Tinkerbbell” Moses, competing in heat five, placed fifth in her section in 55.04. Neither advanced to the semis.

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Warner Takes Down Archibald’s 32-year old 400m Hurdles Record

January 28, 2016 by

By Dean Greenaway/BVIAA

Corrected by Mrs. Pat Archibald

Lakeisha "Mimi" Warner clears the eight hurdle, en route to running a personal best of 1:00.00. Photo Credit: Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

Lakeisha “Mimi” Warner clears the eight hurdle, en route to running a personal best of 1:00.00. Photo Credit: Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway

Lakeisha “Mimi” Warner chopped 1.07 seconds off her personal best en route to taking down Pat Archibald’s 32-years 400m Hurdles National Record mark of 60.0 seconds hand time from 1984, among three major highlights of Friday’s BVI Athletics Association Development Series meet.

Warner, who took up hurdling just a year ago, ran 1:00.00 to slice her best from 1:01.07. In the process, she became the territory’s first athlete to qualify for the IAAF World Jr. Championships in Poland, later this summer.

“Usually, my first hurdle is my best hurdle, but this time, it was the opposite-that was one of my worst hurdles,” Warner reflected. “When I realized that my steps were off, I had to pick it up so that when I attacked the next hurdle, everything would be good. But, when I came home, I tripped. I don’t know how I tripped but I did. I was like ‘oh my God’ and I just ran to the finish line.”

Warner said the next time she hurdles her aim is to go under a minute, “if not 58, 59 for sure, that’s just for the next race.”

To obtain that goal, she said she has to work on her steps to the hurdles and ensure she eliminates the stutter stepping she does coming home. “That’s where I need more practicing because I feel the endurance there and the speed there,” she pointed out. “It’s just to perfect the race now and I’m still learning as I go along how to do it.”

Warner, who has a 2:10.92 best in the 800m, said transitioning from the half mile to the hurdles has been good, as it gives her the endurance for the 400m Hurdles which she really needs. She added that as she goes along, she realizes that the 800 puts her in a position where she need to be for the 400 Hurdles.

“I just had to learn how to gain back my speed for the 400 hurdles and I was good,” she said. Is she giving up the 800m? “No, not at all,” she stated. “I still need it for my 400m Hurdles so sooner or later, I’ll be in an 800.”

Meanwhile, Virgin Gorda’s Britney Peters of Raw Skillz Track Club moved to No. 2 on the Javelin Throw All Time List with a heave of 39.01m, an improvement on the 37.39 season opener. She also had a throw of 38.65m.

The soon to be 15-year old pair of Josh Hill and Rackeel Jack, renewed their spirited 800m rivalry that always end in a dramatic finish. Hill held off the charging Jack for another close victory, 2:02.96-2:02.98, as both chopped 10 seconds off their best. Jack is also coming off running 51.08 seconds in the 400m, the second best U16 performance all time.

600m record for Moses

At the New Balance Games in New York City, Tarika “Tinker Bell” Moses chopped Bianca Dougan’s five year-old 600m Indoor mark from 1 minute 35.08 seconds to 1:31.92. She was second in the competition.

At the same meet, Ashley Kelly won the 300m for Elite and Pro athletes in 37.91 seconds with Karene King finishing third in a personal best 38.97.

BVIAA DEVELOPMENT MEET #6, RESULTS

January 22,2016

FEMALES

400m HURDLES:

1. LAKEISHA WARNER- 60.00 DNF; ARIANNA HAYDE & JONEL LACEY

600M:

1) ALISHA HAYDE-1:47.49; 2) ZARA BROWN- 1:56.73; 3) KENYATTA GRATE (U.13)-2:16.50

800M:

1) MARIAH CHRISTIAN- 2:37.26; 2) KELSHA FORTUNE-2:45.54; 3) ASHLEY PENN-3:23.53

150M – U.9

1) TAMRI THOMAS-26.02; 2) REILLY BREWLEY- 26.43; 3) SHYRA STOUTT- 28.65; 4) TAPYNRI AUGU-29.23

150M – U.11

1) NEMJA ROBINSON- 23.44; 2) SHANNIA JOHNSON- 23.73; 3) KAYLA BRAITHWAITE-23.74; 4) D’NEAH HODGE-23.81; 5) JAH’KYLA MORTON- 24.56; 6) ZARIA JOHNNEY- 24.62; 7) ACAIDA FRETT-24.64; 8) SHANIQUE GLASGOW-25.45; 9) ASHANTE BREWLEY- 26.47; 10) SHAKIRE HENDRICKSON-26.70; 11) KENNIQUA GRATE-27.28

200M – U.13

1) ARIYAH SMITH-29.26; 2) KAELYAAH LIBURD- 29.27; 3) JATIVAH WILLIAMS-31.22; 4) ANAYA FINDLAY- 31.99; 5) REAIAH WOODLEY-32.18; 6) GOODNESS OYETUNJI- 33.30; 7) NICKELIA DRUMMOND- 33.46; 8) DIAMONAE THOMAS- 33.88; 9) DIANDRA ROBERTS- 54.21; 10) TASIA GLASGOW- 34.22

200M – U.15

1) TASHIRA EDWARDS-26.63; 2) AKRISA ERISTEE- 26.91; 3) CRYSTAL MITCHEL-30.08

200M – U.18 TO OPEN

1) L’TSHA FAHIE-25.16; 2) ZAKHARIA FRETT-25.36; 3) JONEL LACEY-25.44; 4) NAYA PENN-28,04; 5) BRITANY WILLIAMS-28.06; 6) ARIANNA HAYDE- 28.31; 7) ASHLEY PENN- 30.23; 8) SHENIQUE ERICKSON- 30.71

JAVELIN

500G:

1) ARIANNNA HAYDE – 37.65; 2) AKIRA PHILLIP- 35.11

600G:

1) BRITNEY PETERE- 39.01; 2) AKIRA PHILLIP=28.90; 3) JAVLYN FRETT- 23.77; 4) ASHLEY PENN- 19.68

HIGH JUMP

(U.15) 1) XIOMORA MALONE- 1.50; 2) TAKARA SCATLIFFE- 1.50

MALES

600M

U.13 JADEN AUGUSTINE- 2:07.70

800M U.18 TO OPEN

1) JOSHUA HILL- 2:02.96; 2) RACKEEL JACK- 2:02.98; 3) SAMUEL ROMNEY-2:16.94; 4) GEVON SMITH- 2:20.04

150M

U.9

1) TIONDRE FRETT- 23.84; 2) JAHEEM LENNARD-JOSEPH- 24.60; 3) LATRIEL WILLIAMS- 24.65; 4) AYDEN McIntosh- 26.69; 5) OTHNIEL GILLINGS- 27.13; 6) AMANI BROWN- 29.45

U.11

1) KALEEM LETTSOME- 22.54; 2) SEAN SAMUEL- 23.09; 3) ANTOINE MADURO- 23.50; 4) JOHARI LACEY-23.79; 5) SHIMEI PETERS- 24.55; 6) MIKQUAN BASSUE- 25.15; 7) MACCOY LEWIS- 25.80; 8) ANTOMO BRAMBLE- 25.88; 9) ZAVION SWEENEY- 26.46; 10) JAYQOI HOPKINS- 28.41; 11) J’KOI GRANT-30.67

200M

U.13

1) KYBAH DAWSON-28.60; 2) CARLYIEK BENJAMIN-28.86; 3) T’KHOY STEVENS- 29.46; 4) JELANI CROAL- 30.38; 5) NATHANIEL VANTERPOOL- 31.52; 6) RASHAWN JACK- 31.94; 7) JEREMIAH GEORGE- 32.20; 8) ETHAN JOHN- 33,18; 9) AJAANJ MALONE- 33.50; 10) JAMAL HUGGINS-35.23; 11) DKHOI SUSANA- 35.65; 12) JESSIMEE ESTRIDGE- 39.32; 13) KEANUS SMART- 43.17

U.15

1) MALAKI SMITH-24.40; 2) WANYAE BELLE- 28.16; 3) J’MARI DUHANEY- 29.83

U.18 TO OPEN

1) K’CEI MOSES-22.35; 2) RIKKIO BRATHWAITE- 22.68; 3) AKEEM BRADSHAW- 23.09; 4) VALIQUE GRAHAM- 23.25; 5) EBENEZAR JOSEPH- 23.28; 6) MIKKEL BASSUE-23.54; 7) JELANI NORMAN- 23.65; 8) JOHNT’A CHARLES- 24.29; 9) KHOY VANTERPOOL- 24.72; 10) VADLEY SYLVESTER- 25.65; 11) TYRIQUE BRADSHAW- 26.64

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3 bronze, 3 National Records on Carifta Games Day II

April 22, 2014 by
Arianna Hayde takes the break in the Heptathlon 800m en route to winning her heat in 2 minutes 40.39, good for 4th overall en route to establishing a National Youth/Jr. Record of 3769 points

Arianna Hayde takes the break in the Heptathlon 800m en route to winning her heat in 2 minutes 40.39, good for 4th overall en route to establishing a National Youth/Jr. Record of 3769 points

By: Dean Greenaway

Two individual bronze medals and an U18 Girls 4 x 100m Relay bronze medal brought the BVI’s 43rd Carifta Games medal haul to four after the second day of intense competition in Fort de France, Martinique on Sunday night.

Three National Youth and National Jr. Records—in the U18 Boys 400m Hurdles, U18 Girls 4x100m Relay and the Heptathlon—and an IAAF World Jr. Championships qualifier came on Sunday’s second day of the 3-day competition that wraps up today, as the territory’s athletes seek to improve on their rankings with competition in seven events.

Tynelle Huggins gave the BVI its second medal on during the morning session, when she earned an U20 Girls Discus Throw bronze with a heave of 40.45m—the second best mark of her career.

Today, she competes in the Javelin Throw, where she has mined U17 gold in 2012 and U20 silver in 2013.

On Sunday afternoon, Kyron McMaster put the disappointment of Saturday night’s sixth place finish in the 400m final behind to snatch bronze in a National Jr. Record time of 52.85 seconds in the U18 Boys 400m Intermediate Hurdles. It was only his third time running the event after he placed third in his heat in 56.08 to reach the final.

McMaster became the second IAAF World Jr. Championship qualifier in the competition joining Huggins who on Saturday night, added the 100m to her 200m qualifier from early in the season.

In the BVI’s final event of Sunday evening, the quartet of Zacharia “Zakie” Frett, Kala Penn, L’Tisha “Lea” Fahie and Huggins, won the territory’s fourth bronze when they finished third behind Jamaica and the Bahamas in the U18 Girls 4x100m Relay, with a National Jr. Record time of 46.30 seconds. The mark eclipsed the 46.62 ran at the Leeward Islands Invitational in 2013.

Penn was seventh in the Long Jump after cutting the sand at 5.60m, before taking up relay duties on the second leg.

Huggins—who became the BVI’s most prolific Carifta Games medalist with seven, breaking a tie with both Keita Cline and Chantel Malone who bagged six each—won her 200m heat in 23.6 seconds hand time on Sunday evening, to qualify for her third successive final. She’s seeking her first medal in this event.

Before taking up 4x100m Relay duties on the second leg, Kala Penn came seventh in the Long Jump after cutting the sand at 5.60m aided by a +2.6 mps breeze, while Ashley Penn was 18th after a 4.95m effort. Kala will see Triple Jump action today.

Two time bronze medalist Lakeisha “Mini” Warner qualified for tonight’s U18 Girls 800m final, after running 2 minutes 17.81 seconds to finish third in her heat.

Arianna Hayde continued the stellar performances of debutants when she finished seventh overall in the Heptathlon with a National Youth and National Jr. Record of 3,769 points, which came after winning her 800m heat in 2 minutes 40.39 seconds—good for 4th oveall. Only Kanishque “Kadi” Todman’s 4188 points from last year is better.

In the U18 Boys High Jump, Tahj Malone cleared 1.90m to place ninth overall

Tarique “Tweety” Moses had a non qualifying time of 2:04.23 in the U20 Boys 800m.

 

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National Record, World Jr. Championships qualifier highlights BVIAA meet

February 3, 2014 by

By: Dean Greenaway

TrevNelA National Record in the Shot Put and an IAAF World Jr. Championships 200m qualifier for two 2013 Carifta Games silver medalists, highlighted the 5th BVI Athletics Association Development Series meet on Saturday at the A. O. Shirley Recreation Grounds.

Two weeks after claiming the National Shot Put Record, Top Notch Track Club’s Trevia Gumbs cracked the 13m barrier in her pet event for the first time in her career, when she heaved the 4K ball 13.03m (42’9”). The mark eclipsed the 12.90 she threw on January 18. [Read more…]

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