Taylor Hill joins BVI Track and Field record setters

By BVIAA

Taylor Hill, right, while competing at the Carifta Games. Hill moved to #6 on the BVI’s All Time List with her 23.84 seconds 200m run and became the fastest U20 female. Photo: Provided

Taylor Hill, right, while competing at the Carifta Games. Hill moved to #6 on the BVI’s All Time List with her 23.84 seconds 200m run and became the fastest U20 female. Photo: Provided

Sprinter Taylor Hill established her first British Virgin Islands National Jr. Track and Field Record while twin sisters Trevia and Tynelle Gumbs improved their own, during respective competitions in Texas and California over the weekend.

Competing for the Houston based Elite Performance Track Club, Hill became the fastest U20 female over 200m when she claimed her first Jr. National Record. Hill took down Nelda Huggins’ year old 200m mark of 23.91 seconds when she stopped the clock at 23.84 seconds in the Texas State Bobcats Classic in San Marcos. She placed fourth in her heat and eight overall while improving her best from 24.24 at the Carifta Games earlier this month in St. Kitts. Her mark—the sixth best ever by a BVI female—came after running into a -1.2 meters per second wind in the 100m where she ran 11.88 seconds to finish third in her heat and tied for seventh overall.

At the Trinton Invitational in San Diego on Friday night, Trevia Gumbs used her first 40m throw to demolish her Hammer Throw personal best. Trevia carried her mark from 31.85m with a heave of 42.30m on her third attempt, destroying Alicia Leonard’s 18-year old mark of 35.06 for the new national standard. Twin sister Tynelle improved her best from 30.39 to 36.82 on her second try. After several fouls on Saturday, Trevia settled for a best measurement of 13.96m in the Shot Put and finished eight in the Open Division.

Tynelle then rebounded from a series of poor Discus Throw performances to add three meters on to her personal best with a throw of 44.59m, to eclipse last month’s 42.16m mark. Trevia—who had beaten Tynelle in their last two matchups—also improved her best by three meters from 40.18m to 43.64.

At the same meet, Eldred Henry best legal throw was 18.46m in the Shot Put as he finished ninth overall. After fouling his opening throws, he then settled for 48.02m mark in the Discus Throw.

Running in the Penn Relays, Jonel Lacey helped Jamaica’s Holmwood Technical High School to a fourth place finish in the 4x400m Relay. Lacey produced the fastest split of 55.01 seconds on a third leg carry, as Holmwood ran 3 minutes, 43.53 seconds.

Montverde Academy Sr. Tahj Malone was second in the Florida Class 2A Regional High Jump with a leap of 1.93m. The self coached athlete was coming off a personal best of 1.98m in winning his District Championships.

Cary High School Sr. Lakeisha “Mimi” Warner won a North Carolina SWAC Conference 300m Hurdles/400m double, with times of 45.91 seconds and 57.74.

Eldred Henry cracks exclusive 60m discus throw barrier

By: Dean Greenaway

Eldred & CoachIn demolishing his own Discus Throw National Record, Central Arizona College freshman Eldred Henry became one of a select few Caribbean athletes to crack the 200’ barrier for the first time in his career on Saturday.

Competing against the pros at the Trinton Invitational at UC San Diego on Saturday, the 6’5” specimen who tips the scales at 350 lbs, sent his implement sailing out to 61.90m (203’1”) to finish sixth overall. His mark came a day following a 5-hr drive to the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, where the threw 56.90m less than 2-hrs after he arrived.

“I was kind of shocked because I didn’t think it was that far and I didn’t feel like I gave it a lot of effort,” Henry explained. “My Coach said my timing, positioning and everything was where it was suppose to be and that’s why it felt so easy.”
Henry—who began competing a year ago and is in his first year of using the Sr. implements—attributes his progression from a 51.76m opening throw to 61.90m to film study.

“Coming from the back of the circle, I used to rush it, but after reviewing a lot of videos and watching about 1,000 times with my coach and slowing it down, I was able to see what I had been doing wrong and I was able to correct it and get that throw,” he pointed out. “Film study is very important because you can actually see what you are doing wrong. There’s a difference between when your coach is telling you, you are doing it wrong and be able to see what you are doing wrong. That has helped me to progress to where I am now because I’m seeing the mistakes I’m making.”

After his mammoth throw, Henry is currently ranked #24 on the IAAF World list—the second highest ranking BVI athlete behind sprinter Tahesia Harigan-Scott who is tied for #17 in the 100m with her 11.29 seconds mark. She’s also #52 in the 200m with her 23.33 seconds time. At Monday’s Miramar Multicultural Games, she ran a wind assisted 11.17 seconds to win the 100m as she prepares to run in China next month.

With the Commonwealth Games coming up on Glasgow, Scotland in late July, Henry’s mark is the sixth best in the Commonwealth while Harrigan-Scott’s
100m time is ninth.

Elsewhere, sprinter Karene King is coming off equaling her 100m best of 11.52 seconds at the Mt. SAC Relays and she was fourth in her 200m heat in a wind aided 23.40 seconds.

In the same competition, Long Jumper Chantel Malone was fifth with a leap of 6.16m.