By BVIAA
US Virgin Islands Nia Jack, left and the BVI’s L’T’Sha Fahie will see 100m action in the IAAF World Youth Championships on Thursday. They have bests of 11.86 and 11.85 seconds respectively. Photo: Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway
Two groups of U.S. and British Virgin Islands Under 18 athletes are slated to compete in Cali, Colombia and Port of Spain Trinidad, this week.
Settling into Colombia today after arriving last night, the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Nia Jack and Rodney Griffin along with the BVI’s L’T’Sha Fahie, all of whom competed in the Carifta Games in St. Kitts earlier this year, will begin competing in the IAAF World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia, in the U18 global championships that runs from Wednesday through Sunday.
Both Jack and Griffin are coming off running winning medals in the Pan American Youth Championships last month, which were also held in Cali, as a final test run for the World Youth Championships, which targets 16-17 aged athletes.
Griffin, who will be the first to see action in the 400m prelims on Wednesday, enters the competition with a 49.13 seconds career best. Jack, coming off a personal best of 11.86 seconds to win the Pan Am Youth Championship gold medal, will run in the 100m preliminaries on Thursday.
Fahie, who was fifth in the Carifta Games 100m, established a personal best of 11.85 seconds and along with Jack are the fastest U18 Girls this season in the greater Virgin Islands. Fahie ran a 200m lifetime best of 24.80 seconds and will also see action on Friday in the prelims.
CAC Age Group Championships
Later in the week, USVI and BVI athletes will depart on Friday for Trinidad to compete in the CAC Age Group Championships on Saturday and Sunday. The BVI hosted the 2011 edition.
The multi-event discipline caters to 11-12 and 13-14 athletes who will compete in five and seven events respectively, with points awarded for each performance towards a cumulative score.
The championships cater to eight athletes, two male and two females in each of the age groups. During the championships, athletes compete for individual awards as well as male and female age division and overall team awards.
The 11-12 Boys and Girls will contest the 60m dash, Long Jump, High Jump, Baseball Throw and 800m for girls and the boys will run 1000m. The 13-14 division athletes will run the 80m dash, 60m Hurdles, Long Jump, High Jump, Baseball Throw, Shot Put and the 1000m for girls while the boys will tackle the 1200m.
The USVI athletes are: 11-12 Girls: T’Yannah Lake and T’Anna Lake: 11-12 Boy: Makari Looby: 13-14 Girls: Mikeala Smith and Jusenia Tuitt. 13-14 Boy: Valence Modeste. Officials: Keith Smith, Kim Stanley, Chearoll and Yukia James.
Six athletes will represent the BVI in the competition. 11-12 Girls: Alyah Smith and Alisha Hayde. Boys: Malachi Smith and Sha’el Lavacia. 13-14 Girls: Xiorara Malone and Tashara Edwards. Officials: Ralston Henry, Burt Dorsett and Ericca Frederick.
Harrigan-Scott World Championships bound
Veteran sprinter Tahesia Harrigan-Scott booked her fifth straight ticket to the IAAF World Championships on Saturday, after winning the USA Track and Field Club Championships in Icahn, NY. Harrigan-Scott won the 100m in 11.14 seconds, just .01 off her career best and will compete in Beijing, China, Aug 22-30. She also won her semi in 11.45. Her next competition will be in the Pan Am Games in Toronto. Ashley Kelly finished fourth in the 200m in 23.86 seconds after running 11.72 in the 100m finals. She ran 11.83 in the heats.
