Burning up the track

Not even a late start could stop the athletes who came out in record-breaking form for the second annual Joseph Payne Memorial Classic today at the National Stadium.
Despite getting underway well after the 9:30 a.m. start, five records were set in the events which were completed early in the programme.
On the track, CARIFTA Games 800 metres gold medallist Anthonio Mascoll opened the season with 48.81 seconds in the men’s 400 metres, erasing the old record of 49.23 set by his Pacers Track Club teammate Christopher Davis last year.
It looked easy trot for Mascoll who smoked the field in his heat, en route to a Pacers sweep. Nicholas Deshong, another member of the Pacers/Ellerslie 4×400 metres quartet, won his heat in 48.91 and Davis, who runs the second leg, was third overall in 49.92 after winning his heat.
Pacers’ Joshua Walcott made a return from injury last year to win the Under-17 boys’ race in 51.12 seconds, down from the 56.41 set by Ramarco Thompson. Jahvere Worrell (52.25) of Elite Distance and Shae Nurse (53.13) of Blitz, were also under the old record.
Althea Maximilien of Freedom Striders won the women’s race in 57.99 to erase Mara Weekes’ 58.29, followed by Cherrisse Lynch (58.66) and Cherriann Forde, also of Freedom Striders in 59.24 seconds.
Tia-Adana Belle of Elite Distance won the Under-17 girls’ event in 59.53 seconds, while Thompson copped the Under-15 boys’ race in 52.45 seconds and his Freedom Striders clubmate Saydia Weekes was first among the Under-15 girls in 62.27 seconds.
In the field, the BC Trac duo of Romario Antoine and Tristan Whitehall set new marks in the Under-17 and Under-20 boys’ discus, respectively. Antoine was in a class by himself with 40.29m, almost ten metres better than the 39.46 Whitehall set this year. Whitehall stepped up to the Under-20 division with 40.95m, replacing the 39.31 held by Shamar Ward.