Triston Gibbons’ national junior record throw in the discus highlighted Saturday’s Joseph Payne Memorial Classic, with Jonathan Jones predictably joining the early CARIFTA Games’ qualifiers with a blazing 800 metres run.
Gibbons, a strapping southpaw, heaved the discus a career-best 55.67 metres to erase Romario Antoine’s junior record of 54.13. Visiting Tobago Falcons’ competitor Clarence Hannibal was a distant second with 46.56 metres.
Jones, the reigning CARIFTA Under-20 champion, warmed up for the Easter Games in The Bahamas with a scorching 1:50.83 minutes in the Orlando Greene Men’s 800 to become the 11th qualifier.
Roneldo Rock, who was among the ten qualifiers at last week’s January Classic, won the other heat in 1:55.27 from the experienced Joshua Hunte (1:55.62).
But pride of place went to Jones’ Elite clubmate Gibbons, who also set an Under-20 Boys’ meet record distance of 17.28 metres in the shot put, surpassing the CARIFTA standard in two events once again.
Beefy Trinidadian seasoned campaigner Akeem Stewart of the Tobago Falcons won the men’s event with a Commonwealth Games qualifying 18.41 metres. He also captured the men’s discus with a heave of 59.62 metres.
Coleridge & Parry’s Shanice Hutson hit the Under-17 Girls’ discus qualifying standard of 35.00 metres once again with a personal best throw of 40.63 metres. She also won her age group event with a put of 13.23 metres.
Kyle Gale (48.85) again attained the Under-17 Boys’ 400 requirement of 48.90 while Quantum Leap’s Asia Foster won the girls’ race in a meet record 59.38, well away from the 56.50 CARIFTA mark.
Chloe Lucas (57.64) was also short of the 56 seconds needed for Under-20 girls in finishing second to Quantum Leap’s Jaria Hoyte (57.22) in the women’s 400.
Fabian Norgrove (47.73) broke his own meet record in taking the men’s 400 metres from his brother Kemar Norgrove (48.88) while competing in different heats.
Charissa Moore comfortably triumphed in the Letitia Gilkes Memorial Women’s 800 in 2:23.33 minutes from her Elite clubmate Shonita Brome, 2:27.81, but was outside the 2:15 Under-20 Girls’ qualifying stipulation.
UWI Blackbirds’ 19-year-old six-foot Kuron Griffith came close to qualifying in both the 100 and 200. The former Alleyne schoolboy won the men’s 100 in 10.63 seconds and clocked 21.49 in the 200 while finishing second to the experienced Nicholas Deshong (21.12) in the men’s event.
Quantum Leap’s Nathan Fergusson (21.53) came within range of the 21.40 benchmark in winning the Under-20 boys’ 200. He also won the 100 in 10.86 seconds.
Velocity Management’s Hannah Connell (12.10) emphatically won her Under-20 Girls’ 100 showdown with Elite’s Ashlee Lowe (12.28). They were separated by Rising Stars’ Shemia Odaine (12.26) while Quantum Leap’s Leilani Haddock won the Under-17 Girls’ 100 in 12.64 seconds.
In the night’s final track event, Jahleel Armstrong (10:13.75 minutes) won the Under-17 Boys’ 3 000 from his Elite clubmate Nathan Goddard-McCarthy (10:37.75).
Freedom Striders’ Yuriko Harewood (1.65) failed to clear the Under-20 Girls’ standard of 1.70 metres in the Desiree Crichlow Women’s High Jump.
Rising Stars’ Rowland Kirton-Browne captured the Under-17 Girls’ javelin with a throw of 36.33 but also missed the 37 metres required for CARIFTA.
Che Saunders, one of the six competing overseas athletes from Tobago Kaizen Panthers, cleared the bar at the Trinidad and Tobago’s Under-17 Boys’ high jump qualifying standard of 1.85 metres. (EZS)
