by EZRA STUART
ezrastuart@nationnews.com
BARBADOS’ top junior athletes combined speed and skill with stamina and strength while showcasing their versatility in the first North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Age Group Trials last Saturday and Sunday at the National Stadium.
Twin sisters, Tia and Tania Applewhaite, their Rising Stars club mate, Skye Spencer-Layne, Quantum Leap’s Aaron Spencer and Elite Distance Programme’s Kimani Greaves, made giant steps towards securing a place on the national team for the second NACAC Championships in El Salvador, July 26-27.
Tia topped the Under-13 Girls’ pentathlon with 2371 points during the two-day event while Tania was second on 2194 points, holding off Full Fylt Avielle Small (2177).
Tia (8.59 seconds) and Tania (8.70) swept the top two positions in the 60-metre dash. Tia also won the long jump with a leap of 4.49 metres with Small (4.36) second and Tania (4.14) third.
Small won Saturday’s high jump at a height of 1.36 metres but had to settle for third after clocking 2:55.87 minutes in the 800 metres behind Tia (2:47.24) and Tania (2:47.94).
Spencer-Layne prevailed in the Under-15 Girls’ heptathlon with 3711 points. Her biggest challenge came from Alleyne School girl, Brienna Boyce, who gained 3536 points.
On Saturday, Boyce won the 80-metre dash in 10.60 seconds from Spencer-Layne (10.67) but the positions were exchanged in the long jump as Spencer-Layne triumphed with a leap of 5.18 metres while Boyce’s best effort was 4.65 metres.
Even though the shot put wasn’t their best event, Boyce (8.58 metres) and Spencer-Layne (7.98) were second and third respectively behind Elite’s Ryah Dates (10.06).
It’s Spencer-Layne
On Sunday, Spencer-Layne took the 60-metre hurdles in 9.49 seconds from Maliah Edwards (9.63) with Boyce (10.77) third.
Boyce was a convincing winner of the 1000 in 3:30.23 minutes from Tania Applewhaite (3:47.92) with Spencer-Layne (3:50.42) third.
Massiah amassed 2805 points to hold off Elite’s Keshawn Griffith (2748) and Christ Church Foundation’s Jaydn Greene (2732).
The pint-sized Massiah secured victories in the high jump, sailing over the bar at 1.50 metres and long jump with a leap of 4.85 metres when Rising Stars’ Ashan Trotman (4.84) was a close second.
Massiah was also fifth in the gruelling 1000 metres, which was won by Elite’s Nikolai Clarke (3:22.11 minutes) from Jermico Archer (3:24.36).
Greene (3:24.68) made a late sprint to take third position.
Greaves’ commanding victory in Sunday’s threelap closing 1200 metres, enabled him to win the Under-15 Boys’ heptathlon with 4172 points from club mate, O’Neil Cumberbatch (4046).
He was didn’t fare well in the shot put, finishing eighth but Greaves but stormed back to take the long jump with a leap of 5.55 metres Quantum Leap’s Joshua Dottin (3973) was third while Foundation’s Rodnico Carrington, who was leading the event prior to the 1200, dropped to fourth on 3952 points after finishing eighth in that race.
Carrington’s best event was the 80-metre dash which he won in 10.06 seconds while he was runnerup to Rising Stars’ Zaki Clarke (10.51 metres) in the shot with a put of 10.16 metres.
TWIN TOWERS: Tia Applewhaite powering home ahead of twin sister Tania in the Under-13 Girls’ 800
metres. (Picture by Kenmore Bynoe.)
