By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
WHILE there were no additional CARIFTA qualifiers, Kyle Alcime improved on his performance in the under-20 boys’ high jump, becoming the latest Bahamian to soar over the 7-foot barrier, in the Roadrunners’ 11th annual Dianne Lynn Thompson Classic.
Alcime, who did the qualifying standard last week in the T-Bird Flyers Classic, cleared 2.15 metres or 7-feet ½-inch, to take the divisional title in the combined men’s field that included Olympians Jamal Wilson and Maicel Uibo of Estonia.
Wilson, competing unattached, won the open men’s division with 2.23m (7-3 ¾), while Uibo, representing the Bahamas Speed Dynamics, was second with 2.05m (6-8 ¾).
Alcime, home on a break from Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Florida, had matched the qualifying height of 2.095m (6-8 ¾) for the games, scheduled for Curacao over the Easter holiday weekend. On Saturday, he went even higher, joining an elite group of Bahamians to attain the 2.15m (7-0).
“I feel like I’m with the big boys now,” said Alcime, who got the crowd in the stadium to clap for him as he attempted each jump. “It was a little boost for me too competing with two Olympians.
“That inspired me a lot. Jamal kept telling me that I could do it. I was scared when he told me to try the 2.15. I was ‘no, I ain’t reach there yet.’ So I was very happy with the attempted it and cleared it.”
Wilson, a member of last year’s Olympic Games team that competed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, said it was all about having fun in practice.
“I have a lot of things to work on because this is my first time jumping for the season, so it will get better. I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
Wilson, however, said he was very impressed with Alcime’s performance and even though he was a little timid to try to 2.15m, he got it.
Uibo, here to continue his training as he prepare for his marriage to Bahamian Olympic 400m gold medalist Shaunae Miller, said it was good to get the season opener as he competed in both the shot put and high jump as a part of his regiment for the decathlon.
“It was a good quality training,” Uibo said. “I got four quality throws in with the short put and the high jump, I did the shot approach, so everything went very good for me,” he said. “The young guy did good, getting his PR and Jamal also did good, so it was good to be here.”
At the beginning of March, Uibo will be heading to Europe for their indoor season, so he will continue to prepare for the competition ahead of him.
In her second meet for the year, V’Alonee Robinson contested the women’s open 100m for the first time, winning in 12.49 as she picked up her second triumph in the long jump with 5.86m (19-2 ¾).
“It was windy out there, but I just wanted to execute my first 20m and work on some stuff from there,” said Robinson, who competed for TWD Athletics. “My goal is to make the World Championship team.
“I’m just trying to work on some technical stuff so that I can really execute my races, remain focus, get out and pound to the finish. If I can improve on my PR (11.4) I would be very satisfied.”
Daejha Moss of Leap of Faith won the under-20 girls high jump with 1.55m (5-1) and the long jump with 5.62m (18-5 ¼), but she said her goal is to eventually get the Carifta qualifying standards.
“I’m of to a slow start, but I know my finish is going to be okay,” said the 17-year-old Queen’s College 12th grader. “I just need to work on how I am on top of the bar in the high jump and not just being scared of the height, but confident in myself that I can do it.”
In one of the most exciting races on the track, Glen Knowles of Club Monica had to power back on the home stretch to pass the fading Mookie Rolle of Swift Athletics to take the boys under-20 800m in 1:59.50. Rolle, who had built a sizeable lead on the last lap, ended up second in 2:00.56.
“I went out for the first lap, but I wanted to preserve some of my energy for the last lap,” said the 17-year-old St Augustine’s College 12th grader. “The minute he sprinted away from me, I saw him looking back, so I knew that I could catch him at the end.”
Most of the athletes, attempting to qualify for Carifta and the World Championships, fell short of the standards, but most of them felt they are target to attaining their goals.
Godfrey Arthur Jr won the boys under-128 400m for the second straight meet, winning this time in 51.56. He also got second overall in the 200m in 22.39.
“I think I had a better opportunity in this one, but I wasn’t really feeling it,” said the St Anne’s standout. “The race was good, but coming of an injury, I really didn’t want to push it. But I want to make the Carifta team and win the 200 and 400 gold medals.”
Sasha Wells, competing in the girls under-20 200m, won the race in 25.87 after she got third in her 100m in 13.20 behind Star Trackers’ winner Catalyn Blayre, who is making her return this year, winning in 12.83.
“The 100m was good as I would like it to be, but we were running into a head wind, but I’m just using the 200m to get ready for the 100 and the 100m hurdles,” Wells said.
Devine Parker, the Bahamas High Performance speedster, won the under-128 girls 100m in 12.43 and she doubled up in the 200m in 25.00.
“I qualified for the 200m in the T0-Bird Flyers meet last week, so I’m just trying to get my time down in the 100 so I can qualify in that too,” Parker said. “I just have to train harder in practice and do more speed work. I know I can do it.”
And Tavonte Mott came out victorious in the under-20 boys 200m in 21.86 after finishing second in the 100m (11.16) behind winner Karon Dean (11.12).
“It was a good experience, good opener running in the headwind,” said Mott, a 18-year-old 12th grader at St Augustine’s College. “I’m really concentrating on the 110m hurdles, but if I can qualify in the 100m as well, I would be very pleased.”
For the meet, the National Sports Authority opened the infield to allow the throwers to compete.
Among some of the outstanding performances turned in were Tiffany Hanna of Triple Threat, winner of the under-20 girls shot put (11.47m or 37-7 ¾) and discus (36.11m or 118-6) and Selina Brown of the Blue Chips Athletics, winner of the open women’s shot put (9.59m or 31-5 ¾) and the discus (28.24m or 92-8).
Meet director Dexter Bodie said the meet went very well and he thanked all of the clubs, their coaches and fans as well as the NSA for ensuring that everything well went.
“We had the nets out so the athletes could use the field for the throwing events,” he said. “We had over 900 athletes registered from over 40 clubs, so it was very encouraging.”
Bodie, however, said it was unfortunate that at the end of the meet, some of the athletes sustained cramps and or hamstring pull because of the slight change in the weather. But he said it’s not something that they could have overcome.
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