The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

FOR the first time, the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association has added the under-18 division to the Under-23 division for the 10th edition of the biennial NACAC Championships this year.

Described as the best that the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations has to offer, a 19-member team is scheduled to depart on Tuesday for Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico where they will be competing July 5-7 at the Querétaro 2000 INDEREQ Stadium.

• Making up this year’s team are:

Under-18 females

Anthaya Charlton (100m/long jump); Jaida Knowles (100/200m); Megan Moss (400m); Rhema Otabar (javelin) and Jasmine Knowles (javelin)

Under-18 males

Terrance Jones (400m); Keyshawn Strachan (javelin) and Tarajh Hudson (discus)

Under-23 females

Alexis Gray (100/200m); Celine Thompson (high jump); Daejha Moss (high jump); Charisma Taylor (triple jump) and Dreshanae Rolle (400m hurdles).

Under-23 males

Holland Martin (long and triple jumps); Kyle Alcime (high jump); Jyles Etienne (high jump); Samson Colebrooke (100/200m); Tamar Greene (triple jump) and Shakeem Hall-Smith (400m hurdles).

Head coach Jason Edwards, assisted by Kennard Mackey, James Rolle (jumps), Tito Moss (sprints) and Corrington Maycock (throws), said they have a very good complement of staff to assist the athletes.

The team will be managed by Laura Charlton, assisted by Laketah Charlton. Dr Cindy Dorsett will be the medical doctor and Bernique Hanna will serve as the physiotherapist.

“This is the first time that we are having this championships (under-18), so we have to set the bar and the standard,” Edwards said. “We expect great things from this team because these are not people who are not used to travelling to international competition.

“These guys have travelled on many teams and they have done very well. Every time we set expectations, they seem to reach them. They raise their expectations and their performances as well. So we are expecting great things from this team.”

Having had the opportunity to travel with just about all of the athletes in the past, Charlton said this is definitely an awesome group, which she considers to be the best that the country has in both age groups.

“I perform to them as our junior elite athletes. They are ranked in the region, they are ranked in IAAF level,” she pointed. “We have gold medallists from CARIFTA, we also have NCAA Division One and All-Americans on this team.

“So this is a dynamic and very powerful team. We only expect the best from them. But at the end of the day, we also want a little bit of hardware, but it does not mean that is all we are looking for. We only ask them to do their best and once they do that, we’re happy, but whatever hardware comes with that, we are a little more excited about that.”

Charlton said the management team will be there to ensure that they are comfortable and their needs are met as best as they can provide.

“This is the best we have right here and we are looking for great things from them,” she stated. “There was a qualifying standard and they met those standards. That’s why they are here.”

Moss, as one of the senior members of the team, said she’s proud of every member of the team. “Everyone is completely deserving to be in the spot that they are in. I wish them all of the best and to all of the other teams, I wish you the best,” she said.

The ninth edition of the championships was held in San Salvador, El Salvador in 2017. That year, the Bahamas failed to win a medal.

However, the history books will show that Ryan Ingraham still holds the men’s high jump record with a winning performance of 2.28m, or 7-feet, 5 3/43-inches, established in the 2014 championships in Kamloops, Canada, and Osbourne Moxey set the men’s long jump mark of 8.19m (26-10 1/2) in the 2002 championships in San Antonio, Texas.

The initial championships was held in Monterrey, Mexico, in 2000.