The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

ON the strength of a meet record-breaking performance from Nathaniel Zervos and double gold medal feats by Camille Rutherford, Tarajh Hudson and Wanya McCoy, the Bahamas finished third at the North American, Central American and Caribbean’s Under-18 to Under-23 Championships.

The three-day meet held from Friday to Sunday in San José, Costa Rica, featuring 19 countries, but minus the United States, Canada and Mexico, saw the Bahamas secure a total of 42 medals, inclusive of 17 gold, 18 silver and seven bronze.

In similar fashion to the CARIFTA Games, which many of the athletes would have participated in had it not been cancelled because of COVID-19, Jamaica collected 39 gold, 18 silver and 10 bronze for a total of 67 medals for the victory. Host Costa Rica was second with 19 gold, 20 silver and 23 bronze for their total of 62.

The Bahamas’ 35-member team, along with producing some impressive individual performances, fared fairly well in five relay events, wrapping up a gold and four silver medal performances.

The talented under-20 boys 4 x 100m team of Antoine Andrews, Wayna McCoy, Demetrius Rolle and Terrance Jones was the most successful, winning the race in 41.68 seconds. Costa Rica was second.

The surprise came with the makeup of the under-23 mixed 4 x 400m relay team of Sasha Wells, Shaun Miller, Charisma Taylor and Kyle Alcine that emerged with the silver in 3:41.69. Jamaica claimed the gold in 3:20/71.

In the under-18 mixed 4 x 400m relay, the team of Shimar Bain, Lacarthea Cooper, Javonya Walcourt and Shamar Smith clocked 3:27.73 for the silver behind Jamaica’s winning time of 3:25.27.

The under-18 boys 4 x 100m relay team of Adam Musgrove, Shamar Smith, Shimar Bain and Mateo Smith got second in 42.10 seconds behind Jamaica, who ran 4-0.60 for a new meet record, replacing the previous mark of 41.17 set by another Jamaican team in 2019.

And Shavantae Roberts, Lacarthera Cooper. Javonya Walcourt and Paige Archer also got second in the girls under-18 4 x 100m relay in 47.27. Jamaica won in 45.49.

Individually, here’s a look at the performances from the Bahamian contingent at the NACAC Championships:

Under-23 boys division

In a spectacular showdown in the high jump saw Shaun Miller clinch the gold with 7-feet, 3-inches or 2.21 metres with Kyle Alcine the silver with 7-0 1/2 (2.15m). Byron Villalobos of Costa Rica got the bronze with 6-4 3/4 (1.95m).

National javelin record holder Keyshawn Strachan was second in his specialty with a toss of 236-7 (72.13m) on his second attempt. He also has tosses of 222-5 (67.81m) on his first, 215-5 (65.67m) on his third, passed his fourth, 223-0 (67.99m) on his fifth and 234-3 (71.41m) on his sixth.

Trinidad & Tobago’s Tyriq Hosford won the gold with 239-8 (73.06m) on his fifth attempt.

Under-23 girls division

Charisma Taylor had an all-out battle, but prevailed in the triple jump with 43-4 1/2 (13.22m). Mikeisha Welcome of St Vincent & the Grenadines was second with 43-2 1/4 (13.16m), Both ladies posted their winning marks on their first attempt.

It worked in Taylor’s favor as she struggled the rest of the way with scratches on her second and sixth attempts. She did 42-9 1/2 (13.04m) on her third, passed her fourth and 42-8 3/4 (13.02m) on her fifth. Welcome had two good jumps with 43-1 (13.13m) on her second and 42-11 3/4 (13.10m) on her last try.

Taylor and Sasha Wells, however, came through with the silver and bronze in the 100m hurdles in times of 13.88 and 13.94 as they trailed Jamaica in the 100m hurdles.

Denisha Cartwright claimed the bronze in the 100m in 11.91 with Grenada and St Kitts & Nevis getting gold and silver.

On the field, Acacia Astwood won the silver in the discus with 120-8 (36.78m) on her fifth toss. The Cayman Islands won the gold and Costa Rica came through with the bronze.

Under-20 boys division

Tarajh Hudson powered through to a pair of gold medal performances on the field to top some great performances on the track. He took the shot put with his heave of 52-2 1/4 (15.93m) on his fifth attempt and tossed the discus 172-1 (52.45m) on his fourth heave.

“It was fun to get an international; meet after a long season,” Hudson said. “I was more happy with my shot put performance because it was a bit more competitive and there were moments in the competition when I wasn’t in first place.

“The discus was good. There were some things technically that I could have done better and coach (Corrington Maycock) and I plan to correct those issues as soon as possible, But just to compete and win was a good day for me.”

Terrance Jones won the 100m in 10.47 with Grenada and Costa Rica getting the silver and bronze.

But in the 200m, Wayna McCoy pulled off the victory in 21.17 for the gold, followed by Jones in 21.18 for the silver.

McCoy also doubled up as he won the gold in the 400m in 48.34. St Vincent & the Grenadines got second and third respectively.

Antoine Andrews won the gold in the 110m hurdles in 14.27 over Alton Roker, who did 15.26 for the silver.

And Caden Cartwright got the bronze in the discus with a heave of 126-9 (38.65m) on his sixth and final attempt. Jamaica and Costa Rica got the gold and silver.

Under-20 girls division

Camille Rutherford emerged as the queen of the female sprints with her double dose of victories. After winning the gold in the 100m in 11.36, she came and picked up her second victory in the 200m in 23.42.

Trinidad & Tobago’s Leah Bertrand got the silver and Antigua & Barbuda’s Joella Lloyd got the bronze in a photo finish in the 100m in 11.70, while in the 200m, Lloyd clinched the silver in 23.55 and Aliyah Francis of Jamaica took the bronze in 24.32.

In another impressive performance, Jasmine Knowles won the gold in the 800m in 2:15.15, well ahead of Costa Rica’s Maria Chaves, who finished in 2:30.82.

Carnitre Mackey was the lone competitor in the discus, winning with 41-2 (12.56m).

And in the javelin, Rhema Otabor and Mackey got gold and silver with 180-7 (55.06m) and 132-2 (40.30m) as they were the only two competitors in the competition as well.

Under-18 boys division

The big story in this division came from the duo of Nathaniel Zervos and Kaden Cartwright that captured the gold and silver in the javelin with Zervos inking his name in the record books.

Zervos threw 222-11 (67.96m) for the gold, erasing Keyshawn Strachan’s previous meet record of 205-8 (62.70m) from 2019, while Kaden Cartwright did 189-6 (57.76m) for second. The Cayman Islands got the bronze.

Otto Laing got sandwiched in between a pair of Jamaicans for the silver in the 110m in 13.82.

Shimar Bain got silver in the 400m hurdles in 53.39, while Lavardo Deveaux was fourth in 59.11. Jamaica’s Roshawn Clarke won the gold in a meet record of 512.95/

Bain got the bronze in the 200m in 21.65 with Shamar Smith fifth in 22.06. Jamaica took gold and silver.

Shamar Smith had to settle for the bronze in the 400m in 49.83 behind a 1-2 punch from Jamaica.

Mateo Smith (10.77) and Adam Musgrove (10.97) got fourth and fifth in the 100m.

In the long jump, Mateo Smith was fourth with 23-0 (7.01m) on his second leap and Zachery Evans was fifth with 22-11 1/4 (6.99m) on his sixth and final attempt. St Vincent & the Grenadines got the gold with Jamaica securing silver and bronze.

Brandon Hutchinson got fourth with 46-11 (14.30m) on his fourth try and Stephan Farquharson was fifth with 44-10 1/4 (13.67m) in his second attempt in the triple jump. Jamaica got gold and silver and El Salvador picked up the bronze.

It was unfortunate, but Farquharson didn’t clear a mark in the high jump as Jamaica got gold and silver and Panama came out with the bronze.

Under-18 girls division

Kasha Neilly won the silver in 1:05.26 in the 400m hurdles as Alliah Baker of Jamaica established a new meet record in 1:03.36, erasing the previous time of 1:04.57 by Mexico’s Maria Jose Romero in 2019.

Lacarthea Cooper, preparing to head to Tokyo, Japan for the women’s 4 x 400m relay pool, won the bronze in the 200m in 24.09 with Paige Archer coming in fourth in 24.69. Jamaica won the gold and Guatemala came up with the silver.

The Bahamas swept the top two spots in the 400m, but it was Javonya Walcourt coming out on top with the gold in 56.15 over Cooper, who did 56.53. Jamaica got the bronze in 57.43.

Savantae Roberts (11.90) and Paige Archer (12.39) were fourth and fifth in the 100m. Jamaica got gold and silver with Guatemala picking up the bronze.

Celea Jackson got the bronze in the under-18 girls discus with her toss of 134-7 (41.03m) on her third attempt. Anna Marie Oriaki was fourth with 126-11 (38.68m) on her fourth try. Jamaica took the top two spots.

And in the shot put, Jackson was fifth with 38-11 1/2 (11.87m) and Oriaki was sixth with 38-8 1/4 (11.79m). Jamaica won the gold and silver and the British Virgin Islands got the bronze.