The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH they’re not back to full capacity on campus with their every day classroom experience, the St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine used that to their advantage as they returned to their first inter-house track and field competition since the coronavirus broke in 2020.

In a full-fledged meet in all divisions, the Big Red Machine hosted a successful and competitive meet on Friday at the original Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium.

Marici Thompson, serving in her new capacity as principal, was quite pleased with what she saw and indicated that the Big Red Machine is definitely heading into the right direction as it pertains to the return of sports in schools.

“We’re very excited about having the meet. We just wanted to get the kids outdoors to have some friendly competition,” said Thompson, who replaced former principal Sonja Knowles at the beginning of the year. “It’s all about getting them active again.

“So we’re very happy that we were given the permission. We tried in January, we tried in February, but were denied. We tried one more time and so we’re just happy and relieved that we finally got permission. The kids had a wonderful time and we saw some kids who don’t normally participate, so we’re very happy that we got this meet off.”

For bragging rights, Seton clinched the overall team title with 1,109.5 points out-distancing runners-up Bernard, who accumulated 961.

Alcuin came in third with 914.5 and Leonard rounded out the competition with 873.

SAC’s athletic director Jason Edwards, a former jumper during his tenure as a student-athlete for the Big Red Machine, said the inter-house meet was needed because their athletes waited for two years to be able to get on the track and compete against their peers at school.

“Track and field is back for us. We saw some new athletes and some who have been competing in the local club meets do some phenomenal things,” he pointed out. “We had some great performances, wonderful performances.”

Olympic selectee Lacarthea Cooper posted a double sprint victory in the senior girls for Bernard, taking the 100m in 11.79 seconds, nipping Amari Pratt (11.80) and Nya Wright (11.81), both of Seton, and they finished in that same order in the 200m with Cooper (24.66), Pratt (24.88) and Wright (25.48) in the showdown.

Shimar Bain of Seton doubled up in the senior boys’ 100m (10.30) over team-mate Jaydin Plakaris (10.40) and Benjamin Sherman of Alcuin (10.44), while Bain did 21.46 in the 200m over Plakaris’ 21.64 and Bernard’s Alexis Brown in 23.08. Sherman also captured the long jump with 6.64m over Brayden Ingraham of Seton with 6.02m. Brandon Hutchinson of Leonard soared in the triple jump with 14.90m, while Jaidyn Brown of Alcuin second in 11.28m.

Seton’s Shayann Demeritte was the winner of the intermediate girls’ 100m in 11.58 over Khylee Wallace of Alcuin in 11.99. Wallace came through in the 200m in 26.31 with Mallyte Clarke of Seton second in 26.45.

Alexis Roberts of Seton was too much to handle in the junior girls’ division, doubling up in the 400m in 1:00.93 with Najihah Mortimer of Bernard trailing in 1:05.94 and Roberts also surged ahead in the 800m in 2:49.48 well ahead of Azarin Marshall of Leonard, the second place finisher in 2:51.36.

Madison Moss of Bernard sped to victory in the junior girls’ 100m in 12.54 with Zion Carey of Alcuin second in 12.66. Darvinique Dean of Alcuin powered to the win in the 200m in 26.04 with Moss second in 25.18.

Eagan Neely of Alcuin also breezed through with a double dose of victory in the junior boys’ 200m in 23.16 and the 400m in 57.01. Ken Burrows of Bernard was second in the 200m in 23.55 with Shavono Nixon third in 23.56. Quincy Rolle of Seton got second in the 400m in 58.68.

Dylan Archer (12.05) and Aiden Curry (12.58)n led a 1-2 punch for Seton in the junior boys’ 100m with Caleb Rolle (13.02) third.

And in the bantam girls’ division, Jayla Smith of Alcuin was the start with her quadruple feat in the 100m in 13.16, 200m in 27.68, 400m in 1:14.68 and long jump with 4.39m. Logan Stubbs of Seton was the runner-up in the 100m in 13.25 and the 200m in 29.51. Lailah Barr of Bernard was the runner-up in the 400m in 1:23.60 and Dayne Ingraham of Seton got second in the long jump with 2.86m.

Ingraham displayed her versatility too as she went on the track and won the 800m in 3:59.00 over her Seton teammate Kalie Moss (4:04.00) and Tylen Musgrove of Alcuin in 4:05.00.

On the field, Cailyn Johnson of Seton doubled up with a toss of 32.50m in the intermediate girls’ discus and the javelin with 17.58m, Arianna Gomez of Alcuin took the triple jump with a leap of 10.81m and Kamera Strachan of Seton won the junior girls’ javelin with 40.80m

Principal Thompson said the Big Red Machine track team would like nothing better now to go on and display their skills against their counterparts in the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS).

The alumni noted that an application has been made to the relevant authorities to stage the BAISS Championships later this month and they’re just waiting to see which schools would take up the challenge and compete.

Whoever comes, Edwards, a physical education teacher and head track and field coach, said the Big Red Machine will be ready to defend its title.

“We’re ready. We’re just waiting on some of those schools who are wavering,” he said. “We don’t know why they don’t want to show up for BAISS. Their athletes are competing in the club meets, so we hope they can put their teams together and come out and compete if we get the meet off.”