The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

With the athletes fuelled by the momentum coming off some big performances at the 50th Oaktree CARIFTA Games, they will now look to make their mark internationally.

St Augustine’s College, St John’s College and Queen’s College athletes will all put their talents on display at this year’s Penn Relays high school invitational this weekend in Philadelphia.

The teams left yesterday and will be competing April 27-29. The Big Red Machine athletes will compete in six events, Comets in five events and SJC in three events. SAC head coach Jason Edwards talked about his expectations for this year’s Penn Relays.

“My expectation is the same as it is every year to go out and compete well and to make sure our kids get the exposure and opportunity they need most times we go there a lot of kids end up with division one scholarships,” Edwards said.

Some Big Red Machine athletes have been competing hard since the BAISS championships in March straight throughout the 50th CARIFTA games and will now lay it all on the line at the Penn Relays.

“After the performances at CARIFTA I am somewhat even keeled. Sometimes after two or three major championships it is rough to get the kids locked in but we try to make it seem like a fun event and sometimes when kids relax and feel good about themselves they end up running well,” he added.

The team has been working on baton exchanges for this year’s high school invitational placing emphasis not only on speed but chemistry, timing, and extending the exchange zone to ensure that everyone is at maximum speed when the baton is passed.

The Comets’ track and field athletes have also been on their A-game this track season. With the team fielding CARIFTA double gold-medalist Jamiah Nabbie and Team Bahamas’ first gold medalist at the games Kaden Cartwright expectations are high for the school at this year’s invitational.

Everette Fraser, head coach of the Comets, said his expectations are high as he is expecting some big performances in the field events from Kaden Cartwright in the Javelin throw championships and from Annae Mackey in the girls shot put.

Despite the busy track season, Fraser added that the physical preparation of the athletes was the easy part of preparing for the high school invitational as the team had to sort out paperwork, and logistics for the athletes ahead of their travels to Philadelphia.

This upcoming weekend Bahamians can look forward to seeing QC’s athletes on display from 10am this morning. The first event will showcase CARIFTA gold medalist Kaden Cartwright in the Javelin throw championships. On Thursday, the high school boys 4x100m relay team of Alexander Dean, Matthew Chandler, Tairjiv Armbrister, and Zion Miller will compete in the heats at 12.04pm. On Friday, Lanaisha Lubin will compete in the girls triple jump championships and Annae Mackey will compete in the shot put championships at 9.30am. The 4x100m girls relay team will feature Lanaisha Lubin, Nia Richards, Jamiah Nabbie, and K’Leigh Davis.

The 18-member SAC team will be competing starting today at 12.04pm in the boys’ 4x100m heats. The relay team will include Khalon Christie, Andrew Brown, Trent Ford, and Johnathan Fowler. The 4x400m boys will be in action at 3.15pm later in the evening. This team will feature Tumani Skinner, Clinton Laguerre, Andrew Brown, and Johnathan Fowler. The girls 4x100m heats relay team will be on display Friday at 11.15am. Amari Pratt, Nya Wright, Darvinique Dean, and Shayann Demeritte will look to leave it all on the track for this event. On Saturday, the girls’ 4x400m relay team of Bayli Major, Ezthia Maycock, Darvinique Dean, and Nya Wright will battle on the track at 11.14am. In the field, CARIFTA record-setter and gold medalist Kamera Strachan will look for a win in the javelin throw championships on Friday at 10am. Additionally, Bayli Major and Apryl Adderley will compete on Friday morning at 9.30am in the triple jump championships.

The SJC 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams will compete today at 12.04pm and 3.06pm. The 4x100m relay team will include Tayshaun Robinson, Earle Johnson, Maxwell McNeil, and Ishmael Rolle. For the latter, the team will be Maxwell McNeil, Zion Davis, Jayden Cooper, and William Minors. The school’s final event at the high school invitational will be the girl’s 4x400m relay. The team will display Kennedi Knowles, Ta’mia Taylor, Payton Knowles, and Shania Major.

Persons can tune in to watch the athletes via the Flo Track 2023 Penn Relays live stream.