Athletes qualify at high school nationals

It was just Day One of the Bahamas National High School Track and Field Championships at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium on Thursday, and already there are some new qualifiers for The Bahamas for the CARIFTA Games and some re-qualifiers.

Also, there is no overall winner this year as it has been recently in years past, but the more than 80 schools are already making their claims for the various division titles that are up for grabs.

Over in the under-17 boys 400 meters (m), Jireh Woodside, of St. Augustine’s College (SAC), added his name to the list of qualifiers. Woodside won that event in 49.26 seconds to go under the CARIFTA qualifying standard of 49.27 seconds. His teammate Shevano Nixon finished second in 49.63 seconds and Zion Bradford, representing the Sunland Baptist Stingers, came in third in 49.72 seconds.

“It feels good to qualify. I just thank God that I was able to come out here and do it. I feel accomplished. It’s a good feeling,” said Woodside afterwards.

Avonte Lotmore is a name to listen out for in the future. The sprinter from Tabernacle Baptist Academy clocked 52.07 seconds to win the under-15 boys 400m race. Justin Sheperd, of Queen’s College, was second in 52.86 seconds and St. Anne’s Tristan Lockhart finished third in 54.84 seconds.

The battle of the Zions went to Zion Sheperd, of Jack Hayward High, in the under-20 boys 400m, and what a race it was between himself and Zion Davis, of Queen’s College. They pushed each other to both go under the CARIFTA qualifying time of 47.65 seconds, even though both had previously qualified.

Sheperd won in a personal best time of 46.88 seconds, becoming the first Bahamian under-20 athlete to run sub-47 this year. Running from lane eight, Davis was second in a personal best time of 47.10 seconds. C.C. Sweeting’s Emmanuel Adams finished third in 48.19 seconds.

Already, The Bahamas has four qualifiers for the CARIFTA Games in the under-20 boys 400m.

“I feel like this is the best year that The Bahamas has ever looked in the quarter (400m). I feel like we’re going to CARIFTA and we will show up,” said Sheperd.

Davis was out quickly in the early part of the race, challenging the field to come and get him. Sheperd didn’t catch up with him until the home stretch and glided past his toughest opposition to win in the blazing personal best time.

“He was gone in the first part of the race,” said Sheperd. “My coach told me to just run my race and put it together, and I did that. Thankfully, I was able to come out on top. I would like to thank God for allowing me to finish this race healthy. God is good.”

Davis won his morning heat in a modest time of 51.07 seconds, qualifying for the final with the eighth-fastest time. Just the eight fastest times out of the seven heats got through, leaving the winner of the seventh heat Eagan Neely, of St. Augustine’s College, out of the final. He won his heat in 51.51 seconds.

“I had one of the slowest times in the heats and drew lane eight. I was a bit discouraged about that lane, but I have to thank God for allowing me to come out here and PR (run a personal best time) in the final,” said Davis. “I was able to push Zion to run a 46 and that’s good. I’m excited for the CARIFTA Trials. It’s going to be a battle in the 400.”

Running blind in lane eight, Davis knew he had to get out quickly. He said he could feel Sheperd coming on the home stretch and just tried to push through as hard as he could.

“I really couldn’t feel him, but I knew he was going to be there. I’m just grateful that I was able to come out here and compete to the best of my ability,” said Davis. “I thank God for that and I give Him all the glory and the praise.”

There were a couple of CARIFTA qualifiers in the under-20 boys high jump. The Tabernacle duo of Dwight Jones and Claudius Burrows both matched the qualifying height of 2m flat (6’ 6-3/4”), qualifying for CARIFTA for the first time this season.

Jones won the competition and Burrows was second. Donovan Samuels, of C.C. Sweeting, cleared 1.85m (6’ 0-3/4”) for third.

Ross Martin, of Temple Christian, was just off the qualifying standard of 4:06.20 in the under-20 boys 1500m. He ran 4:06.97 to win that event. Benryco Pierre, of C.C. Sweeting, was a distant second in 4:23.41, and Vincent Alerte, of Anatol Rodgers, finished third in 4:32.52.

Erin Barr, of Tabernacle Baptist Academy, previously qualified for the CARIFTA Games in the under-20 girls 1500m at the Grand Bahama Secondary Schools Athletic Association (GBSSAA) Island Sports 2025 Meet a couple weeks ago. She didn’t re-qualify on Thursday, but was significantly ahead of the competition.

Barr won that event in 5:09.31. Jayda Rahming, of St. Augustine’s College (SAC), finished second in 5:17.58. Akaree Roberts, of Queen’s College, finished third in 5:18.05.

“I felt like it was an okay race for me, but I know I could do better,” said Barr. “I’ve been working hard all year round so to finally qualify is a good feeling. It feels amazing but I definitely have more work to do — never satisfied. I’ll be ready for the CARIFTA Trials,” she added.

Back in the field events, Alexandria Komalafe, of Queen’s College, and Keyezra Thomas, of Bishop Michael Eldon, both re-qualified for the CARIFTA Games in the under-20 girls high jump. Both athletes cleared 1.68m (5’ 6”) to go over the qualifying height of 1.63m (5’ 4”). Komalafe won and Thomas finished second. Kirra Williams, of C.V. Bethel, was third with a height of 1.50m (4’ 11”).

Over in the under-20 girls triple jump, SAC’s Bayli Major re-qualified for the CARIFTA Games. She had a personal best winning leap of 12.36m (40’ 6-3/4”) to win that event. Zante Ferguson, of Queen’s College, finished second with a leap of 11.64m (38’ 2-1/4”) and Myah Knowles, of Bishop Michael Eldon, came in third with a distance of 10.98m (36’ 0-1/4”). The qualifying standard for CARIFTA is 11.94m (39’ 2-1/4”).

In the under-20 girls discus, Annae Mackey, of Queen’s College, re-qualified for the CARIFTA Games with a winning throw of 41.80m (137’ 1”). The qualifying distance for CARIFTA is 40.36m (132’ 5”). Kenya Mckenzie, of R.M. Bailey, finished a distant second with a throw of 26.02m (85’ 4”) and Kristina Butler, of C.I. Gibson, was third with a throw of 23.04m (75’ 7”).

There are now five qualifiers for The Bahamas for the CARIFTA Games in the under-17 girls 100m.

Jazae Johnson, of St. John’s College, won the under-15 girls title in 11.99 seconds after running 12.01 seconds in the heats. She broke the high school nationals record in the final and re-qualified for the CARIFTA Games both times. SAC’s Brianna Bootle qualified for the first time this season, running 12.07 seconds in the heats. The qualifying time for CARIFTA for the under-17 girls 100m is 12.08 seconds. A trio of athletes went under that time in the under-17 girls division.

Keyezra Thomas, of Bishop Michael Eldon, Deryn Rodgers, of St. Anne’s, and Brion Ward, of Queen’s College, all went under the standard of 12.08 seconds in the heats. Thomas ran 11.85 seconds in the heats and then won gold in the final in 11.88 seconds. Rodgers ran a personal best time of 11.94 seconds in the heats. Ward ran 12 seconds flat in the heats.

More results can be found on the website https://www.tekresults.net.

Day Two of the Bahamas National High School Track and Field Championships gets underway at 9:15 a.m. today at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium. The three-day meet wraps up on Saturday. The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) CARIFTA Trials are set for April 4-6 at the same venue.

Despite both athletes qualifying for CARIFTA, they still have to compete at the trials and book their spots on the team. They have to finish in the top two of their respective events to confirm their spots on the team that will be headed to Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, over the Easter holiday weekend.