Carifta triple medalist Akanni Hislop of Zenith successfully defended his Boys Under-18 100m crown and secured a World Youth Games qualifying standard when he eased to victory in 10.48 seconds on the opening day yesterday of two-day NGC TTNAAA National Junior Championships.With hundreds of talents at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Hislop, was one hundredth of a second off the time which saw him claim silver in the Boys U-18 100m final at the Carfita Games in April.
He dominated the track, leaving Jalen Purcell of Simplex for silver in 10.79 and Tyrell Edwards of Toco Titans (10.84) for third.Along with Hislop, Jonathan Farinha and Tyriq Horsford were some of the other athletes - who represented T&T with the distinction at the Carifta Games - to defend their respective titles.
Farinha defended his Boys U-20 100m crown, while Horsford, who broke the Carifta record again won the and Boys U-16 javelin,The results for Fatinha and Hislop also put them in strong contention for a multi-gold medal finish to the competition, which ends today.
While qualifying standards for the National World Youth Games and the Pan American Games were at a premium, the three athletes and others maintained their strong form en route to selection for the events. The first day of action saw finals in all six divisions of the 100m and 400m events, from the Boys and Girls Under-16 divisions, to the U-18 and U-20 divisions.
Horsford perhaps won by the biggest margin on the day with his gold medal winning throw of 70.43m, which turned out to be a whopping 25.08m difference between himself and the next best competitor, Kareem Peters, also from Zenith, who landed his best effort at 45.35m. Horsford broke the Carifta record in St Kitts in April with a 70.73m effort with the 700g spear.
Yesterday, with the lighter 600g spear, Horford's shortest throw was 62.98m. In the Boys U-18 javelin, which used the heavier spear, Zenith also provided the top two throwers in Vandell Joseph and Odell Joefield, whose best efforts reached 58.86m and 50.09m, respectively. The standard for the World Junior Games is 58.86m.
In the 100m dash events, which brought the day to a close, Abilene's Farinha eased to victory in the Boys U-20 division after clocking 10.42 seconds (-0.3), while Dovers' Joash Huggins and Francis Louis finished second and third in 10.68m and 10.73 seconds respectively. Jael Fergusson (Abilene) was the top performer among the girls (U-20), winning the event in 12.15 seconds, followed by Jada Barker (15.28) and Kadesha Prescott (12.38).
Action will continue today with a host of finals including the 200m, 800m, 3,000m, 5,000m and relay events.
Select results
U-16
Girls
100m finals (-0.9)
1 Deleth Charles, Memphis Pioneers, 12.34
2 Akilah Lewis, Concorde, 12.43
3 Ayla Stanislaus, Zenith, 12.67
400m finals
1 Patrice Richards, Neon Trackers, 57.71
2 Aaliyah Mitchell, Abilene, 58.44
3 Joanna Rogers, Cougars, 59.09
1000m
1 Shanique McKenzie, Unattached, 3:26.17
2 Silini Acosta, Unattached, 3:27.46
3 Kerneka Waldron, Toco Titans, 3:28.03
Javelin (600g)
1 Tyriq Hosford, Zenith, 70.43m
2 Kareem Peters, Zenith, 45.35m
3 Xavier Horsley, DPAC, 35.64m
Boys
400m finals
1 Che Lara, Abilene, 50.77
2 Jarion Osouna, Cougars, 51.06
3 Kaylon Thomson, PAP, 51.63
Javelin (700g)
1 Vandell Joseph, Zenith, 58.86m
2 Odell Joefield, Zenith, 50.09m
3 Jante Lewis, Mayaro, 46.43m
U-18 (Girls 100m)
1 Khalifa St Ford, Unattached, 11.87
2 Jendayi, Speed Factory, 12.12
3 Shikyla Walcott, Simplex, 12.31
400m finals
1 Renee Stoddard, Speed Factory, 56.77
2 Anika Wolfe, PAP, 57.77
3 Anya Akili, Zenith, 1:01.06
Boys
1 Akanni Hislop, Zenith, 10.48
2 Jalen Purcell, Simplex, 1079
3 Tyrell Edwards, Toco Titans, 10.84
400m finals
1 Jacob St Clair, Abilene, 48.75
2 Terry Frederick, PFNJ, 49.03
3 Onal Mitchell, PFNJ, 49.10
1500m
1 Atiba Samuel, Palo Seco, 4:19.72
2 Otis Barker, Toco Titans, 4:25, 38
3 Hakeem Morgan, Mustangs, 4:34.50
U-20 (Girls 100m)
1 Jael Fergusson, Abilene, 12.15
2 Jada Barker, Cougars, 12.28
3 Kadesha Prescott, 12.38
400m finals
1 Thyla-Marie Scott, Memphis, 56.23
2 Jeminese Parris, Memphis, 56.25
3 Kafi Ottley, Memphis, 56.91
1500m
1 Anna-Lise Nanton, Rebirth, 5:29.96
2 Nyasha Waterman, Unattached, 6:13.79
Boys
100m final (-0.3)
1 Jonathan Farinha, Abilene, 10.42
2 Joash Huggins, Dovers, 10.68
3 Francis Lewis, Toco Tafac, 10.73
400m final
1 Jacob St Clair, 48.75
2 Terry Frederick, PFNJ, 49.03
3 Onal Mitchell, PFNJ, 49.10
1500m
1 Anton Gill, Cougars, 4:11.55
2 Iley Bruce, Dovers, 4:15.70
3 Joshua James, 4:28.44
Shot Put (6kg)
1 Kenejah Williams, Flacons, 17.62m
2 Shaqui Singuineau, Abilene, 17.13m
