CAY BAY--The St. Maarten Amateur Athletic Association / Federation hosted the first National Carifta games Qualifier at Raoul Illidge Sports Complex Sunday.
Twenty St. Maarten contingent of 20 were joined by a large crowd, nearly 50, athletes coaches and fans from Anguilla as they competed in field events, sprints, long distance, jumping and hurdles.
The second qualifier will be in three weeks.
“We would like to see even more high school students and members of other track clubs try out for the games,” said organizer and coach les Brown. “We have been publicizing the qualifiers since November.
This year Carifta, sometimes called the Olympics of the Caribbean, will be held in the Bahamas at the end of March.
The Qualifier was grouped into Under 18 and Under 20. The younger athletes age 11 to 14 also competed but are not eligible for Carifta.
Anguilla dominated most of the events. St. Maarten’s Leshawn Brown placed first in the 60 metre hurdles with a time of 8.477. Second was Tiarra Niles, AXA, 9.428.
In the 11 to 12 boys 80 m Clion Bryan of Anguilla won with a time of 13.216.
Simon Rijo of Anguilla took top honours in the 100m boys U20 with a time of 11.65. Daqwan Fredericks also of AXA was second at 11.8 and St. Maarten’s Anish Dilon was fourth at 11.9. In the women’s group U 17 Akoyah Phillips, AXA, ran the 100 in 13.5 while Ejanee Shillingford, SXM, placed third at 14.8.
Shillingford went on to top the long jump with a distance of 5ft. 20.
Philips also won the 200 m race with a time of 26.1. Vitasha Carty, SXM, ran 29.2 for third place. Saymon Rye, AXA, won the boys 200 with a time of 22.7. Avish Dilan, SXM, was second at 23.9
In the 400m female A. Harrigan placed first at 1:02. The first St. Maarten athlete across the line was Vitaska Carty at 1.11 for a sixth place finish. In the male group Aiden Hazzard, AXA, was first at 49 seconds. Brown was second at 53.8
Gary Villages won the male 800 at 2.25 and was first in the 1,500m with a time of 4:40. St. Maarten’s Zayro Melfor was third in both races with times of 2.45 and 5:17.
Brown won shot put with a distance of 12.76. Second was Ja pheth Oltin at 10.19
To register for the next qualifier, contact Coach Les Brown at 587-9089 or
527-9089.
Photo by Atu.
