BAAA hosts junior nationals

BAAA hosts junior nationals
The Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) hosted the annual Junior Track and Field National Championships over the weekend at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.

Several of the country’s premier youth athletes performed well at the two-day event, which served as an official qualifying event for the upcoming International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Under-20 Championships.

The IAAF U-20 Championships, set for July 19-24, in Tampere, Finland, will feature 44 events over the course of the competition.

On the track, Adrian Curry clocked 10.56 seconds to take the u-20 boys 100, while Sasha Wells won the girls’ event in 12.13 seconds.

Lowell Bethell took the u-17 boys title in 10.80 seconds and Lenikua Black took the u-17 girls title in 12.83 seconds.

Joel Johnson won the u-20 boys 200 in 21.05 seconds, Javonya Valcourt won the u-15 girls 400 in 59.57 seconds and Travon Beckford took the u-20 boys 1500 in 4:34.82.

Oscar Smith won the boy’s u-20 110 in 13.75 seconds and Cephas Whylly won the under-17 event in 15.64 seconds. Wells scored gold in the u-20 100 hurdles in 13.94 seconds, while Lyric Brennen won the u-17 girls race in 15.72 seconds.

On the field, Dejha Moss won the u-20 girls high jump with a leap of 1.65m, Johnie Jean-Jacquis took the boys u-20 discus throw with a toss of 43.66m, Angel Skippings won gold in the u-17 girls javelin throw with a toss of 27m and Denvaughn Whyms won the u-20 boys long jump with a leap of 7.15m.

Next weekend, the BAAA will host its senior nationals at the National Stadium. The meet begins at 5:30 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.

About Randy Smith

Randy Smith is the producer of the widely-watched local television show “Beyond The Headlines” and the web content manager of Eyewitness News. He joined Eyewitness News as a sportscaster in 2018, a role he still performs, and has previously covered a slew of international sporting events, including the 2015 Pan American Games, the Nike EYBL Showcase, several IAAF World Relays, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the Commonwealth Youth Games, the Bahamas Bowl and multiple CARIFTA Swimming and Track & Field Championships. Randy has been recognized by the Bahamas Press Club with awards for “Best Sports Broadcast” as a sportscaster and “Best TV Talk Show” as a producer.