The Saint Augustine’s College (SAC) Big Red Machine reeled of its third straight Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) track and field win earlier today at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.
Both SAC and Queens College traded the lead throughout most of the final day; however, SAC won three out of the final four relays to pull away late and seal the win. Only the Comets’ senior boys 4×400 team was able to come away with gold.
SAC finished the meet with 1,400.50 points, followed by QC with 1375 points. St. John’s came in third overall with 421.50 points, St. Anne’s finished fourth with 416.50 points and Temple Christian rounded out the top five with 311 points. Nassau Christian Academy was sixth with 306 points; Kingsway Academy was seventh with 193, followed by Jordan Prince William with 177.50, Aquinas College with 49, Saint Andrews with 29 and Charles W. Saunders with 28.
The Big Red Machine also had an extra cheering boost from the stands with high profile alumni cheering them on. Olympic gold medallist Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Prime Minister, Dr. the Hon Huber Minnis, both showed their support for their former high school at the event. Olympian, Pauline Davis-Thompson and other Cabinet members were also in attendance at the event.
On the track, Joel Johnson, from SAC, took the senior boys’ 200m dash in 21.70 seconds, followed by his teammate Adrian Curry in 21.82 seconds and Lavardo Handfield, from QC, in 22.47 seconds. Wendira Moss, from St. John’s, won the senior girls’ 200 in 24.92 seconds. Tenae Dorsett, from SAC, was second in 25.44 seconds and her teammate Lakelle Kinteh took the bronze in 25.59 seconds.
Lynden Johnson, from SAC, captured a gold medal in the boys’ 5,000 meter run in 19:01.70, followed by Queens College teammates Mookie Rolle and Giveson Gelin in 19:38.82 and 19:44.71 respectively. Also on the track, Lowell Bethel (SAC) took the intermediate boys’ 200 in 23.28 seconds, Doniesha Anderson (SAC) won the senior girls’ 800 in 2:23.70, Mookie Rolle (QC) won gold in the senior boys’ 800 in 1:57.88 and Grace Farrington took the bantam girls’ 800 in 2:49.76.
Along with the 4×400 relays, SAC also dominated the field events. Ann-Marie Oriakhi scored a gold medal in the junior girls’ shot put with a toss of 11.30m (37’ 8”); Zachary Evans won the junior boys’ long jump with a best leap of 6.07m (19’ 11”) and Vinajah Adderley won the senior girls’ triple jump 10.99m (36’ 1”).
