Mingoes win three events at season opening track meet

Mingoes win three events at season opening track meet
UB Mingoes middle-distance runner Tyler Gardiner (center) competes in the T-Bird Flyers Track Meet on Saturday, January 9, 2021 at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium. (UB ATHLETICS)

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The University of The Bahamas (UB) Athletics team picked up three wins to open the season at the T-Bird Flyers Track Meet over the weekend at The Thomas A Robinson National Stadium.

UB Mingoes sprinter Donya Roberts competes on Saturday. (UB ATHLETICS)

Donya Roberts won the open men’s 400m, Romica Josey won the open women’s 400m and Gabrielle Shannon took the top spot in the open women’s 400m hurdles.

Head Coach Ednal Rolle said: “We had some good performances to start the season. We can see the off-season work paying off and know where we can improve as the season progresses.”

Roberts won the open men’s 400m in a time 50.75 and bested the field by almost a second and a half. Joel Forbes of Quick Step Athletics placed second in 52.05 seconds.

Roberts said: “It was pretty cold so I’m glad that I got the win with no injuries. My plan was to get out to the first hundred as fast as I could and try to relax on the back stretch and then hammer it on the final stretch. It was pretty good for a season opener.”

Josey won the open women’s 400m with a time of 1:09.82.

“I felt like I could have done better,” she said. “Being the first meet of the season, I take it for what it is and will build off of it and learn from the mistakes I made and work on not repeating them.”

Shannon won the open women’s 400m hurdles in a time of 1:11.55.

“I’m getting back into hurdling so I didn’t expect greatness,” she said. “I was really anxious to experience it all again and now I know what areas I need to focus on in practice.”

UB Mingoes jumper Keianno Rolle competes on Saturday. (UB ATHLETICS)

Keianno Rolle finished third in the open men’s long jump with a best leap of 6.70 meters (21 feet — 11 7/8 inches).

Miah Bethel placed second in the open women’s 100m in 12.38 seconds and Brittany Lundy took fourth in 13.27 seconds.

Tyler Gardiner led for the first 400 meters of the open men’s 800m event but got boxed in in the last 200 meters of the home stretch and could not break out for the finish. He finished third in a time of 2:01.97.

Paige Stuart had the best performance in the under-20 girls 100m with a time of 12.86 seconds. She finished sixth in that division. She is still eligible for the CARIFTA Track and Field Championships set for this year.

“I felt good about my start out of the blocks,” she said. “I just need to work more on my drive phase and finish stronger.”

Sierra Sears placed 15th in the under-20 girls 400m in a time of 1:09.96.