Archibald shines, but misses Olympic qualifying mark

AAG’s 3rd Developmental Meet…

Over the weekend, the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) hosted their final developmental meet before the National Senior Championships are staged next month, and some promising returns were recorded.
Emmanuel Archibald kept his record clean with wins in the Open 100M and Long Jump divisions, despite not coming close to the Olympic qualifying mark.
In the feature sprint event, Archibald crossed the line in 10.35s, while Akeem Stewart clocked 10.41s and Nolex Holder 10.53s, for second and third respectively.
His 7.83M in the Long Jump was good enough for first place, with Tremaine Browne and Micaiah Washington leaping to 7.19M and 7.15M for second and third respectively.
In the female version of the 100M race, Cassy Small emerged on top with a sprint time of 11.87s. The veteran Alisha Fortune took second with 12.33s, while Tonya Rawlins clocked 12.39s for the third spot.
Keliza Smith stopped the clock at 25.20s in the 200M race to cop first place. Tonya Rawlins’s 26.06s run and Natrena Hooper’s 26.22s time were good enough for second and third respectively.
Nolex Holder bettered his performance in the 200M race to finish first with a time of 21.82s. Loneil Marks and Michael James clocked 21.87s and 22.10s for second and third respectively.
While Devaun Barrington took a week off the 400M sprint, he stopped the clock at 1.57.19s to champion the 800M event ahead of Anfernee Headecker (1.58.19s) and Nicholas Daw (1.58.63s).
However, in the 400M, Courtly Bobb took the top spot with a run of 49.95s, while Michael James and Daniel Melville finished in second and third with times of 50.78s and 51.12s.
There were only two females in the Open 400M event, but Serena Williams crossed the line in 1.04.19, ahead of Euzeka Williams, who clocked 1.10.27s.
In the absence of record holder Leslain Baird, who is reportedly out for the season due to a torn ligament, Joshua Tappin’s 49.91m throw was first in the Javelin event. Dillon Hamilton came close with a best throw of 49.77m for second and Gabriel Lim was third, digging in at 43.44m.
The Junior circuit was also highly competitive, with a few names leaving a good impression.
Tytans Athletics’ Queanna Taylor copped a sprint double in the 14-16 category. Taylor clocked 12.69s and 27.03s in the 100M and 200M races respectively, for first place.
In the shorter race, Tamara Harvey clocked 13.08s and Latifah Dublin 13.34s for second and third respectively.
Over in the 200M, Dublin finished second with a time of 27.46s and Breyanka Gordon completed the podium with 27.89s.
The males in that age group did not disappoint, as David Higgins maintained the first-place spot in both sprint races. The Upper Demerara Schools’ runner clocked 11.24s and 22.75s in the 100M and 200M races respectively.
Jaheel Cornette and Shaquan Nelson occupied the podium positions in the 100M, both with times of 11.45s.
While Nelson bettered his finishing position in the 200M races, crossing the line second in 23.35s, Jonathan Seedath completed the top three with a time of 23.47s.
Juvonna Cornette controlled the sprints in the 17-19 category, while Shamar Horatio barely missed the achievement in the male division.
The top three finishers in the Girls 100m were Cornette (11.92s), Kerese Lloyd clocking 12.06s and Roshana Reynolds, crossing the line in 13.61s.
The 200M saw Cornette finishing in 25.04s, while Shantae George and Reynolds made up the remainder of the podium with times of 26.75s and 28.54s respectively.
Running Brave’s Wesley Tyndall clocked 11.01s in the 17-19 100M dash, edging out Shamar Horatio (11.09) by split seconds. Joel Gilkes occupied the third position with 11.50s.
Horatio, however, redeemed himself in the 200M event, clocking 22.83s for first place. Ezekiel Newton and Joel Gilkes crossed the line in 23.69s and 23.90s respectively to complete the podium.
Coming up next on the Athletics Association of Guyana’s (AAG) calendar should be the National Senior Championships slated for April 17 and 18, while the South American Senior Championships are scheduled for May 14 to 16.