After bagging three medals on the opening day of the competition, Guyana’s CARIFTA Track and Field Championships team had a mixed bag of results on Day 2.
Ebo McNeil celebrates with the Golden Arrowhead after his bronze medal run
Ebo McNeil was the highlight of the day competing in the Boys’ U17 300m event. McNeil stopped the clock at 9:22.61 for third place after a spirited comeback in the final 50 metres; he had led the race at one point. The race was led by a Trinidad and Tobago pair Christopher Sammy and Armani Dillon, who registered 9:11.51 and 9:12.22 for first and second respectively.
Javon Roberts will be hunting his second 800m gold medal today
There were quite a few athletes who booked spots in the finals of their respective events; while others bowed out in the preliminaries.
The day’s action began on a positive note, with Charissa December booking her spot in the final of the Girls’ U20 400m hurdles event. December clocked 1:03.07 in Heat 2 of the event to finish fourth, capturing a non-automatic qualifying spot. The heat was won by Jamaica’s Shevaughn Thomas in 58.41s.
However, December would go on to be a no-show in the final later that evening. As such, the title was seized by Michelle Smith of the US Virgin Islands, who registered 46.60s in the final for the gold medal.
Switching over to the sprint events, Guyana did not have much favour in the 200m preliminaries. In the Boys’ U17 200m, Guyana’s Ezekiel Thompson was the first to hit the track in Heat 2, clocking 22.74s for fifth place. In Heat 3, Jude Farrell crosses the line in 22.25s in Heat 3. However, both Guyanese were unsuccessful in advancing to the next round.
On the distaff side, Brittney Jeffrey clocked 25.70s for fifth place in Heat 2,and was unable to advance to the final. Her teammate, Alana Thompson stopped the clock at 26.11s for sixth place in Heat 3, but suffered a similar fate. St Lucia’s Jada Emmanuel was the fastest qualifier over the three heats, clocking 23.88s for a win in Heat 2.
The U20 version of the Girls’ 200m event saw Kiandra Fraser clocking 26.11s in Heat 3 for sixth place. In Heat 4, 2024 U17 silver medallist over the same distance, Athaleyha Hinckson, crossed the line in 24.54s for third place, also missing out on a spot in the final.
For the boys, Trevor Easton, competing in Heat 4, narrowly missed out on a spot in the U20 200m, clocking 22.01s in Heat 4 for second place. However, Guyana’s final competitor in the 200m events, Walton Alleyne gave the Land of Many Waters hope for a medal across that distance. Alleyne crossed the line in 21.97s for first place in Heat 5, thus gaining an automatic spot in the final. The final for that race will take place today.
In the relay events, Guyana had high drama again, this time in the Boys’ U17 4x100m event. Though Guyana clocked 43.82s for second place, the team of Jude Farrell, Ezekiel Thompson, David Williams and Ezekiel Millington was eventually disqualified for a botched baton exchange on the third change.
Meanwhile, two Guyanese will feature in the Boys’ U20 800m final today. After a highly-dramatic sequence in the last stretch, Javon Roberts stopped the clock at 1:56.83 for a win in Heat 2 and an automatic spot in the final. Kaidon Persaud, in Heat 3, clocked 1:55.00 for third place and a non- automatic spot in today’s final.
The final event of the night featuring Guyanese athletes was another tough outing as Attoya Harvey missed out on a medal in her pet event, the Girls’ U17 3000m. Harvey stopped the clock at 10:41.88 for seventh place while Jennifer Byass was right behind with 10:43.14. The gold medal was taken by Jamaica’s Ashara Frater in 10:27.99.
Guyana’s medal count has now gone up to four, with one gold, one silver and two bronzes.
