Jaden De Souza claims men’s sprint double at NAAA Athletics Series

DAVID SCARLETT

JADEN De Souza flexed his sprinting muscles in spectacular fashion as he graced the top of the podium in both the Men’s 100m and 200m at the second edition of the National Association of Athletics Administrations of TT’s Track and Field Series on Sunday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.

The Phoenix Athletic sprinter comfortably won both events to set a solid standard for both himself and the chasing pack for the rest of the season.

De Souza dashed to the finish line in a time of 10.38 before Danoyon Alexis (PFNJ) clocked 10.44 in second place and Raheem McCalman (Stallion) placed third in 10.57.

The 200m was won with a time of 21.16 which was followed by McCalman, who crossed the line in 21.27, and Ablilene Wildcats’ Joshua St Clair was third in 21.50.

The Women’s 100m was contested by two athletes from Simplex Athletic Club, where Kyah La Fortune won gold in 12.09 and her club-mate Alyssa George was behind her in 12.88.

Similarly, the Women’s 200m was a condensed event – this time, three athletes were in competition. La Fortune won again in 25.14, Abilene’s Brianna Lord was second in 26.08 and George finished third in 26.58.

In the Boys Under-17 400m, Makaelan Woods from IG Fastlane won gold from the fast lane in a satisfactory time of 52.42. Deyonte Thomas of RSS Phoenix finished second in 52.58 and Jahfari Farrel of Simplex secured bronze in 52.97.

The Girls Under-20 400 title was claimed by Concorde’s Janae De Gannes in a time of 1:00.54 while Diamond Paul (PFNJ, 1:00.72) and Tiara Simmons (Burnley, 1:00.73) were second and third, respectively.

Memphis claimed first and second in the Men’s 800m as Jahfa Woodley cleared the track in 1:59.22 with Stefan Camejo behind him in 2:01.62. Ryan Joseph from the Cougars was third in 2:04.54.

In the field events, Tenique Vincent won the Girls Under-17 High Jump, clearing 1.60m. That result automatically qualified her for this year’s Carifta Championship as the qualifying mark was 1.57m. QRC’s La Queen Welch was second with a jump of 1.40m and Jada Thomas was third with 1.25m.

Burnley’s Peyton Winter also qualified for the Carifta Championship after winning the Girls Under-17 Shot Put (3kg) with a strong throw of 12.17m (the qualifying distance was 12.15m). Vincent was second but didn’t qualify in this event as she threw 10.29m. D’Abadie’s Sofia Quamina was third with

8.82m.

Although there were only two athletes competing in the Girls’ Under-20 High Jump, they both qualified for the Carifta Championship. Kernesha Shelbourne of Oasis Athletic (1.76m) and Concorde’s Gianna Paul (1.65m) met the competition’s qualifying requirement of 1.64m and they gleefully booked their ticket to the Bahamas.

Anthony Diaz of PFNJ won the Men’s Javelin Throw, registering 54.89m on the board. UNA’s Sherwin Marshall was second (35.25m) and his club-mate Patrick Scott (24.99m) was third.

The third chapter of the Track and Field Series is carded for February 4 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.

Up next on the NAAA calendar is the Secondary Schools South/Central Championship on January 24.