Vincent twins hit Carifta standards at North regional athletics

Kayleigh Forde, Kyrell Thomas and twins Tenique and Tyrique Vincent all achieved Carifta standards on day one of the Secondary Schools Track and Field (SSTF) Walcott/Lendore/Ahye North regional championships at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on Tuesday.

Tenique and Tyrique held leads in their respective girls’ 15+ pentathlon and boys’ 15+ heptathlon events at the end of the day, while they also registered impressive victories in individual events as well.

Tyrique, a Fatima College student, amassed 2,983 points through four events in the heptathlon, with his 7.02-metre jump in the long jump eclipsing the Carifta standard of 6.34 metres for the under-17 age group.

The heptathlon aside, Tyrique also chalked up wins in the high jump and 110-metre hurdles events in what was a busy day for the Vincent siblings.

Tenique dominated through three of her five events in the pentathlon, racking up 2,165 points by the end of the day. Her nearest competitor, Aimee Gray, tallied 668 points. Like Tyrique, Tenique also achieved the Carifta standard in the long jump, leaping to a distance of 5.83 metres. The Carifta standard for under-17 girls is 5.42 metres.

Tenique, a Bishop Anstey High School student, also raced to victory in the girls’ under-17 100-metre hurdles.

St Joseph’s Convent PoS’ Forde dominated the chasing pack in the girls’ 17+ 1,500-metre event, as she topped the field in four minutes, 57.77 seconds (4:57.77). Forde’s time was well inside the national championships standard of 5:15.00, while she also bettered the Carifta under-20 mark of 4:59.15.

As Tuesday’s proceedings ended with the boys’ 17+ 400-metre event, Thomas too stole the spotlight when he won heat five in 48.34 seconds, just dipping under the Carifta qualifying standard of 48.48 seconds. The St Francis Boys’ College student was also the only athlete to better the 49-second qualifying time ahead of next month’s national championships.

El Dorado East Secondary’s Kyle Williams (49.30 seconds) and East Mucurapo Secondary’s Keone John (49.38 seconds), who finished second to Thomas in heat five, clocked the next best times in the boys’ 17+ 400-metre field.

Tunapuna Secondary’s La Queen Welch and San Juan South Secondary’s Peyton Winter also had superb showings on day one as they were both triumphant in two events. Welch won the high jump and 400-metre events in the girls’ under-15 age group, with Winter registering wins in the girls’ under-17 javelin and discus throw events respectively, narrowly missing the Caifta standard in both fields.