Thousands witness Twilight track spectacle!
Yes there were some hiccups, but they were to be expected in the first Meet of this magnitude. In truth, the event was a superb reflection of the organising ability of the Track and Field Officials and of the skills and talents of all the competitors.
“Obviously it’s a resounding success,” stated Steve Augustine. “The performances were great, we saw a 10.1 in the 100 by Kim Collins, which is good anywhere in the world. We saw a 45-second 400m runner from the Dominican Republic, which is a new track record here in the BVI and they did it at the Twilight Invitational, so that’s great for us. We saw the local girls in the 100 and 200, we saw our 4 x 100 relay team grab a bronze and set a new record, so yes, in my view, a resounding success!”
Marquee Sprinter Kim Collins had come with high hopes of running a fast time and even beating his season’s best of 10.04, but always knew that it would come down to headwinds. “Overall they did a very good job,” he said. “In my personal race, I wanted the wind to be a little less strong in my face, but at least I won and am looking forward to coming back next time.”
Collins finished in 10.19 ahead of Antoine Adams in 10.28 and Dexter Lee in 10.29secs.
In the Men’s 200m, Anguillan Zarhnel Hughes ran 20.82 to victory ahead of Antoine and Joel Redhead of Grenada, who ran 20.87 and 20.91 respectively.
In the Men’s 400m, Guavo Cuesta of the Dominican Republic took 1st place in 45.87 with the USA pair of Marcus Boyd and Josh Scott second and third in times of 46.26 and 46.79secs.
Jamaican Patricia Hall had the night’s lone double victory with wins in the 200m and 400m and set a new All Comers Record in the 400 with her time of 51.34 seconds. Anastasia Leroy, also from Jamaica, was second in 51.65secs, just ahead of St. Vincent and the Grenadine’s Kenike Alexander’s 51.67.
In the 400m, Ashley Kelly and Chantel Malone came home in 5th with a season’s best 53.54 and 8th in 55.02, respectively. “I tried to get out a little harder than I usually do and then relax down the backstretch. It was kinda hard, but it’s all a learning process. I got a season best for me so I’m progressing, I came out healthy and ready for the next race,” commented Kelly.
Hall completed her double with a 22.93 victory in the 200m. King equaled her 23.35 personal best in second, avenging a loss to Alexander in Puerto Rico two weeks ago, with Alexander getting to the line in 23.40, for third.
Canada took a 1, 2, and 3 in the 200m (B) race to hold off Dominique Maloney, who ran 24.80 to claim 6th place.
In the women’s 100m, much anticipation was on how well Tahesia Harrigan-Scott and Karene King would fare against some strong opposition. As it turned out Harrigan-Scott was nursing a sore knee and finished 6th with a time of 11.94. King, however, snatched 3rd with her time of 11.65secs. “I had a terrible start, then the wind got to me and I let the race get to me, but had a good acceleration at the finish. It’s not about place for me right now, but more about time,” King noted.
Much had also been said about the BVI Women’s 4 x 100m team having had such a wonderful run last time out, back in 2010, when they beat St Kitts to win on the Mondo Track. However, this time and hampered again by niggling injury they ran 44.65 to place 3rd behind Canada in 43.97 and the Dominican Republic’s 44.19.
The Meet also featured the Leeward Islands Junior Invitational and again the crowd was richly entertained.
There will be a full report on those events shortly.
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17 Responses to “Thousands witness Twilight track spectacle!”
But Steve and your team did an awesome job and I must congratulate you once again.
On another note I really had a great time. I could see the races from beginning to end. I do agree with you though. We really need to support the local meets. Our youngsters are doing us PROUD!! Big Up!