Guyana makes first step to retaining IGG Athletics title

Sep 15, 2013 Sports

– top athletes put on show amid poor conditions at trials

Guyana’s CARIFTA Games star athletes Jevina Straker and Cassey George faced off in two epic battles yesterday at the Police Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary when the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) held the Inter-Guiana Games (IGG) trials.
Three-time CARIFTA Games gold medallist, Straker showed her superiority when she defeated

Jevina Straker

George, a rising phenom, in the Girls 800m and 1500m races respectively. Straker ran 2:20.5 and 4:58.6 to defeat George, a Lindener, in the Girls 800m and 1500m races.
George took the lead for the first two laps of the 1500m, but the stronger Straker took charge and jumped George on the final lap. George, who is nursing a hip injury clocked 5:10.1 seconds that was well below her best as Andrea Foster finished third in 5:19.1 seconds.
George ran 2:25 in the 800m, while Latovia Moore clocked 2:59.1 for third place. In the Boys’ 1500m, Ornesto Thomas clocked 4:28.8 seconds to win ahead of Kevin Nicholas (4:31.2), who later returned to defeat distance sensation Samuel Kaitan in the 5000m.
Nicholas sprinted home from the final 180m of the 5000m to register 17:37.00 seconds ahead of Kaitan (17:54.50). Carl McKenzie (18:20.5) was third. Quacy Blair won the Boy’s 800m, after out-sprinting Thomas, in 2:02.9 seconds. Thomas stopped the clock at 2:05.3 as Rondel Austin finished third in 2:06.7 seconds.
Alita Moore was once again supreme, capturing a sprint double in the Girls’ 100m and 200m finals in 11.8 and 24.9 seconds respectively. Tirana Mitchell came second in 12.2 seconds in the 100m while Onika Eastman was third in 12.5 seconds.
Moore left a pack of eight sprinters in the 200m scratch-start (no lane demarcation) race and won ahead of CARIFTA Games bronze medallist, Tirana Mitchell (25.5 seconds).
Kevin Abbensetts of Mercury Fast Laners also won a sprint double. Abbensetts, clocked 10.6 seconds ahead of Tevin Garraway, who led the race until pulling up 5m before the finish line.
Garraway hobbled across the finish line in 10.8 seconds.
The officials failed to record anytime for the Boy’s 200m finals which Abbensetts won ahead of CARIFTA Games 200m bronze medallist Jason Yaw and Dequan Vancooten, one of Guyana’s South American Junior Games representatives.
Yaw returned in the Boy’s 400m, which he won in 50.1 seconds. Quacy Simpson who clocked 50.4 seconds and Selwyn Foster (50.9 seconds) finished third.

Alita Moore

Jevina Sampson clocked 59.9 seconds to win the Girls 400m, which was steeped in problems owed to the scratch start. Natrina Hooper suffered a blow which left her flat on the ground in the race.
Claudrice McKay won the Girl’s 3000m in 11:26.4 seconds as Cassie Kirton held on to second in 12.10.1 while Foster, another representative for South American Junior Games dropped out of the race.
Natrica Hooper won the Triple Jump with a 10m 13cm leap ahead of Linden’s Kelanie Griffith
(9m59cm) and Shomane Daniels (9m28cm) respectively. Parish Cadogan bounded to two victories in the Jumps with best distances of 12m86cm in the Triple Jump and 170cm in the High Jump. Yoel Benjamin secured the second position in the Triple with 12m56cm as Samuel Gray finished second in the High Jump after clearing a distance of 160cm.
Gray won the Boy’s Long Jump with 5m88cm ahead of second and third place finishers Domon Williams and Devon Browne who had 5m80cm and 5m77cm respectively. Mearisha Carter won the Girl’s Long Jump after leaping to 4m57cm. Griffith settled for another second with 4m50cm while Ruth Sammangoon came third with 4m19cm.
Tiffany Pilgrim won the Girl’s Shot Putt after throwing the iron ball to 8m61cm ahead of Kristy Roberts (8m55cm) and Khadidja Ba (8m49cm). Michael Brummell won the Boys Shot Put with his best throw of 12m31cm with Laurel Stewart (11m12cm) second.

Cassey George

Guyana last won the IGG Athletics title and yesterday’s trials was the first step to the country retaining its title. However, enthusiasts expressed their disappointment with the conditions the athletes competed in given it was a national trials.

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