Coast Guard win first Inter-Unit Athletic Championship

Jul 18, 2015 Sports

– dethrones Base Camp Ayanganna

By Edison Jefford

The Coast Guard won their first Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Inter-Unit Athletic Championship yesterday when they emphatically dethroned two-time defending champs Base Camp Ayanganna (BCA) at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora.
Coast Guard amassed 347 points to win their first Inter-Unit title in the history of the competition that made its return to the GDF calendar in 2008 after a 10-year hiatus. BCA finished second with 205 points while First Infantry Battalion was third with 200 points.
Former Champions, Defence Headquarters (DHQ), which last won the championship in 2012 was fourth in 171 points. Second Infantry Battalion was fifth with 136 points; Base Camp Stephenson sixth with 107 points; Training Corps seventh on 85 points; Coastal Battalion eighth on 63 points and Four Engineers ninth with 49 points.
Ann Doris and Olana Grant were adjudged joint Female Champion Athlete with Damon Williams taking home the Male Champion Athlete award. Pablo Cupido and Cleon Coppin were handed the joint Runner-Up Male Champion prize.
In some of the results on the final day, Eion Rodney raced to a ‘B’ Class sprint double in the male 200m and 400m races. Rodney, competing for BCA, clocked 23.1 seconds to win the 200m ahead of Coast Guard’s, Herald Inniss and First Infantry’s, Levi Bradford, who turned in 23.2, and 23.6s respectively.
Rodney then returned to win the 400m race. Camp Ayanganna’s, Olana Grant sprinted to victory in the 200m female ‘B’ Class event in 27.2 seconds, leaving Coast Guards, Rushell Bradshaw and Sheneza Sutton second and third with times of 29.8 and 43.8 seconds.
Bradshaw had won the 100m in 13.4 seconds ahead of Daina Nicholas, who posted 14.2 seconds and Sutton (14.8s).
Natrena Hooper outran Aniqah Powley and Andrea Foster in the 200m female ‘A’ Class race with a 25.4 seconds performance. Powley turned in 26.5 and Foster 26.8 seconds. Powley had won the 100m in 12.1 seconds from Hooper (12.4s) earlier.
In the 200m male ‘A’ Class race, Davin Fraser posted 21.6 seconds with Kevin Abbensetts (22.0) and Leslain Baird (22.5) second and third respectively. Points were not accrued from an ‘A’ Class event in the overall Inter-Unit Championship.
Yonnick Williams won the ‘B’ Class male 100m race for First Infantry ahead of Ian Williams and Leon Torrington, both representing BCA, in 11.1 seconds. Williams ran 11.3 and Torrington 11.6 seconds.
National sprint champion, Rupert Perry clocked 10.1 seconds in an ‘A’ Class race ahead of Fraser (10.2s) and Baird (10.4s). Jamal Scott won the male officers’ race in 11.5 seconds as Tino Blacket finished second in 11.7 and Warren Mars third in 12.0 seconds.
First Infantry’s, Sherlock Rigby claimed the 80m male officer event in 9.6 seconds ahead of DHQ Dwayne Jennings (10.3s) and Second Infantry’s William Arthur (10.8s).
BCA won the 4x100m female race with Coast Guard second and DHQ third. Coast Guard won the male race with Second and First Infantry finishing in that order. Williams won the male High Jump with 1.85m ahead of Mark Jhalu (1.80m) and Mars (1.70m).