Chantel Malone, right, and Ashley Kelly battle to the line in the 400 meters, where Malone ran a National Record, 54.58 and pulled Kelly to a personal best, 54.69. Photo>Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

TORTOLA—Defending champions St. Kitts took a 36-point lead over host British Virgin Islands, after Saturday’s opener of the 2-day Leeward Islands Jr. Track and Field Championships at the A. O. Shirley Recreation   Grounds, where it seeks to defend its title.

St. Kitts 84 points to the BVI’s 48. Nevis followed with 35, while Antigua had 14 and the U.S. Virgin Islands 14. Anguilla rounded out the competition scoring with 8 points. 

Five meet records were broken, two new BVI marks were established and one for Anguilla, as well as an All Comers Record. 

St. Kitts’ Joseph Pemberton won the Under 20 Boys Long Jump with a wind aided leap of 7.30 meters but his legal jump of 7.20, is the new meet mark. Chantel Malone improved on her 400 meter 54.98 national record set last week, with a winning time of 54.58, while pulling Ashley Kelly under her old mark with a 54.69 run, to also establish a new meet record.

 

St. Kitts' Traican Hendrickson, USVI's Juan Robles and Seymour Walters, starting the 1500 Meters, which Robles won. Photo>Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

Malone also broke Tahesia Harrigan’s National Long Jump Record by cutting the sand at 19’11¾”. Harrigan’s mark of 19’10¾” was established on April 16, 2005.   The mark is also a National Youth and National Jr. Record. On the boys’ side, Nevis’ Jevon Claxton—who attended Enis Adams’ Primary School—won the 400 meters with a meet record time of 48.85 seconds.

Antigua’s Kenryca Francis established a new All Comers mark in the 1500 meters, with a runaway victory in 4 minutes, 53.58 seconds, in the Under 17 Girls event. Anguilla’s Jonicia Richardson, who was second in 5:17.16, established a National, National Jr. and National Youth Record with her performance.

 

Ketia Maduro, left, Darnetia Robinson, Britney Wattley and Kanishque, established an Under 17 Girls 4 x 100 meter record by running 47.86. Photo>Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

St. Kitts’ Meritizer Williams won the Under 20 Girls 100 meters in a meet record time of 11.57 seconds, while the BVI 4 x 100 meters Under 17 quartet of Kaetia Maduro, Darnetia Robinson, Britney Wattley and Kanishque Todman, ran 47.86 to which was a meet record in the event.

The BVI Under 20 Boys broke a 31-year old BVI 4 x 100 meter Jr. Record established in 1977, when they ran 43.04 to win the competition and took down the previous 43.22 time established by Ephraim Penn, Guy Hill, Dean “Sportsman” Greenaway and Lindel “Chef” Hodge in the process.

Under 20 Boys broke a 31-year old BVI 4 x 100 meter Jr. Record established in 1977, when they ran 43.04 to win, taking down the previous 43.22 time established by Ephraim Penn, Guy Hill, Dean “Sportsman” Greenaway and Lindel “Chef” Hodge in the process. L-R: Kerion Stoutt, Naheem Stevens, Michael Butler and Ramo Pemberton

“I’m quite comfortable with the day’s performance so far,” St. Kitts’ coach Scotty Hanley said. “We have some girls going off to the World Jr. Championships next week, so we came down here to get them fine tuned for that competition.”

With 13 athletes, U.S. Virgin Islands coach Keith Smith said it was the first time they are bringing a team of that size to the competition.

“They are performing really well,” he noted. The Javelin Throw is new for Andrea Wynter he said and she placed second in the event and was third in the shot put. Ninfa Bernard won the 800, while Juan Robles and Seymour Walters went 1-2 in the 1500 and Shaquille Edwards was third in the 400. “We are picking up points here and there and the kids are getting a chance to compete which is really good.”