Gaye, McPherson rule over All Comers
SPRINTEC TRACK Club’s Demish Gaye and MVP Track Club’s Stephenie Ann McPherson were best among the males and females in the 200m sprints at yesterday’s second All Comers Meet inside the National Stadium. Conditions meant that the athletes had to endure strong headwinds.
With the Jamaica International Invitational Meet set for this weekend, the athletes used the opportunity to fine-tune their performances, and McPherson was the only female athlete to dip under 24 seconds on the day as, competing in a negative wind of 2.6m per second, she stopped the clock at 23.53 seconds.
Sprintec’s Anastasia Le-Roy finished second in 24.02 seconds, as Cameron Blazers’ Tiffany James finished third in 24.43 seconds, just ahead of Sprintec’s Sherone Simpson, who was fourth in 24.53 seconds.
Like the women, most of the country’s top male quarter-milers opted for the 200m, and here, it was Sprintec’s Gaye who came out on top. Competing in a negative wind of 2.6m per second, he stopped the clock at 21.25 seconds. MVP’s Rusheen McDonald finished in 21.57 seconds for second, just ahead of Akan Track Club’s Jamari Rose, who clocked 21.59 seconds.
National senior 400m hurdles champion Rhonda Whyte was too good for her rivals in the event. Using her usual strategy, Whyte finished strongly to take the win in 56.09 seconds, ahead of Rushell Clayton of Swept Track Club, who finished in 56.92 seconds, as Nikita Tracy of MVP got third in 57.65 seconds. In this race, IAAF World Championships bronze medallist Ristananna Tracey, despite leading up to hurdle seven, faded in the end, finishing fifth in 58.88 seconds.
The men’s event saw Commonwealth Games representative Ricardo Cunningham taking the win in 50.78 seconds, as Kemario Eldemire took second in 51.49 seconds, with Demar Murray of G.C. Foster College finishing third in 52.28 seconds.
Junior athletes were also in the limelight yesterday, with Glenmuir High School’s Zidane Brown leading the way after taking the boys’ 400m in 49.82 seconds, ahead of Chad Gordon of Bog Walk High School in 50.76 seconds. Okeem Smith, unattached, was third in 52.36 seconds.
Rojay Morris of Clarendon College was best in the 200m. Competing in a negative wind of 3.7m per second, he clocked 21.93 seconds. Chad Jones of Papine High School took second in 22.04 seconds, with Calabar High School’s Orlando Bennett taking third in
22.19 seconds.