Karene King Ashley Kelly Takes Top Spots in OECS Invitational 200m

Karene King runs windy 22.85 seconds in the OECS Invitational 200m

JUNE 10—British Virgin Islands sprinter Karene King and Ashley Kelly finished first and second in the 3rd OECS Invitational 200m held in Basseterre, St. Kitts on Sunday night, in a series of wind aided races, where other BVI athletes also climbed the podium.

Running from lane eight, King rode a +3.3 meters per second wind and powered off the turn, pulling Kelly on the inside corridor to finish in 22.85 seconds, her fastest performance under all conditions. Kelly was second in 24.03.

King—in search of an IAAF World Championships qualifier—equaled her personal best of 23.35 on home soil, during last week’s BVI Twilight Invitational.

In the women’s 100m, Taylor Hill was second in 12.23 seconds in the race that was aided by a +3.5 mps wind. In the men’s equivalent, Shaquoy Stephens was sixth in the final in 10.70 seconds (+2.9) after advancing with a legal time of 10.76 with a 1.9 mps wind reading.

He had a non-advancing time of 21.73 seconds (+3.6) in the 200m.

Jonel Lacey ran 56.18 seconds to finish third in the 400m.

Heptathlete Kanishque “Kadi” Todman had a wind aided leap of 5.27m to finish second in the Long Jump and a Shot Put heave of 9.78m good for fifth place.

At the Great Southwest Classic in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Saturday, Khari “Kj” Herbert was fifth in the 400m. Herbert had a time of 47.91 seconds. The American Heritage High School graduate will be heading to Cal State Los Angeles on a recruiting trip this week. Former 100m National Record holder, Lindel “Chef” Hodge attended Cal State LA.