OECS Championships Kick Off Final Leg For BVI Athletes

Karene King is the reigning OECS 200m champion 

JULY 4—As the 2014 track and field season begins winging down, the BVI will kick off the regional and international phase of competition with the OECS Championships in St. Kitts July 5-6.

The team includes Tahesia Harrigan-Scott who will run the 100m and has a season’s best of 11.27 seconds and will be joined by Karene King who has run 11.52 this season. King, the OECS 200m defending champion has only one wind legal race to her credit when she ran 23.83 at last month’s BVI Twilight Invitational and a 23.40 wind aided time run in California.

Ashley Kelly is expected to see action in the 200 and 400m where she has marks of 24.02 and 53.43. Lakeisha “Mimi” Warner who has a season’s best of 2 minutes 13.15 seconds will run the 800m.

Trevia Gumbs and he twin sister Tynelle will contest the Shot Put and Javelin Throw where they have respective marks of 13.81 and 38.30m respectively.

Eldred Henry will see action in the Shot Put where he had a personal best toss of 17.34m.

Henry, Kelly, King and Harrigan-Scott will use the OECS Championships as a tune up for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, later this month where they will be joined by Shaquoy Stephens and Decathlete Keron Stoute.

The BVI Athletics Association will not field a team in this weekend’s CAC Jr. Championships in Morelia, Mexico. The BVIAA thanks the BVI Olympic Committee for its support of its endeavors.

The BVI will also be represented by Nelda Huggins and Kyron McMaster at the IAAF World Jr. Championships in Eugene, Oregon, July 22-27. Huggins is coming off improving her 200m National Jr. Record of 23.91 seconds with a mark of 23.77 in Antigua over the Weekend. McMaster lowered his 400m National Youth Record to 48.10 and broke Keita Cline’s 23 year old 200m National Youth Record of 22.09 with a personal best effort of 21.74 seconds.

Henry and Stephens will compete in the August 8-10 NACAC U23 Championships in Kamloops, Canada.

Huggins and McMaster will be joined by Deya Erickson, Kala Penn and Akeem Bradshaw at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China Aug 20-26 to close the season.