Taffe takes sprint double at Track Series 4

AYODELE Taffe claimed both the men’s 100-metre and 200m titles when the National Gas Company (NGC) National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) Track and Field Series Four was held at Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima, on Saturday.

In the open men’s 100m event, it was an exciting battle between the Abilene Wildcats pair of Taffe and Adell Colthrust. Colthrust closed the gap in the closing stages, but Taffe held on to win in 10.813 seconds in section (heat) one and Colthrust was second in 10.818. The pair also took gold and silver overall.

Taffe also got the better of Colthrust in the men’s 200m event. Taffe claimed gold in 21.34 after winning section one, Colthrust earned silver overall in 21.46 after claiming first place in section two and Marcus Purcell of Memphis Pioneers took bronze in 21.78 after winning section three.

Devin Augustine was another standout athlete staring in the boys Under-20 category. Augustine of Point Fortin New Jets (PFNJ), won section two of the 200m event in 21.97 and was crowned the overall winner.

Elijah Joseph of Mounting Eagles took silver in 22.38 and Shakeem McKay of Abilene Wildcats grabbed bronze in 22.46.

Earlier in the day, Augustine sprinted to the 100m title in 10.83 after winning section one. Jaydon Moore of Memphis Pioneers was second in 10.94 and Augustine’s team-mate Anthony Diaz was third in 11.01.

Naomi Campbell continued the New Jets dominance in the sprints when she won gold in the girls Under-20 100m in 12.11, Leah Bertrand of Simplex took silver in 12.41 and Kyah La Fortune, also of Simplex, was third in 12.62.

Campbell could not complete the double as she had to settle for bronze in the girls Under-20 200m in 25.35. Rae-Ann Serville of Memphis Pioneers claimed gold in 24.76 and Reese Webster of Concorde finished second in 25.11.

In the combined women’s 3000m open and Under-20 event, Teresa Otero of Richard Jones Racing was the lone entrant in the open race and won that title plus the overall title in 11 minutes, 56.20 seconds (11:56.20). Sophie Potter, also of Richard Jones, won the Under-20 race in 12:07.05, Melania Nanton (Richard Jones) came second in 12:19.35 and Cassandra Joseph of Toco Titans ended third in 13:12.79.