Relay quartet post national women's record

by Michael Bascombe

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, June 10, 2012 - Track and Field officials in Grenada are encouraged by the performances of some of the athletes who represented Grenada at the OECS Invitational Championships in St Kitts on Sunday.

Eight (8) athletes represented Grenada at the second edition of the track and field meet held at the Silver Jubilee Athletic Stadium in Basseterre.

The highlight of the Grenadian performances was the Women’s 4x100m Relay team which set a new national record of 44.95 seconds. The team of Sherine Wells, Janelle Redhead, Lucy Fortune and Trish Bartholomew erased a five year-old national mark of 45.41 seconds set by Ann-Marie Francis, Rena Mitchell, Allison George and Sherry Fletcher at the 2005 CARIFTA Games in Tobago.

The national team finished behind St Kitts and Nevis (44.90).

Also on the commendable side were Emron Gibbs and Janelle Redhead. Gibbs produced his personal best of 66.45 metres in the Men’s Javelin but behind Albert Reynolds of St Lucia who won with 71.55m. Gibbs’ previous best was 63.57m.

Redhead picked up Grenada’s lone gold medal in the seven-medal haul. She won the Women’s 200m in 23.21 seconds ahead of Kamaria Durant of Trinidad and Tobago (23.54) and Vigil Hodge of St Kitts and Nevis (23.58). Sherine Wells (23.72) and Trish Bartholomew (23.93) were fourth and fifth respectively.

Redhead also took bronze in the 100m “A” race in 11.78 seconds while Wells was second in the 100m “B” in 11.74 seconds.

Joel Redhead finished second in the 200m “A” race in 21.28 while Andon Mitchell was fourth in 21.49. Mitchell was also fifth in the 100m “A” race in 10.46. Kittian Kim Collins won the race in 10.09 seconds.

Lucy Fortune took the third position in the Women’s 400m in 56.32. She suffered from stomach cramps but managed to compete in the relay event.

The other athlete, Tevin McMeo was fourth in the Men’s 400m in 51.68.

St Kitts finished with the most medals – a total of 17 including six gold medals. There were also athletes representing Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.