Trinidad and Tobago's 2024 Carifta team captain Tafari Waldron and ace female sprinter Michelle-Lee Ahye were among the standout performers at the National Association of Athletics Administration (NAAA) track and field series meet three at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo on April 14.
Waldron, who won one of TT's four gold medals at the 51st edition of the Carifta Games in Grenada a couple of weeks ago, showed off his long distance prowess in the men's 3,000-metre race when he beat seasoned long-distance runner and training partner Nicholas Romany into a second-place finish.
[caption id="attachment_1077157" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Kernesha Shelbourne of Oasics Athletic goes airbourne in the women triple jump, in the NAAA track & field Series #3, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Sunday. - Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
Earlier in the day's proceedings, Romany topped a nine-man field in the men's 1,500-metre event when he stopped the clock in 4:01.33. Donell Francis (4:08.51) placed second, while Darius Harding (4:21.68) placed third.
In the 3,000-metre race, though, Waldron, who defended his boys' under-20 5,000-metre crown at the 2024 Carifta Games, upstaged Romany as he stopped the clock in the seven-and-a-half lap event in 9:02.95. As he came around the bend and into the final straightaway, Waldron glanced over his shoulder several times as Romany tried to close the gap, but the Carifta champion was a comfortable winner.
Romany crossed the line in 9:07.96, while Burnley's Harding again had to settle for third spot as he stopped the clock in 9:58.09.
[caption id="attachment_1077158" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Naeem Nelson of Simplex, right, wins his men's 100m dash heat, in the NAAA track & field Series #3 on Sunday. - Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
In the much-anticipated sprint events, Ahye, who copped both the NAAA and First Citizens Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year awards for 2023, took top spot among the competitors in the women's 100-metre and 200-metre events.
In both of her races, Ahye faced opposition from 2024 Carifta silver medallist Symphony Patrick. On both occasions, though, Ahye's power, speed and experience came to the fore as Patrick grabbed second spot in either race.
Running in lane four in the last of seven 100-metre races, Ahye shrugged off the attention of Patrick in lane three to win in 11.47 seconds. Patrick finished in 11.99 seconds, Simplex's Sierra Joseph placed third in 12.09 seconds and Abilene Wildcats' Kadija Pickering placed fourth in 12.32 seconds. The top four athletes in section seven recorded the best times across all the 100-metre races.
In the women's 200-metre field, Ahye was the only athlete to dip under 24 seconds when she won the third of six races in 23.53 seconds.
The 32-year-old Ahye was challenged around the curve by Patrick, but she pulled away down the home straight to record a comfortable win. Patrick clocked 24.25 seconds and also notched the second-best time overall. Stallion's Angel Cumberbatch (25.27 seconds) won
