By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net    

THE Roadrunners Track and Field Club produced its best showing at the recent AAU National Club Championship in Jacksonville, Florida, finishing 16th out of a total of 300 clubs and over 4,000 athletes.

At the July 7-16 event, the 42-member team along with two nurses Monique Forbes and Stacy Hanna, and some 14 parents, collected a total of 60 medals, both individually and from their relay teams.

The competition also featured some other clubs from the Bahamas, including Swift, Red-Line Athletics, Samson Colebrook Athletic team, T-Bird Flyers and two teams from Grand Bahama. 

The Roadrunners produced some outstanding performances as their 8-and-under girls 4 x 100m team clinched the gold, their boys 14-and-under 4 x 400m team and their 14-and-under boys 4x100m team got the silver. 

Their boys 4 x 100m team was third; their 14-and-under girls were top right in the 4 x 400m; 15-and-under boys 4x400m was top eight; 12-and-under boys and 12-and-under girls were also top eight in the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m and their 15-and-under girls were top eight in the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relays.

Melody Thompson struck gold in the 8-and-under girls 1,500m and finished in the top eight in the 800m. 

Azalia Henderson also got gold in the 80m hurdles, while Jasmine Thompson was top eight in the 400m 400m hurdles.

Shawne Ferguson was top eight in the 200m hurdles and 200m; Ethan Stuart was top eight in the 200m; Chaynne Hepburn was top eight in the 200m hurdles; T’von Armbrister was top eight and Nario Williams top eight in 80m hurdles and javelin.

Head coach Dexter Bodie said many of their athletes produced personal best performances.

And their coaching staff of Krysten Black, Shawn Lockhart and Edvania Missick couldn’t ask for anything better.

He noted that the Roadrunners are looking forward to 2025 when they hope to improve on their performances and challenge for the top spot overall.

“This year was the best year for us going to the AAU Youth Championships,” Bodie said. 

“I was impressed with my team’s overall performances.

“The athletes performed extremely well, despite the fact that it was extremely hot. The athletes withstood the heat and they went out there and performed. I give them an A-plus overall.”

Bodie said next year, they hope to surpass this year’s accomplishment. 

He said their aim is to get into the top two and, if they are successful, they will go for number one. 

Some of the athletes were delighted to be able to participate in the meet.

“The first I had was the 800m and I was in third place, but on the second lap, I slowed down at the end and a few girls passed me,” said Melody Thompson, a seven-year-old student of Garvin  Tynes Primary School. 

But on the second day, I had the 1,500m and this time, I had the lead going on the last lap. I had a little girl behind me, but I wasn’t going to let anybody beat me. I jumped over the line to win.”

Trent Ford, a 17-year-old preparing for grade 12 at St Augustine’s College, said he was only able to run in the 4 x 100m relay because of an injury, but he was pleased with the way the team performed. “It was hot. We had to drink plenty of water, but we went out there and got the job done in the heat,” he said. 

“Next year, I’m going to work on trying to get some college offers and make my second CARIFTA team.”

Shawne Ferguson, a 13-year-old student of Queen’s College, said he had a better performance at the meet last year, but he was still thrilled to perform the way he did this year.

“I feel like I could do better. When I get on the track and get in the blocks, mentally you have to be ready, although you put in the work,” he said. “I think our team went out there and performed very well.”

Azalia Henderson, who just started competing in the hurdles just before the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools’ sports in March, said she was pleased to see how well she progressed in the event.

“I didn’t expect to come this far in such a short time,” said Hepburn, a 13-year-old student of Queen’s College. “I am really glad that I was able to get this gold medal in this big meet.

“It was a really good meet. Everybody did very well. Just about everybody got a medal, so it was a really good meet for us as a team aswell.”

And Jasmine Thompson, a 14-year-old student of Temple Christian, said she was thankful for her performance.

“It wasn’t what I expected, but I’m still grateful that I got some medals in the 400m and 400m hurdles as well as on the relay teams,” she said. 

“I felt that as a team, we performed very well to finish 16th overall. I think next season, I want to better my performances and I know that the team will also perform better than we did this year.”

Joyce McKenzie, the mother of Trent Ford, said she was glad to travel as one of the parents to cheer on the team.

“This team did an awesome job in Jacksonville this year,” McKenzie said. 

“They had a lot of PBs (personal bests) and a lot of the relays did exceptionally well as well.

“Overall we placed 16th out of 300 teams, which was phenomenal, coming from the Bahamas. 

“These kids ran their hearts out. So we are very proud of them.”

The team had a celebration at the original Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium to close out the track season and to get a well-deserved break before they start preparing for next season.