With the lights shining the brightest, CARIFTA gold medallists Brenden Vanderpool and Taysha Stubbs stepped up when it mattered most to prevail as April’s Tribune Athletes of the Month.

The Tribune Sports section will recognise the efforts of athletes across all sporting disciplines and award a male and female candidate at the end of each respective month, culminating with the athlete of the year.

April marked the first month of the year that both Tribune awardees are junior athletes. Additionally, Stubbs is just the second female candidate to receive the distinction this year as Devynne Charlton has won the January, February and March monthly honours.

Brenden Vanderpool - Male Winner

Vanderpool was a prolific performer at the 51st CARIFTA Games hosted at the Kirani James Athletic Stadium in St George’s, Grenada.

The Samford University freshman was determined to cap off his CARIFTA experience in a remarkable way.He won the boys’ pole vault (open) event with a CARIFTA record-setting distance of 5.30m. In his last hurrah at the junior regional meet, he managed to not only set a CARIFTA record but also take down his previous national record of 5.06m.

It was his third time finishing with the pole vault crown and his performance earned The Bahamas’ first gold medal of the event.

He placed fourth earlier in April at the Crimson Tide Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with 5.15m.

Taysha Stubbs - Female Winner

Stubbs had a phenomenal stretch in April which started with her gold-medal performance at the CARIFTA Games and concluded with a first-place finish at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The transition from the under-17 to under-20 division has proved to be great for Stubbs. In just her first year competing in the division, she recorded a personal best toss of 50.94m in the javelin throw event at the CARIFTA Games.

However, she was not close to done yet. She was once again victorious this time at the National High School Track and Field Championships. The top field event performer ended in first with a heave of 43.20m.

The 16-year-old got the job done at the 128th edition of the Penn Relays. She turned in a throw of 47.17m to win the event on her final attempt. The performance made her the first Bahamian to win the high school girls’ javelin event at the renowned Penn Relays. She is also ranked third in the under-18 world rankings with regards to the javelin event.

Stubbs will be one to watch as she gears up for the World Athletics Under-20 Championships slated for August 27-31 in Lima, Peru.

Stay tuned for an exciting May edition of the Tribune Athletes of the Month.