By Carlena Knight
The contingent from Antigua and Barbuda for this year’s Carifta Games continues to grow as another athlete has qualified for the regional meet.
Fifteen-year-old Gerilin Barnes became the sixth athlete to qualify for the meet and just the second field competitor for the country as the Princess Margaret School (PMS) student jumped a distance of 5.61m in the long jump surpassing the qualifying standard of 5.40m.
Barnes was the lone athlete to qualify for Carifta at the three-day Cool and Smooth Interschool Athletics Championships and also won the gold medal in the under-17 girls’ event.
Breeanna Spencer of Jennings Secondary School (JSS) was second with a distance of 4.35m and Tamiyah Jeffrey of PMS, third, with 4.14m.
“It feels really great because I had confidence in myself. My coaches and my parent boasted me up, that was really helpful and I have been working very hard so I expected it but I had to work hard for it,” Barnes told this newsroom on Sunday night after qualifying.
Barnes’ principal Dr Collin Greene commended her on her latest achievement.
“I think she did exceptionally well. Gerilin is just a sweet soul. She is a very, very good student as well. She works hard and I got very emotional to see her take that step to go to the next level. To go to Carifta that is the pinnacle of all track and field athletes. Just to get to be there, that is what these children strive for. I know earlier this year she lost her father and sometimes these are the challenges that these young ones have to fight through. They are an inspiration to me as an older person and for her I was absolutely delighted. I think she did well and I think she can jump even further with the right type of support,” Greene said.
She joins Kasiya Daley who became the fifth member of the national team after running a time of 10.79secs in the boy’s under-17 100m at the Princess Margaret School (PMS) Sports Day at YASCO, last month.
He is the second male qualifier joining Craig Prendergast who will run in the 400m.
The other qualifiers are LaNica Locker in the 200m, Naomi McDonald in shot put and Geolyna Dowdy in the 200m.
Dowdy will run in the 100m as well, as she qualified for the event during the PMS meet after she ran 11.77secs in the girls’ under-20 100m.
