Athletes from Running Brave Athletic Club (RBAC) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) were the star performers of the first Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) Development Meet for the season on Friday.
The event, which was staged at the Camp Ayanganna Ground, saw RBAC’s Cleveland Thomas winning the male open 3000m.
Thomas took control of the event in the second lap and never relinquished the lead. The club’s standout then turned on the jets in the final 100m to put an exclamation mark on the impressive showing. The national athlete won the race in a brisk nine minutes and 17 seconds ahead of his club mates Matthew McKenzie (9m:18.2s) and Winston Missingher (9m:18.6s).
Thomas’ club mates Claudrice McKoy (five minutes and 31 seconds) and Mariah McKenzie (5m:48.8s) then finished 1-2 in the four-lap 1600m female Open event ahead of Shontel Thomas (5m:49.4s) of Christianburg/Wismar Secondary School.
In the male Open triple jump event, Lloyd McCurdy (14.74m) led a GDF sweep of the triple jump event, leading Damon Williams (14.08m) and Lurex Stewart (13.88m) in the pit.
GDF also swept the discus female Open event with Taniesha Cort (29.06m), Tiffany Pilgrim (28.35m) and Diana Nicholas (28.12m) crowding the podium.
Other winners Friday included: Natrena Hooper (150m and Triple Jump Open Female), Avon Samuels (300 and 600m Under-18 Female), Natricia Hooper (600m Open Female), Kareem Purch (600m Open Male), Kenisha Philips (150 and 300m Under-16 Female) and Compton Caesar (300m Open Male).