Track and Field, Canoe Racing and Basketball Takes Center Stage
Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. On Saturday, collegiate athletes from across the country converged at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex for a track meet. The weather worn track posed its own challenges for these young competitors. But, the show must go on. Here is more from the ATLIB Track and Field Championship.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
The heat was on, and the racetrack was breaking away, but these college athletes were not deterred. Three female runners are at the starting line for the four hundred meter race. Down to the last hundred meters, Kendall Morgan has a significant lead. She crossed the finish line in first place, securing the gold medal. She also ran away with the gold in the one hundred, two hundred, four by one hundred, high jump, shot-put and javelin. That’s seven gold medals.
Kendall Morgan
Kendall Morgan, SJCJC Athlete
“You are your only competition. If you see some else as a competition that is nice but always remember yourself, and do not give up at the line, finish through. As long as you finish you are a winner. This is the male four hundred meter, with five runners at the starting line. In the distance, it’s Keemar Wagner in the lead. He finishes first, clocking in at fifty-two point three seconds, followed by Aiken Aguilar and Keith Jones. CJC Athlete, Kevin Jones topped the male long jump competition and the male triple jump, with five point ninety-nine meters and twelve point forty-nine meters, respectively.”
Kevin Jones
Kevin Jones, CJC Athlete
“I came here prepared to compete, not really expecting to win. But I know I have the level of intensity needed to compete.”
This was an exciting one to watch, the male five kilometer race. Seven runners took to the track for twelve and a half laps. Six laps in, Patrick Williams and Wilbert Sho have the advantage over the other runners. Two hundred meters from the finish line, Williams makes a dash but Sho takes over at the bend and sprinted his way to the top of the podium.
Wilbert Sho
Wilbert Sho, UB Athlete
“The last hundred meter that is where I save the last energy I have stored so I will use that on my sprint to finish off as best as I can.”
On Sunday, the Belize Canoe Association hosted its annual Upstream Canoe Challenge, from the Haulover Creek Bridge to Burrell Boom Village. Nine teams battled the upstream river currents and winds to the finish-line. We were at the start and finish of the race. Here is more. The starting horn sounds off signaling the start of this upstream river challenge. Nine teams stretched across this natural waterway. Minutes from the starting line, two teams are neck to neck, Daniel Gregorio, James Alford and Wilbert Daniels paddling for the Belize Coast Guard and Christopher Guydis, Jermaine Sanchez and Sergio Quan racing for Teichroeb and Son/Wild. At Manatee Lookout, these two teams remain in the lead, pressing towards Burrell Boom Village. And here at the finish line in Boom, the Belize Coast Guard paddlers hold a comfortable lead to win the race in two hours, eleven minutes and twenty seconds. The Teichroeb and Sons paddlers emerged two and a half minutes later to secure second place. They were followed by Canoe Belize It in third, more than seven minutes later.
Friday night, inside the Belize City Civic Center, was all about the BEBL’s defending champions, the Benny’s Belize Hurricanes. They faced off against former champions, the San Pedro Tiger Sharks in this season opener. Here are some stats from the game, and some highlight reels courtesy of the Hurricanes team. The Benny’s Belize Hurricanes dominated the San Pedro Tigers Sharks, with a final score of one hundred and one to seventy-three points respectively.
Jihad Wright
BEBL Rookie, Amar Ross led the Hurricanes with twenty-three points, averaging fifty-six percent from the three-point line and fifty-percent from the field. Rookie Sidibe Bourama also had a night for the Hurricanes, with a total of sixteen rebounds and thirteen points. Talk about efficiency on both ends of the court. Player of the match for the Tiger Sharks goes to captain Jihad Wright who finished with nineteen points, eleven rebounds and a seventy-two percent shooting average from field.
Well folks, that’s all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. Catch you in the next one.
