Former Track Athletes Compete At Central American and Caribbean Senior Championships
Monday, July 11, 2005 | Women's Track and Field
A slew of former Gator All-American track and field standouts competed during the weekend and wrapped up competition at the Central American and Caribbean Senior Championships held in the Bahamas on Monday.
Former All-American Candice Scott broke the meet record in winning the hammer throw, while All-Americans Tiandra Ponteen (400m), Andrea Bliss (100m hurdles) and Aaron Armstrong (200m) posted runner-up finishes to lead the pack of former Gators.
A native of St. Kitts, Ponteen recorded the competition's second-best 400m time of 51.41, her third-best time of the year in the event, and finished just behind 2004 Olympic champion Tonique Darling (50.97) on Sunday. In the event, Ponteen holds the world's 13th-best time this year with a mark of 50.83 set June 11 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Bliss, who earned two All-American honors at UF in 2004, finished second in the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.86 on Sunday. Representing her home country of Jamaica, she finished second to two-time Olympian Nadine Faustin, who edged Bliss' mark with a time of 12.83.
Scott, a Trinidad and Tobago native, secured a new CAC record with her final heave of 67.44m/221-3 in the hammer throw, finishing ahead of 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and Cuban native Yunaika Crawford, who recorded a 66.75m/219-0 toss in her third throw of the finals. Scott trailed Crawford heading into the final throw with a previous-best of 64.93m/213-0. On Monday, Scott followed up her performance by taking fifth in the shot put with a mark of 16.43m/53-11.
Competing for Trinidad & Tobago, Armstrong took second in the 200m to world junior record holder Usain Bolt, who crossed the line in a meet-record time of 20.03 for Jamaica. Armstrong also finished under the meet record as he was second in 20.35 - ahead of former Olympic bronze medalist Obadele Thompson of Barbados. The previous record at the event was 20.38.
Former All-American Moise Joseph ran for Haiti and finished third in the 800m with a time of 1:49.60. Cuba's Yeiner Lopez won the event in 1:47.64.
Current Gator Sekou Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica) ran the opening leg of the 4x400m relay and helped his native country to a fourth-place finish in a time of 3:03.51.
