JavaScript is disabled in your web browser or browser is too old to support JavaScript. Today almost all web pages contain JavaScript, a scripting programming language that runs on visitor's web browser. It makes web pages functional for specific purposes and if disabled for some reason, the content or the functionality of the web page can be limited or unavailable.

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Bertrand clocks 10.99 to qualify for NCAA Champs

by

Clayton Clarke
18 days ago
20250603

Reign­ing na­tion­al women’s 100 me­tres cham­pi­on Leah Bertrand se­cured her place in the women’s 100m, 200m and 4x100m events at the 2025 Na­tion­al Col­le­giate Ath­let­ic As­so­ci­a­tion (NCAA) Di­vi­sion One (DI) Out­door Track and Field Cham­pi­onships set for Eu­gene, Ore­gon from June 11-14.

On the fi­nal day of the East Re­gion­als at the Uni­ver­si­ty of North Flori­da in Fayet­teville, Flori­da on Sat­ur­day, the Ohio State Uni­ver­si­ty (OSU) stu­dent first booked her NCAA spot by an­chor­ing her school to eighth place over­all in the women’s 4x100m re­lay quar­ter­fi­nal round in a time of 43.46 sec­onds. OSU was third in heat two.

Fred­er­ick’s twin sis­ters, Sanaa and Sole, al­so se­cured lanes in Eu­gene with Geor­gia, which was fourth in the 4x100m (43.11). Lib­er­ty, with Re­ece Web­ster and Ak­i­lah Lewis in the line-up, missed out, fin­ish­ing 20th in 44.49. The top 12 teams qual­i­fied for the fi­nals.

Bertrand then re­turned to the track for the women’s 100m quar­ter­fi­nals where she fin­ished sec­ond fastest in 10.99 sec­onds/+1.6. The 2024 Paris Olympics semi­fi­nal­ist record­ed her sec­ond sub-11 clock­ing of the meet, in win­ning the first quar­ter­fi­nal heat. The Sim­plex Ath­let­ic club-mem­ber ran a per­son­al best (pb) of 10.92 in the first round two days ear­li­er.

Web­ster did not ad­vance when she was 16th-fastest in 11.33 af­ter she was fifth in heat two. The Con­corde sprint­er set a pb of 11.26 in the first round of the 100m.

Bertrand end­ed her day by fin­ish­ing fourth-fastest in the 200m quar­ter­fi­nals in a pb of 22.71, im­prov­ing on her pre­vi­ous pb of 22.91 es­tab­lished in the first round. Sanaa end­ed in 16th (23.14).

Bertrand and the teenage Fred­er­ick sib­lings are among ten lo­cal ath­letes who have qual­i­fied for the NCAA fi­nals.

An­oth­er teenag­er, 18-year-old Janae De Gannes, Christo­pher Craw­ford, Kelsey Daniel, Devin Au­gus­tine, Kion Ben­jamin, Avin­dale Smith and Sha­keem Mc Kay com­plete the list.

De Gannes leapt her way in­to the long jump fi­nals with a na­tion­al ju­nior record dis­tance of 6.58m on the sec­ond day of the West Re­gion­als at the Texas A&M Uni­ver­si­ty in Col­lege Sta­tion, Texas on May 29. The 2023 North Amer­i­can, Cen­tral Amer­i­can and Caribbean (NACAC) girls’ Un­der-18 gold medal­list was fifth-best and im­proved on the pre­vi­ous na­tion­al mark of 6.56m set by Dr Rhon­da Watkins in 2006, the year De Gannes was born. De Gannes will be hop­ing to fol­low in Watkins’ foot­steps and win the NCAA ti­tle as Watkins did in 2007 as a stu­dent at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Cal­i­for­nia-Los An­ge­les (UCLA).

Craw­ford of Al­aba­ma Uni­ver­si­ty was a dou­ble qual­i­fi­er se­cur­ing his tick­et to Eu­gene in the men’s shot put and dis­cus at the East Re­gion­als. In the shot put, held on the first day, Craw­ford threw 19.09m to fin­ish sev­enth. The Pen­te­costal Life and Light Foun­da­tion grad­u­ate then re­turned on the third day for the dis­cus and was again sev­enth with 58.91m. Louisiana State Uni­ver­si­ty’s (LSU) Jaden James missed out in 17th spot (54.85).

Daniel took his place in the men’s triple fi­nals when he was fourth on the fi­nal day of the West Re­gion­als with a per­son­al best dis­tance of 16.34m. Daniel missed out in the long jump end­ing in 15th po­si­tion with 7.57m. The 2023 Na­tion­al Ju­nior Col­lege cham­pi­on, is the reign­ing NCAA DI in­door long jump gold medal­list. He won the ti­tle in March with a na­tion­al record of 816m.

Au­gus­tine and Ben­jamin were part of Min­neso­ta’s quar­tet which was sixth in the men’s 4x100m quar­ter­fi­nals at the West Re­gion­als in a time of 39.07, two places be­hind Smith and Arkansas Pine Bluff squad, fourth-best in 38.98. The top 12 teams qual­i­fied.

Au­gus­tine and Ben­jamin bowed out in the men’s 100m quar­ter­fi­nal stage. Au­gus­tine was 16th (10.17/+2.4) and Ben­jamin (10.19/+2.4).

Smith and team­mates did not progress to the fi­nals of the men’s 4x400m as Arkansas Pine-Bluff was 15th-fastest (3:07.44).

Mc Kay was in the LSU line-up which qual­i­fied from the East Re­gion­al men’s 4x400m, fin­ish­ing eighth-fastest in 3:03.78.

Ole Miss stu­dent Je­lese Alexan­der was 16th in the women’s high jump at the East Re­gion­als with a pb of 1.79m while Lalen­ni Grant (Al­bany) and Shaki­ra Kirk (North­west­ern State) were 25th (49.55) and 36th (47.07) re­spec­tive­ly in the East Re­gion­als women’s dis­cus.

T&T ath­letes who have qual­i­fied for the NCAA Di­vi­sion One Out­door Track and Field Cham­pi­onships Fi­nals (June 11-14)

Women

Leah Bertrand (Sim­plex/Ohio State) - 100m (10.92pb/10.99), 200m (22.91pb/22.71pb), 4x100m Ohio State (43.46)

Janae De Gannes (Con­corde/Bay­lor) - Long jump (6.58-NJR)

Sanaa Fred­er­ick (Con­corde) - 4x100m Geor­gia (43.11)

Sole­Fred­er­ick (Con­corde) - 4x100m Geor­gia (43.11)

Men

Christo­pher Craw­ford (Kaizen Pan­thers/Al­aba­ma): Shot put (19.09)/Dis­cus (58.91)

Kelsey Daniel (Kaizen Pan­thers/Texas) - Triple jump (16.34 pb)

Avin­dale Smith (Abi­lene Wild­cats/Arkansas Pine Bluff) - 4x100m (38.98)

Devin Au­gus­tine (Pt Fortin New Jets/Min­neso­ta) - 4x100m (39.07)

Kion Ben­jamin (Mem­phis Pi­o­neers/Min­neso­ta) - 4x100m (39.07)

Sha­keem Mc Kay (Abi­lene Wild­cats/LSU) -Men's 4x400m (3:03.78)

T&T ath­letes Re­sults

EAST RE­GION­ALS (Uni­ver­si­ty of North Flori­da, Fayet­teville, Flori­da)

Day Four (May 31)

Women

100m Quar­ter­fi­nals-12 Ad­vance (Top 3 from Each Heat plus Next 3 Fastest Times to NCAA Fi­nals)

2 (1st/heat 1) Leah Bertrand (Sim­plex/Ohio State) 10.99\+1.6

16 (5th/heat 2) Re­ece Web­ster (Con­corde/Lib­er­ty) 11.33/+1.4

200m Quar­ter­fi­nals-12 Ad­vance (Top 3 from Each Heat plus Next 3 Fastest times)

4 (2nd/heat 2)-Bertrand 22.71/+0.4 pb

16 (7th/heat 2) -Sanaa Fred­er­ick (Sim­plex/Geor­gia) 23.14/+0.7

4x100m Quar­ter­fi­nals-12 Ad­vance (Top 3 from Each Heat plus Next 3 Fastest Times)

4 (1st/heat 1) Geor­gia (Sanaa Fred­er­ick/Sim­plex, Sole Fred­er­ick/Sim­plex) 43.11

8 (3rd/heat 2) Ohio State (Bertrand) 43.46

20 (8th/heat 3) Lib­er­ty (Re­ece Web­ster (Con­corde), Ak­i­lah Lewis (Con­corde) 44.49

Dis­cus (Top 12 ad­vance to NCAA fi­nals)

25 (10th/Group 3) Lalenii Grant (Mer­cury/Al­bany) 49.55

36 (6th/Group 1) Shaki­ra Kirk (North­west­ern State) 47.07

High jump (Top 12 ad­vance to NCAA fi­nals on June 11-14)

16 (8th/Group 2) Je­lese Alexan­der (Zenith/Ole Miss) 1.79 pb

Day Three (May 30)

Men

Dis­cus (Top 12 ad­vance to NCAA fi­nals on June 11-14)

7 (7th/Group 4) Christo­pher Craw­ford (Kaizen Pan­thers/Al­aba­ma) 58.91

17 (8th/Group 3) Jaden James (Fa­ti­ma/LSU) 54.85

100m Quar­ter­fi­nals-12 Ad­vance (Top 3 from Each Heat plus Next 3 Fastest Times)

DNF - Omari Lewis (Con­corde/Lib­er­ty)

200m Quar­ter­fi­nals-12 Ad­vance (Top 3 from Each Heat plus Next 3 Fastest Times to NCAA Fi­nals)

DNS - Lewis

4x100m Quar­ter­fi­nals - 12 Ad­vance (Top 3 from Each Heat plus Next 3 Fastest Times)

40 (7th/heat 2) Lib­er­ty (Lewis, Rev­ell Web­ster/Con­corde) 40.47

4x400m Quar­ter­fi­nals- 12 Ad­vance (Top 3 from Each Heat plus Next 3 Fastest Times)

8 (6th/heat 2) LSU (Sha­keem McK­ay/Abi­lene Wild­cats) 3:03.78

Day Two (May 29)

Women

100m First Round -24 (Top 3 and next six fastest) ad­vance to Sec­ond round)

2 (1st/heat 2) Leah Bertrand (Sim­plex/Ohio State) 10.92 (+1.8) pb

17 (5th/heat 5) Re­ece Web­ster (Con­corde/Lib­er­ty) 11.26 pb

28 (5th/heat 4) San­na Fred­er­ick (Sim­plex/Geor­gia) 11.38 (+0.6)

33 (5th/heat 1) Ak­i­lah Lewis (Con­corde/Lib­er­ty) 11.43

200m First Round -24 (Top 3 and next six fastest) ad­vance to Sec­ond round)

6 (2nd/heat 3) Bertrand 22.91 (-1.1)pb

14 (3rd/heat 1) Sanaa Fred­er­ick 23.23

DNS - Web­ster

Day One (May 28)

Men

100m First Round - 24 (Top 3 and next six fastest) ad­vance to Sec­ond round

11 (3rd/heat 1) Omari Lewis (Con­corde/Lib­er­ty)10.34

200m First Round -24 (Top 3 and next six fastest) ad­vance to Sec­ond round

(3rd/heat 6) Lewis 21.02

Shot put First Round (Top 12 ad­vance to NCAA fnals on June 11-14)

7 (7th/Group 4)-Christo­pher Craw­ford (Kaizen Pan­thers/Al­aba­ma) 19.09

WEST RE­GION­ALS

Texas A&M Uni­ver­si­ty, Col­lege Sta­tion, Texas

Day Three (May 30)

Men

Triple jump-12 Ad­vance (Top 3 from Each Heat plus Next 3 Fastest Times to NCAA Fi­nals)

4 (3rd/Group 3) Kelsey Daniel (Kaizen Pan­thers/Texas) 16.34 pb

100m Quar­ter­fi­nals - 12 Ad­vance (Top 3 from Each Heat plus Next 3 Fastest Times)

16 Devin Au­gus­tine (Pt Fortin New Jets/Min­neso­ta) 10.17 (+2.4)

18 Kion Ben­jamin (Mem­phis Pi­o­neers/Min­neso­ta) 10.19 (+2.4)

4x100m Quar­ter­fi­nals - 12 Ad­vance (Top 3 from Each Heat plus Next 3 Fastest Times)

5 (2nd/heat 2) Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Avin­dale Smth/Abi­lene Wild­cats) 38.98

6 (1st/heat 3) Min­neso­ta (Au­gus­tine, Ben­jamin) 39.07

4x400m Quar­ter­fi­nals-12 Ad­vance (Top 3 from Each Heat plus Next 3 Fastest Times)

15 (6th/Heat 2) Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Avin­dale Smth/Abi­lene Wild­cats) 3:07.44

Day Two (May 29)

Long jump-(Top 12 ad­vance to NCAA fi­nals on June 11-14)

5 (5th/Group 4) Janae De Gannes (Con­corde/Bay­lor) 6.58 (+1.0) NJR... (6.36, 6.43, 6.58)

100m - 24 (Top 3 and next six fastest) ad­vance to Sec­ond round)

31 (7th/heat 2) Tae­jha Badal (Mem­phis Pi­o­neers/Texas State) 11.43

200m First Round -24 (Top 3 and next six fastest) ad­vance to Sec­ond round

30 (7th/heat 5) Badal 23.55

Day One (May 28)

100m First Round -24 (Top 3 and next six fastest) ad­vance to Sec­ond round

11 (5th/heat 3) Kion Ben­jamin (Mem­phis Pi­o­neers/Min­neso­ta) 10.33

12 (3rd/heat 4) Devin Au­gus­tine (Pt Fortin New Jets/Min­neso­ta) 10.33

200m First Round - 24 (Top 3 and next six fastest) ad­vance to Sec­ond round

47 (7th/heat 6)-Au­gus­tine 21.57

Long jump First Round

(Top 12 ad­vance to NCAA fi­nals on June 11-14)

15 (7th/Group 4) Kelsey Daniel (Kaizen Pan­thers/Texas) 7.57

400m Hur­dles First Round -24 (Top 3 and next six fastest) ad­vance to Sec­ond round

40 (8th/heat 6) Den­zel Hinds (Kaizen Pan­thers/Hous­ton Chris­t­ian) 52.07


Related articles

Sponsored

Weather

PORT OF SPAIN WEATHER

Sponsored

Today's
Guardian

Publications

Success Laventille Secondary School principal Stacey Lezama alongside the volunteer representatives from Unicomer (Trinidad) Limited and United Way, who recently participated in a programme to improve the school's physical and learning environment.

Success Laventille Secondary School principal Stacey Lezama alongside the volunteer representatives from Unicomer (Trinidad) Limited and United Way, who recently participated in a programme to improve the school's physical and learning environment.

Photo courtesy:Cindy James

Success Laventille Secondary School principal Stacey Lezama alongside the volunteer representatives from Unicomer (Trinidad) Limited and United Way, who recently participated in a programme to improve the school's physical and learning environment.

Success Laventille Secondary School principal Stacey Lezama alongside the volunteer representatives from Unicomer (Trinidad) Limited and United Way, who recently participated in a programme to improve the school's physical and learning environment.

Photo courtesy:Cindy James

Unicomer invests in Laventille through Day of Caring

2 days ago
Artist Keith Mervyn Ward, left, shares a moment with Marika and Kathleen Richards and Sita and Lennox Sealy.

Artist Keith Mervyn Ward, left, shares a moment with Marika and Kathleen Richards and Sita and Lennox Sealy.

Photo courtesy Patricia Martin-Ward

Artist Keith Mervyn Ward, left, shares a moment with Marika and Kathleen Richards and Sita and Lennox Sealy.

Artist Keith Mervyn Ward, left, shares a moment with Marika and Kathleen Richards and Sita and Lennox Sealy.

Photo courtesy Patricia Martin-Ward

‘Tints Tones and Textures’ at Lloyd Best Institute

2 days ago
The Emancipation monument, designed and created by jeweler and designer Gillian Bishop, is located in front of the Treasury Building on Independence Square.

The Emancipation monument, designed and created by jeweler and designer Gillian Bishop, is located in front of the Treasury Building on Independence Square.

MARIELA BRUZUAL

The Emancipation monument, designed and created by jeweler and designer Gillian Bishop, is located in front of the Treasury Building on Independence Square.

The Emancipation monument, designed and created by jeweler and designer Gillian Bishop, is located in front of the Treasury Building on Independence Square.

MARIELA BRUZUAL

Public art in Port-of-Spain

2 days ago
Sundar and friends in a Barrackpore bar in one of the scenes in the play.

Sundar and friends in a Barrackpore bar in one of the scenes in the play.

Rishi Ragoonath

Sundar and friends in a Barrackpore bar in one of the scenes in the play.

Sundar and friends in a Barrackpore bar in one of the scenes in the play.

Rishi Ragoonath

Sundar — the story of a chutney legend on the Naparima stage

3 days ago