81.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesV.I. Track and Field Federation Announces World-Class Virgin Island Athletes

V.I. Track and Field Federation Announces World-Class Virgin Island Athletes

The Virgin Islands Track and Field Federation announced Monday that four V.I. National Track and Field athletes have achieved performances to qualify them for the IAAF World List including: Laverne Jones-Ferrette 60 meters, No. 2 in the world; Tabarie Henry, 400m, No. 3 in the world; Eddie Lovett 60m hurdles, No. 14 in the world and David Walters 60m, No. 21in the world.
Laverne Jones-Ferrette is continuing where she left off for the 2012 indoor season. While her initial plan was to basically skip the indoor season for 2013 since there is no IAAF World Championship and to concentrate on the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, she ran a the Ryan Houston Invitational last week and posted a 7.13 and finished second to her teammate Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast who ran 7.00 to land them numbers one and two in the world (VITFF is petitioning the IAAF to officially post these times). With those performances she has received invitations to compete in Scandinavia and France in February.
Tabarie Henry, two-time Olympian and multiple V.I. record holder, is back on track after sustaining an injury and had his first victory on the indoor circuit in the 400m at the Texas A&M Challenge presented by Mondo. His time was 46.30. Quentin Summers finished second in 46.34 and Ade-Alleyne Forte of Trinidad was third in 46.88. Henry reported by phone to VITFF officials that he thinks that the long road back from injury that prevented him performing at a higher level in the London Olympics is behind him. This performance puts him at number three on the IAAF World List. He is looking forward to the IAAF World Championships in Moscow this coming summer.
Eddie Lovett, a junior at the University of Florida and fifth place finisher in the 110 hurdles at the 2012 NCAA Championships, broke the school record in the 55m hurdles indoors this year with a 7.10 at the Gator Invitational and has moved to number 14 on the IAAF world list for the 60m hurdles (last week he was number 6) with a time of 7.68 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to take first place in the race. He has finished first in six out of seven races that he has contested for the 2013 indoor season.
David Walters, a senior at Langston University in Oklahoma, has found his form and joins three more V.I. National Team members on the prestigious IAAF World List with a V.I. indoor record in the 60m with a time of 6.66 at the New Mexico Colligate Classic.
Seymour Walter, a junior at South Carolina State University, had two victories at the Gamecock Indoor Open No. 2 at the University of South Carolina. He ran 4:44.05 in the mile and he ran a leg on the team’s 4 x 400m relay in 3:41.80.
At the Captain’s Invitational and Combined Events at Christopher Newport University in Newport, Virginia, he took second in the 800m 1:55.51 and ran a leg on his South Carolina State Medley Relay Team, and took second also.
Wanetta Kirby and Leon Hunt have both completed their college careers and are continuing to compete, Kirby took second place in the long jump at 5.57m in Newport News, and Hunt took second long jump 7.10.
Deseriee King, a junior at Georgetown University and a member of the V.I. IAAF World Junior Championships Team in 2010, appears to have recovered from injury in her first two years at Georgetown. In this indoor season she has recorded three first place finishes including: a win at the Penn State National Invitational in the 500m with a time of 1:12.75; she took first place in the 300m with a time of 39.88 at the Hoya Spiked Shoe Club Invitational in Washington, DC, and she had two wins on her team’s 4 x 400m relay teams.
Ninfa Barnard, a senior at University of Arkansas Pine Bluff and V.I. National 800m record holder, had a win in the mile at the Arkansas State Kickoff Classic with a time of 5:03.40 her personal best. She finished third in the 200m at the University of Alabama Birmingham with a time of 2:16.95.
Allison Peter, two-time IAAF World Youth Championships silver medal winner, has declared professional and will no longer compete for the University of Texas. She has indicated that she would like to return to the Virgin Islands and catch up on her base training which she missed in Texas due to weather conditions. She is focusing on the IAAF World Championships. She had an impressive double “A” Standard qualification for the London Olympic Games.
For information, contact the Virgin Islands Track and Field Federation at isv@mf.iaaf.org or go to http://virginislandstrackandfield.org or call 643-2557.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.