Soldiers within striking distance of third straight ISAAC title
Nov 03, 2016, , http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....traight-isaac-title/
By Edison Jefford
Unless something dramatic happens tomorrow on the final day of the 2016 Inter-Services Annual Athletics Championships (ISAAC), also known as Joint Services, to turn the fortune of Guyana’s Police Force (GPF), the soldiers will become repeat champions.
The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is within striking distance of a third straight ISAAC title, and fourth outright in six years after extending their 42-point second day lead to 83 points, amassing a total of 520 points on another dominant day at the National Track and Field Centre (NTFC) at Leonora.
Police trail on 437 points after turning in performances that were way below their best. It was as if the Force had already surrendered the title with a day and half left in the competition, placing the Soldiers within range of an emphatic title defence.
The Soldiers seemed purposeful from the first events yesterday when two seasoned campaigners, Ornesto Thomas and Wayne Harlequin took the top podium places in the Men’s 800m race with Thomas winning in 1:54.0 and Harlequin (1:54.2) second. Police’s Winston Dummette (1:55.0) was third.
In the Women’s 800m, Jevina Sampson won in 2:21.4 and team-mate, Shonsell Adams finished second in 2:25.3; Soldier, Collia Row (2:26.5) was third.
Taniesha Cort put the Soldiers back on top of the podium in the Women’s Javelin Throw with a best mark of 38.75m with Police’s Natasha Alder second with 34.82m and Soldier, Wonette Wayne (31.77m) third.
Troy Lewis, who won the Discus the day before, completed a double with a Javelin win for the Defence Force. Lewis threw 61.40m to top Police’s Clarence Greene (58.88m) and Kleon Spelling (56.03m) respectively.
The Soldiers marched to two more podium places in the Women’s Triple Jump when Natrena Hooper leaped 12.45m ahead of team-mate Aniqua Powley (11.31m). Police’s Cindy Fraser was third with 11.01m.
GDF then swept the Men’s version with Domon Williams completing a double with 15.58m. He had won the Long Jump the day before. Team-mates Lurex Stewart was second with 14.74m and Lloyd McCurdy (14.57m) third.
The dominance of the Soldiers became even more emphatic when Tiffany Pilgrim tossed 13.15m to claim the Women’s Shot Putt ahead of Police’s Saphina Vanderstoop (11.58m) and team-mate Taniesha Cort (11.01m) respectively.
The battle continues tomorrow with today designated as a day of rest for the Armed Forces in the 2016 ISAAC showdown.