Anthony Foster, Freelance Writer 
Waquar DaCosta wins the boys' Under-17 1500m at yesterday's CARIFTA Games. - Photo by Anthony Foster
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts:
SHERICKA JACKSON, Waquar DaCosta, Natoya Goule and Jonathan Reid were gold medal winners for Jamaica on yesterday's opening day of the 37th CARIFTA Games here at the Bird Rock Athletics Stadium.
At press time last night, and with the 100m finals to come, Jamaica had won four gold, nine silver and four bronze medals.
They led Trinidad and Tobago (3G, 1S), Grenada (3G, 1B), Barbados (1G, 2S, 3B), Martinique (1G, 2B), the Bahamas (1G, 2B), Antigua and Barbuda (1G), Guadeloupe (1S), Turks and Caicos (1S), the Cayman Islands (1B) and Guyana (1B).
Reid was the first gold medal winner when he cleared 2.05m to beat Turks and Caicos' Wendrico Seymour (1.95m) and Travis Webb of Cayman Islands (1.95m) in the long jump.
One-two finish
In the 400m, Jackson and Sandrae Farquharson gave Jamaica a one-two finish in the girls' Under-17 event. Jackson won in 54.52, while Farquharson finished in 54.56.
In the boys' Under-17 400m, Javere Bell (49.08) and Nolan Williams (49.34) finished second and third respectively behind Kirani James of Grenada (47.87).
In the girls' Under-20 400m, Kayon Robinson (53.46) and Alecia Cutenar (54.05) were second and third behind T&T's Janeil Bellille (53.57).
The other gold medals came in the girls' Under-20 and boys' Under-17 1500m races. Goule, of Manchester High crossed the line in 4:33.69 seconds - well ahead of teammate Mackola Joseph (4:45.22).
Cat-and-mouse game
In the boys' Under-17 event, DaCosta played a cat-and-mouse game with Barbados' Matthew Wright before powering home to an easy victory in 4:09.78 seconds.
Wright was second in 4:10.44, while his teammate Ibrahim Hinds was third in 4:16.44.
In the boys' Under-20 discus, Noel Facey (48.84m) finished second. T&T's Emmanuel Stewart won with a throw of 51.46m. Jamaica's Shane Dodd was fourth (46.39m).
In the girls' Under-17 high jump, Janieve Russell (5.72m) and Rochelle Farquharson (5.67m) picked up second and third.
Bahamian V'Alonnee Robinson won with a leap of 5.82m.
