Jamaica got off to a fast start in the 23rd Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Senior Track and Field Championships at the Estadio Jose Antonio Figueroa in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico yesterday, winning three gold medals to lead the tables with a total of 10 after the first day.

Quarter-miler Shereefa Lloyd and throwers Jason Morgan and O’Dayne Richards mined gold as Jamaica also bagged three silver and four bronze medals.

Trinidad also won three gold medals, including both 100m titles as Mexico and Venezuela also won two gold medals.

Lloyd ran a season-best 51.69 seconds to land gold in the women’s 400m, ahead of her teammate Patricia Hall, who ran 51.85 seconds for the silver, barely beating out Colombia’s Norma Gonzalez (51.90 seconds).

Lloyd, who was sixth at the JAAA/Supreme Ventures National Trials, was second in her preliminary heats earlier in the day, while Hall had won her heat in 53.63 seconds.

In the men’s event, national champion Riker Hylton was edged out of a medal by Dominica’s Erison Hurtault, running 46.02 seconds, while teammate Dwayne Barrett was fifth in 46.67 seconds.

Hurtault ran 45.93 seconds, while Trinidad’s Renny Quow took the gold in 45.44 seconds, beating the Bahamas’ Ramon Miller, who took silver in 45.56 seconds.

National record holder Morgan retained the gold medal he won at last year’s CAC Games with a 60.20m effort, beating Mexico’s Mario Cota, who had a best throw of 58.80m, while Trinidad’s Quincy Wilson took the bronze with 56.85m.

Morgan, who was second at the National Trials behind Calabar schoolboy Travis Smikle, partially redeemed himself as he got back into the 60m form after a best of 58.71m at Trials.

He was second to Cota going into the final set of throws, but managed to lift himself past the Mexican and onto the top of the podium.

Allison Randall took the bronze in the women’s discus throw with 52.75m as Cuba’s Denia Caballero took the gold with 62.06m and Puerto Rico’s Brittanny Borero took the silver.

Richards took the shot put gold with 19.16m, the only man to go over the 19-metre mark as Mexico’s Stephen Saenz won silver with 18.66m, while Colombia’s Edder Moreno was third with 18.52m.

Jamaica took the silver and bronze in the women’s 100m final with Jura Levy second in 11.36 seconds just ahead of Simone Facey’s (11.39), both behind Trinidad’s Semoy Hackett, who won in 11.27 seconds.

Earlier in the afternoon session, Both Levy and Facey had won their respective semi-final heat in 11.69 seconds and 11.57 seconds, respectively, running into a head wind.

Dexter Lee was third in the men’s 100m in 10.18 seconds, beaten to the line by Trinidad’s Keston Bledman (10.05 seconds) and Antigua and Barbuda’s Daniel Bailey (10.11) after a false start that saw the Cayman Islands’ Kemar Hyman being disqualified.

Oshane Bailey, Jamaica’s other entrant, was fourth in 10.28 seconds.

Both Lee and Bailey had won their semi-final heats in 10.40 seconds and 10.45 seconds, respectively.

Korene Hinds took silver in the women’s 1,500m, running 4:23.78 as Mexico’s Sandra Lopez won the gold and Pilar McShine of Trinidad and Tobago took the bronze.

Nickey Grant won Jamaica’s first medal when she took bronze in the hammer throw with a season-best 62.46m behind Colombia’s Eli John Moreno (67.97m) and Venezuela’s Rosa Rodriquez (65.74m).

Meanwhile, Leford Green has the fastest time in the men’s 400m hurdles after yesterday’s preliminary rounds after he won his heat in 49.81 seconds, while Roxroy Cato, who is seeking an A qualifying standard for the World Championships, had the eighth fastest time of 50.76 seconds after placing third in his heat.

Green, who won at the CAC Games last year, will seek his second win over Javier Culson, who he upset last year.

Culson was second in his heat, while Trinidad’s Jehue Gordon also advanced to today’s final.

Andrea Sutherland and Sheryl Morgan both advanced to the women’s 400m hurdles final; Sutherland won her heat in 57.71 seconds to advance as an automatic qualifier, while Morgan, who finished fourth in her first semi-final heat in 58.37 seconds, advanced as one of the fastest losers.

Jamaicans will be in five finals on today’s second and penultimate day, while there will be the first rounds of the men’s and women’s 200m and women’s 800m races.

The men’s 4x100m team will also contest the first round, while the women are through to the final as only eight countries have entered a team.

Natoya Goule and Clora Williams will contest the women’s 800m preliminaries and will be seeking a place in tomorrow’s final.

Goule, who lowered her personal best to 2:01.45 minutes, will go into the event with the second fastest seed time behind Cuba’s Rosemary Almanza, while Williams, who switched from the 400m this season, comes in with a 2:03.99 time.

Samantha Henry-Robinson and Facey will line-up in the women’s 200m heats to be run early this afternoon, while Jason Young and Dwight Mullings are in the men’s field.

Demar Forbes, the only Jamaican with the A qualifying standard for the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, will get a chance to redeem himself after three fouls in the long jump at the National Trials.

Tarick Batchelor, who won at Trials, will join Forbes in the long jump.

Leighton Spencer, the national champion in the 5,000m, will contest that event today.