Assistant Bermuda coach Mike Watson reckons the lessons learned at this year’s Carifta Games will bode well for the development of the Island’s current crop of junior middle distance runners.The former top runner watched proudly from the bleachers as Bermuda’s middle distance runners made a good account of themselves with Shaquille Dill, Kyrah Scraders and Taylor-Ashley Bean leading by example with podium displays on the track.“We’ve had some highs and some lows but overall one needs to be happy at this level,” Watson said. “The Caribbean and this particular track meet is getting so good that getting a medal is hard.“I think the thing we have to remember is that we had runners that were very young in their age bracket competing this year and so we had a fairly young team in many regards. However, if our runners keep training and stay focused they will probably be better at next year’s Carifta Games.”Watson said he wasn’t surprised in the least to see the middle distance runners earn the bulk of Bermuda’s medals at the meet being held locally for the fourth time.“The middle distance has always been our strength,” he added. “So as usual I expected the medals to come from our middle distance runners.”With better fortunes, Watson believes the Island’s middle distance athletes could’ve made an even bigger contribution to the medal haul.“I think we could’ve had more medals actually,” he said. “We made some tactical errors but in spite of that we have come out with a few medals which is good.”One runner in particular who Watson feels had the potential to win the gold medal was Dill who captured the silver instead in the Under 20 boys 800 metres despite running with a niggling injury.“The Shaquille who I know under normal conditions would’ve easily won the gold,” he said. “But he’s had his problems this year and has only been back training for a month.“To see Shaquille get a silver medal was great and overall I’m very happy for him because he had chest problems earlier in the year which kind of put him out of the season.“But he’s still young and so he’ll be alright.”Watson says it’s paramount that the Island’s middle runners do whatever it takes to keep pace with their Caribbean rivals who have grown in leaps and bounds in more recent years.“A lot of the Caribbean has improved in the middle distance area and I think they have learned a lot from us, especially Jamaica,” he added. “Even though they are known as the sprint capital they respect us in the middle distance area, so they’re taking advice from us and certainly studying what we are doing in that area.”