Middle distance runner Michael Donawa is the latest Bermuda athlete to qualify for the CAC Championships which will be held in Caracas, Venezuela, early next month.

Donawa ran the 400 metres at the PacifiCanada Series in British Columbia last weekend, clocking one minute, 53.4 seconds on the Saturday and bettering that mark a day later, running 1:51.89.

Both of these times booked him a spot in the CACs which will be held from July 4-5.

"I have had a decent series of races over the past week in Canada", said Donawa in an e-mail report.

"I competed in three of the four events. In the first race I did not finish because of a stomach problem. In the second race in Abbotsford, I ran 1: 53.4 seconds, while in Sunday's race, I ran 1:51.89 seconds."

Other local athletes who have already qualified for CACs are Tyrone Smith, Xavier James, Aaron Evans and Shianne Smith.

Tre Houston and Aranxta King have also qualified for the World Junior Championships, which will be in Poland from July 8 to July 13.

Meanwhile, Houston, Alison Outerbridge and Alexis Bean all produced encouraging performances last weekend when they took part in the New England Outdoor Championships (NEOC).

The Bermuda trio were the youngest competitors in the collegiate meet.

According Bermuda Track and Field Association spokeswoman Donna Watson, Bean broke the national junior record in the 800 metres while competing at the event, placing fifth in the discipline with a new personal best time to go along with the new mark of 2:13.51.

Houston won the men's 200 metres with a time of 21.79 seconds while Bermuda's veteran sprinter Xavier James placed second with the same time.

Houston also placed third in the men's 100 metres with a time of 11.10.

Outerbridge competed in the women's triple jump, placing third with a distance of 11.35 metres.

"I am very encouraged with the performances of our athletes whether it be from a national squad or club level," said Watson.

"I feel in all of the overseas events we have competed in this year, the children have been very competitive in their age groups with most of them placing in the top three in their events.

"We have a lot of young athletes coming up and I can see in the next few years we should have a big team of athletes travelling to the Carifta Games and some of the other junior international track meets.

"Our job now as coaches and BTFA directors is finding a way to keep this group of children interested in the sport so they don't get discouraged, bored or whatever happens to our teenagers and we lose them."