St Lucia Sports

Assessment Meet Produces This Year's First St Lucia National Record

2012-01-25T08:24:00.001-04:00

St Lucia has its first new National Record for the calendar year 2012, and after three weeks of indoor competition in the United States and Europe, it's an outdoor record, in the first local meet of the season.

The assessment meet at the George Odlum Stadium was intended to test out the newly installed electronic timing system, and to give coaches and selectors a first look at some of the young athletes in contention for places on the St Lucia team to CARIFTA 2012, less than three months hence in Bermuda. Instead, it was a field events athlete and a former CARIFTA champion turning in the most significant performance.

In July 2010, finishing fourth at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, Albert Reynolds threw the men's javelin 69.52m to extend his personal-best and National Record mark in that event. An Olympic Solidarity Scholarship athlete, Albert enjoyed a relatively barren 2011. But he's kicked off 2012 with the best throw of his life.

After an initial effort of 64.50 off five steps, the 24-year-old from Babonneau tossed the spear 69.41m, then with his third throw became the first St Lucian to cross the 70m barrier. Albert's 70.26m performance is still well shy of the 79.50 he needs to qualify for the Olympics, but it's a significant landmark for him and for the progress of the event in St Lucia.

Two other important marks were set in men's Javelin Throw. Last year, Denzil St. Marthe took a silver medal in the under-17 version of that event at the LIME CARIFTA Games in Jamaica. Still eligible for that division, aged 16, he started off this season with a throw of 48.51 with the men's implement, but his performance was eclipsed by a 51.59m hurl from 14-year-old Canis Richardson of Choiseul. Richardson had a consistent series, with two throws over 51m and two over 49. The CARIFTA standard with the boys' javelin, which is lighter, is 57m.

On the track, with just timed finals being run in most events, several athletes gave glimpses of their CARIFTA potential. 2011 CARIFTA medallist Marbeq Edgar doubled up in the 800m and 1500m. A student at Piaye Secondary, the 17-year-old will be moving up to the under-20 division this year. He came in at 1:57.98 in the 800 (CARIFTA standard 1:54) and 4:12.56 in the 1500 (4:06.14).

In the women's 100m, little Gabrielle Tobierre had a star turn, stopping the clock at 12.52 seconds. At 14, she was one of the youngest competitors on display. Her time was surpassed only by 17-year-old Verlyn Taylor, who ran 12.38 seconds. Both times, though, came with heavy winds, 3.6 and 4.4 metres per second, respectively. The under-17 and under-20 standards are 12.03 and 12.01 seconds.

In the open men's 400m, 18-year-old Talbert Poleon ran 48.99, well within sight of the 48-second standard. Running virtually by herself, 15-year-old Natasha Poleon crossed the line in the women's 400 in 59.94 seconds, over one and a half seconds ahead of anyone in her age group. The CARIFTA under-17 mark is 57 seconds. In the open division, 20-year-old Peterlyn Edward ran 58.70 seconds.

St Lucia & OECS Swimming Certify 43 Coaches

2012-01-23T22:52:00.002-04:00

Later this year they will all be cheering their various charges on, exhorting their teenagers and pre-teens to give the very best possible performance after hundreds of hours of training. But the swimming fraternity in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is tight knit, and it came as no surprise to see that camaraderie grow during a recent FINA Level 1 coaching course, hosted by Bay Gardens Inn in Rodney Bay, St Lucia.

37 St Lucian coaches completed the course, alongside seven participants from the wider OECS - Grenada, St. Vincent, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands. And from all reports, instructor John Leonard, an American coaching legend, a pioneer of his generation and a member of every US Olympic Swim Team Staff for the last 30 years, may have helped set the stage for the 2012 OECS Championships to be the best ever.

A 40-year coaching veteran, Coach Leonard's coaching philosophy is to "learn to live a balanced life and apply life lessons to the foundation of coaching." His thorough, witty and honest approach gave all participants a glimpse into his experience in coaching swimmers and coaches to become champions on the pool deck, and most important champions in life. Of the 44 participants, 43 got a passing grade upon completion of the course.

Dr. Marcus Day, president of the St Lucia Amateur Swimming Association, came away most impressed with what he deemed to be the most successful course in his six-year tenure at the helm of the local federation. Many of the young coaches, swimmers and parents from all the island’s swim clubs turned out for what several are already hoping will have been the prelude to a Level 2 course in St Lucia in 2013.

Following on from the Level 1 course, the immediate outcome was to take initial steps towards the formation of an OECS Coaches Association. Aside from his duties as a coach, John Leonard has also served as Executive Director of the American Coaches Swimming Association, which the sub-regional swimming fraternity hopes to model itself after as it seeks to elevate and improve the sport at all levels.

Young Saint Lucian Star's Football Future In Peril

2012-01-22T16:16:00.002-04:00

Janoi Donacien is used to waiting for the final whistle in the latest away match for the Aston Villa academy team, waiting to get the results from his teammates. Whilst his fellow young Villans have been jetting off to Amsterdam, Istanbul and Trondheim, whilst they are preparing for yet another trip, this time to Marseille, the 18-year-old central defender remains in Birmingham.

These trips are a results of Aston Villa's progression through the group phase of the NextGen Series. The tournament touts itself as essentially the under-19 version of the UEFA Champions League. In its inaugural year, the NextGen Series features 16 teams, from England, France, Norway, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.

The claret and blue topped Group 3, but the breakdown of the results of the six matches - against teams with whose names most fans of European football would be intimately familiar - bear close review, and may well say something about how valuable the subject of this story is, and what a bright future he could have, if only the authorities will allow him to remain on track.

Aston Villa had a 2-1 away record, thanks to a come-from-behnd 2-1 win over Fenerbahçe. They lost 0-2 and 2-3 to Ajax and Rosenborg. But in three home games, the 2011 Premier League Youth winners and Youth Cup finalists were unbeaten, scoring 11 goals and conceding just one. Perhaps not coincidentally, Janoi Donacien played all but 11 minutes from a possible 270 at home.

So why hasn't Janoi, who is described on the Villa website as possessing "tremendous athleticism and [being] comfortable on the ball," been showcased in away competition? The answer is that if Janoi were to leave England, he might not be able to re-enter the country. To put it bluntly, Janoi is an illegal immigrant. And though he is now in limbo, his situation could get worse.

In 2001, Janoi and his parents moved to the United Kingdom from the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. Janoi would have been about 8 at the time his family settled in Luton. The young man has spent more than half his life in England, and the last few years working and learning under the guidance of Villa academy director, Bryan Jones. He had every right to dream big.

Janoi would have gone on to follow St Lucian-born Premiership players like Les and Rio Ferdinand and Jermain Defoe. He would have succeeded the likes of Gabriel Agbonlahor, Gareth Barry, Craig Gardner and Gary Cahill as household names who have graduated through the club's highly-acclaimed youth system at Bodymoor Heath. And he still could, but he needs help.

Currently registered as a schoolboy, the gifted centre back cannot sign a professional contract or travel overseas until he gains permanent UK residency, which he has been denied by the Home Office. An immigration appeal has been filed on his behalf. If successful, he stays. But if the UK Border Agency turns down the appeal, Janoi could be kicked out of the UK for good.

Lawyers and Luton South MP Gavin Shuker have alerted Home Secretary Theresa May, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt and immigration minister Damian Green, but they have taken no action. A UK Border Agency spokesman said individual applications could not be discussed in detail but added: "All foreign nationals must ensure they have permission to remain in the UK."

Villa academy director Jones does not sound entirely hopeful, but he reiterates the urgency for Villa... and for Janoi: "Time is running out fast because, if this is not resolved, Janoi will be unable to play football in this country. That would be a travesty. It's time that the authorities examined the case and allowed the boy residency so he can pursue his career."

With the NextGen Series quarter-finals starting this Wednesday, Janoi will be tasked with shackling the French team's forwards at home. But unless his immigration status gets sorted, it's Janoi who will remain shackled while his friends pack for their Mediterranean adventure. The next plane he takes may well be back to Saint Lucia. And what a shame that would be.

Photo by David Rawcliffe, Propoaganda Photo - http://archive.propaganda-photo.com/

Beaubrun Helps Lead FGCU to Another Conference Win

2012-01-22T13:17:00.001-04:00

STATESBORO, Ga. – The Florida Gulf Coast University swimming & diving team used 11 first-place finishes to pick up its 21st-straight win in Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association meets by defeating Georgia Southern, 180-115, on Saturday in a dual meet at the RAC in Statesboro, Georgia.

The Eagles improve to 10-2 with a perfect 4-0 record in conference. FGCU hasn’t lost a conference meet in four years.

FGCU began the meet with a first-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:45.32. Led by Saint Lucian junior Danielle Beaubrun (Vieux Fort/The Bolles School), the FGCU team also included freshman Emma Svensson (Uppsala, Sweden/Celsiusskolan), junior Shannon Blizzard (Jacksonville, Fla./Stanton College Prep) and senior Victoria Cadge (Long Melford, Suffolk, United Kingdom/Kelly College). Together, they finished five seconds ahead of second place.

Beaubrun, who last year became the first swimmer from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States to qualify for the Olympic Games, also earned an individual win. She took first place in the 100 breast with a time of 1:05.92, while classmate Regina Rodriguez (Mexico City, Mexico/The Bolles School) touched in fourth at 1:08.00.

Image courtesy St Lucia Star

St Lucia's Scheper Named AgSouth Athlete of the Week

2012-01-22T12:56:00.003-04:00

COLUMIBA, S.C. -- Sophomore Jeannelle Scheper from the Gamecock women's track and field team has been named AgSouth Athlete of the Week.

Scheper opened her 2012 track & field season in record form with her win in the high jump at the Virginia Tech Invitational that catapulted her to the top of the South Carolina all-time record books with a mark of 5¹11 1Ž2 (1.82m). The personal best mark for Scheper breaks Olympian Chelsea Hammond¹s eight-year old indoor mark of 5'10.5". Her mark falls just three centimeters short of an NCAA Championship automatic qualifying mark and only four centimeters short of the Saint Lucia National Junior Record (1.86m). Scheper ranks fourth in the NCAA and is the only sophomore in the country to clear over 1.80 meters so far this season.

Jeannelle is also the first Saint Lucian to qualify for the IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics, next July in Barcelona, Spain. She was the only Saint Lucian medallist at last year's Commonwealthy Youth Games.

From gamecocksonline.com

St Lucian Player Takes Up Tennis Scholarship

2012-01-17T14:16:00.003-04:00

Another St Lucian athlete has traveled to the United States to begin studies on a sports scholarship. 17-year-old Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School alumnus Aquila Gustave is now enrolled at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. The pre-med student will begin competition with the Crusaders' women’s tennis team in time for the spring season, which begins in early February.

Gustave is a product of the OMS Tennis Academy in St. Lucia and was named the academy’s Most Outstanding Female player in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, and Augier Combined School's Most Outstanding overall player in 2006. She joined OMS Tennis Academy at age 8 and represented her country in the St Vincent Milo Tournament in 2006 and 2008. Last summer, she competed at the International Tennis Federation Coca Cola Open, advanced to the Challenger Cup finals in under-18 girls’ singles and under-18 mixed doubles, and won the inaugural Christmas Tournament at the National Tennis Centre in Beausejour, Gros Islet.

“We are extremely excited to have Aquila come this Spring semester,” said Evangel head tennis coach Debbie De Almeida. “Aquila is one of the top players in St. Lucia and will add some great strength to our top half of the line-up. She has a deep desire to play tennis and study at Evangel. She is an excellent addition to the Evangel tennis family and our first Caribbean recruit.”

Evangel is part of the Heart of America Athletic Conference and fields intercollegiate teams in men's basketball, track and field, cross-country and golf, women's volleyball, basketball, track and field, cross-country and tennis. Crusader athletes are also actively involved in outreach through our Athletic Ministries program. The school's tennis team practices and competes at the Cooper Tennis Complex, a state-of-the-art facility that features twelve indoor and 16 outdoor courts and a 2,500 seat outdoor stadium court.

Photo by National Tennis Centre

St Lucian Player Joins Evangel on Tennis Scholarship

2012-01-17T14:08:00.002-04:00

Another St Lucian athlete has traveled to the United States to begin studies on a sports scholarship. 17-year-old Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School alumnus Aquila Gustave is now enrolled at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. The biology student will begin competition with the Crusaders' women’s tennis team in time for the spring season, which begins in early February.

Gustave is a product of the OMS Tennis Academy in St. Lucia and was named the academy’s Most Outstanding Female player in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, and Augier Combined School's Most Outstanding overall player in 2006. She joined OMS Tennis Academy at age 8 and represented her country in the St Vincent Milo Tournament in 2006 and 2008. Last summer, she competed at the International Tennis Federation Coca Cola Open, advanced to the Challenger Cup finals in under-18 girls’ singles and under-18 mixed doubles, and won the inaugural Christmas Tournament at the National Tennis Centre in Beausejour, Gros Islet.

“We are extremely excited to have Aquila come this Spring semester,” said Evangel head tennis coach Debbie De Almeida. “Aquila is one of the top players in St. Lucia and will add some great strength to our top half of the line-up. She has a deep desire to play tennis and study at Evangel. She is an excellent addition to the Evangel tennis family and our first Caribbean recruit.”

Evangel is part of the Heart of America Athletic Conference and fields intercollegiate teams in men's basketball, track and field, cross-country and golf, women's volleyball, basketball, track and field, cross-country and tennis. Crusader athletes are also actively involved in outreach through our Athletic Ministries program. The school's tennis team practices and competes at the Cooper Tennis Complex, a state-of-the-art facility that features twelve indoor and 16 outdoor courts and a 2,500 seat outdoor stadium court.

Photo by National Tennis Centre

Scheper Sets School Record

2012-01-15T13:19:00.002-04:00

Indoor track and field season got into full stride this weekend in the United States, and University of South Carolina sophomore Jeannelle Scheper highlighted performances by St Lucian athletes. The 18-year-old St Joseph's Convent graduate hit a personal-best and school-record mark of 1.82m (5'11.5") at the Virginia Tech Invitational, takign first place in that event. The Gamecock sophomore broke Olympian Chelsea Hammond's eight-year old indoor mark of 5'10.5" and falls just three centimeters short of an NCAA Championship automatic qualifying mark. Levern Spencer's National Junior Record is 1.86m, which is also the shared CARIFTA under-20 record. Scheper has two years of CARIFTA eligibility.

"Jeannelle's record was our highlight on the girls side," South Carolina head coach Curtis Frye said. "It's early. We spent six weeks training since Thanksgiving, so for where we are, we know we have six weeks to get ready for the conference meet. We have a tough meet next week. This was an opener. You have to be really happy getting through. We don't have any notable injuries and we think we'll be OK. It will be a battle. It's a tough conference, but we have some really great kids working extremely hard."

There were good results from two sophomore sprinters on the weekend, both in the women's 60m. At the the Saluki Open in Carbondale, Ill., on the campus of Southern Illinois University, Missouri State's Pernell Joseph (Vieux Fort Comprehensive) followed up on her personal-best mark of 7.60 last week with times of 7.73 to win Heat 4 and 7.66 to finish fourth overall in the final. Meanwhile, at the University of Houston's Leonard Hilton Memorial, Jhorden Hunter of Texas San Antonio ran 7.61 to win Heat 2 and 7.59 to finish second in the B final, behind Virgin Islander and CARIFTA champion Allison Peter. The St Lucia 60m record is 7.55 seconds, by Michelle Baptiste (1999) and Jineill Vité (2004).

Makeba Alcide was the top field events performer for University of Arkansas. Another St Joseph's Convent graduate, Alcide cleared 1.71m (5'7.25") to finish sixth in women's High Jump at the Kentucky Invitational. The Razorback junior had a disappointing final in the 60m Hurdles, ending 14th in 8.95 after running 8.82 in the preliminaries, eighth overall, and within two hundredths of a second of her St Lucia National Record and personal-best time.

Image via http://www.gamecocksonline.com/

OECS Half Marathon 2011 - Zeph Conquers Again

2011-10-31T07:42:00.002-04:00

CASTRIES, St. Lucia (October 30th, 2011) - - Saint Lucian long distance runner Zepherinus Joseph is the 2011 OECS Half Marathon champion.

Running on what was a hot final Sunday afternoon in October – Joseph won the race that was held in the Spice Isle, Grenada.

Technically this is Joseph’s 8th OECS Half Marathon title since last year when the race was combined with a local race in the British Virgin Islands he was the first OECS runner to cross the finish line in a contest that was won by American Michael Aish.

Not one for technicalities however – Joseph says this is his 7th OECS title.

“My time wasn’t too fast due to the extreme heat,” Joseph said. “But I’m happy I was able to bring the title home.”

Joseph was flying the Saint Lucian flag along with young Winsbert Sylvester who came in 5th in what is only his second race outside of Saint Lucia this year.

Grenadian Sherwin Paul came in second followed by Lionel Danrage of Guyana. Ten time OECS half marathon champion Pamenos Ballantyne of Saint Vincent was fourth.

“I still have some work to do for my upcoming races but this result proves that I’m heading in the right direction,” says Joseph.

Up next for the undeniable King of the regional road is a 10K in Guadeloupe on November 5th.

Much To Overcome For St Lucia Football... Including Itself!

2011-09-02T16:39:00.003-04:00

Shambolic. It translates to "poorly organized and in a messy or chaotic state." No apter word could describe St Lucia's preparations for CONCACAF Group D competition in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers™.

St Lucia's first opponent is Canada, whom they've never faced. The Mexico 1986 finalists have come down in the world somewhat, ranked just 105th in the world. But with a young side boasting an abundance of pace, and a fine blend of youth and experience, they are hopeful not only of beating first-time opponents St Lucia on Friday at BMO Field in Toronto, but of advancing to the next round of qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ as winners of Group D. The other two teams in Group D are St Kitts-Nevis and Puerto Rico.

The Canadian team is led by Atiba Hutchinson of PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie. A versatile player, the jet-heeled Hutchinson is most effective coming up through midfield and adding himself to the attack. The defensive and leadership roles are handled by long-time Germany-based captain Paul Stalteri and Burnley’s David Edgar. In attack, Dwayne De Rosario of New York Red Bulls will add the creativity while Ali Gerba plays the poacher’s role.

The Canada team has been in camp under coach Stephen Hart, who gives the usual "We're not taking anyone lightly" speeches, but who also backs them up by ensuring that his team was training at the BMO Field from Wednesday evening, two days before their big opening game.

St Lucia, by contrast, travelled to Canada (only a six-hour journey, longer than several of these players would ever have spent in an aircraft) on Thursday evening. As I type, aaround 11pm, they should just have cleared Customs and Immigration, and should be on their way to the hotel. Want to takea bet that they did not check into their rooms in advance? That would mean players would be filling out forms and settling into bed sometime after midnight.

The last part of that previous paragraph is speculation, but given that up to Thursday afernoon the St Lucia Football Association was still sorting out players' kit, it's probably a bit more believable than talk of the Yeti or majee noir. Given that after the team's last friendly the coach and technical director took leave, less than two weeks ahead of the Canada match, I rather suspect my speculation is right on target.

By the way, did I mention that the Canada-St Lucia match is 8pm Friday? As in less than 24 hours after the St Lucia team touches down in Toronto?

St Lucia made it to this stage by beating Aruba in the preliminary round. Down 4-2 after the first game in Aruba, St Lucia won by the same score at home, thanks to a hat-trick by forward Jamil Joseph. St Lucia held its nerve to win 5-4 on penalty kicks. Having made the second round on 12 July, they did not schedule a friendly until 21 August, when they lost 4-0 to Barbados in Bridgetown. 16 players were used in that game. Four have been dropped.

For context, St Lucia is 183rd in the latest FIFA Rankings. Aruba, against whom St Lucia struggled to advance, is ranked 168th. Barbados, to whom St Lucia lost 4-0, is ranked 130th. And Canada, again, is 105th. Ouch.

Alain Providence is the coach of the national team. Cyril "Ces" Podd is technical director, and more often than not, the team's mouthpiece. Although the president of the Football Association told me that nobody from the executive or technical staff would be available to appear on a 7am radio sports talk show, I was also unable to get through to Mr. Podd despite ringing his phone a number of times the day prior to his departure for Canada.

And as for the team itself? Several of the players called up against Aruba have been dropped for the Canada match. Among the hold-overs, young fullback Kurt Frederick enjoys going forward, speedy and physical defender Nathan Justin is one of the more experienced players on the team, and defensive midfielder Hiram Hunte is a rock in the middle of the park. But none of these players has more than a handful of caps. Nor does even the captain, midfielder Guy George.

Also named to the squad against Canada are promising young midfielders Shane Paul and Zaine Pierre. Shane was MVP of the 2010 Blackheart Inter-District competition. Zaine, an electric dribbler who plays alongside Frederick for W Connection of Trinidad & Tobago, is reputedly a target for some of the world's top clubs. Former Chelsea forward Leon Knight, whose father is a St Lucian, tweeted earlier this month that he had been called up to the St Lucia team. Unsurprisingly, nobody from the FA or its technical staff ever commented, and Knight (now at Coleraine FC) is not in St Lucia's squad.

You know, sport is gloriously uncertain. St Lucia might well end up knocking the Canadians around and beating them in their own backyard, in front of thousands of flag-waving Caribbean patriots. If they do, though, it will be a triumph for what appears to be a demoralised and under-prepared team over an opponent with superior resources, and vastly greater experience.

Just for the record St Lucia's men's football team's record loss came in 2006, going down 8-0 to neighbours St Vincent & the Grenadines.

St Lucia's Edwards Makes Worlds Finals

2011-08-30T00:05:00.005-04:00

Darvin Edwards spent two years away from athletics through injury and lack of finances. Imagine what the soon-to-be 25-year-old (in two weeks) could have accomplished but for those two lost years.

Really, though, no need to imagine. Darvin is sitting pretty at the top of the world, with an amazing year that is not even over. He matched his St Lucia National Record and personal-best mark of 2.25m earlier this year, improved to 2.27m, and then went on to clear 2.28m, a new National Record and an Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States record. More importantly, it was the qualifying standard for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. Darvin lives in England and trains and competes with Belgrave Harriers, under the watchful eyes of Trevor Llewelyn, who accompanied the young man to Worlds.

Going into the qualifying rounds Tuesday morning on a sunny day in Daegu, South Korea, Darvin's first goal was to just make the final, either automatically by clearing 2.31m or as one of the 12 best jumpers. He cleared at 2.16 and 2.21, but missed his first trial at 2.25 - it was to be his only miss. Darvin went on to conquer 2.25, soared over at 2.28 and then set new benchmarks for himself, his nation and his sub-region by going over at 2.31m, the first to do so in Group A. Group A, by the way, only included American champion Jesse Williams and former World Champion Donald Thomas of the Bahamas.

Darvin was one of just two men to set a personal-best mark in qualifying, and one of only three to complete the competition with no more than one miss at any height. His performance was exactly what you would ask of a champion, giving of his very best on the biggest stage of his career so far. And a bigger stage is still to come, as he will now compete in Thursday's final.

Prior to this morning's performance, Darvin's only international exposure for 2011 had been a bronze medal at the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Given that one of his stated goals is to better his performance from Worlds when he heads to London 2012, God willing it appears Darvin will be getting a lot more exposure. Hopefully, he can also be put in a much better position to improve.

(The men's High Jump final is Thursday evening Daegu time, or Thursday morning St Lucia time.)

This article of portions thereof may be reproduced so long as appropriate credit is given.

St Lucia Set For NORCECA Continental Competition

2011-08-24T19:56:00.002-04:00

St Lucia has named 12 players, led by New York-based hitter Jason "Long" Octave, to contest the 2011 NORCECA Continental Men's Volleyball Championships.

A relatively experienced team, the St Lucia contingent will still find it tough going in Group A, against Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. St Lucia earned the right to compete at this tournament by virtue of winning the Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association title in 2010. With the notable addition of Trinidad & Tobago-based hitter Kervin Jean, this is also essentially the same team that contested the World Championships opening round competition on home soil in 2009.

At last year's ECVA Championships, Octave was adjudged Most Valuable Player, whilst veteran Servin Mongroo was named Best Setter. St Lucia has had a long history of success at the Eastern Caribbean level, but has had difficulty translating that to competition at the wider regional level. Octave says the NORCECA tournament will surely teach the team some valuable lessons as they prepare for next year's ECVA Championships.

Coached by Kendall Charlery, with the assistance of Cuban coach Luis Oviedo, the St Lucia side has a third player with substantial overseas experience in the person of Amobi Armstrong, who played collegiate volleyball at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. 2010 Junior Volleyball Player of the Year Julian Bissette has also been included. The team leaves for Puerto Rico on Saturday 27 August. their playing schedule runs 29-31 August.

1. Joseph Clercent
2. Shane Roachford
3. Benson Tertullien
4. Amobi Armstrong
5. Kervin Jean
6. Dayne Williams
7. Keson Edmund
8. Kaji Charles
9. Gillan Octave
10. Julian Bissette
11. Servin Mongroo
12. Jason Octave (Captain)

Head Coach: Kendall Charlery
Assistant Coach: Luis Oviedo
Team Manager: Jean Morille
Trainer/Therapist: Dayshia Martial

What athlete do you most want to meet?

2011-07-19T23:54:00.001-04:00

Blanka, Keila, Briana, Funmi, Perdita, Nicole...

Ask me anything

Olympics, Worlds For Edwards

2011-06-05T23:29:00.002-04:00

Just weeks after establishing a new St Lucia National Record for men's High Jump, 24-year-old Darvin Edwards has book his ticket to the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea and, more importantly, to the Games of the XXX Olympiad next year in London, England. Assuming he continues to train with his present club, Belgrave Harriers, Darvin won't have to travel far.

Darvin achieved the B standard for the next two major global athletics competitions when he cleared 2.28m to win a British League Division One contest at Barnet Copthall on Saturday, 4 June. Two athletes cleared 1.90m on their first attempts but were unable to negotiate 1.95m; only one man, Darvin, had yet to attempt a height. It was time for grown men jumping.

The St Lucian champion started at 2.00m, and had first-time clearances at 2.15, 2.20 and 2.25 before entering uncharted territory at 2.28, one centimetre better than his previous personal-best. This time, Darvin needed two tries, but on that second try he soared over to set a new National Record and a new Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States record and to qualify for Worlds and Olympics.

With qualification and the record sealed, Darvin tried 2.31m, which is the A standard for Worlds and Olympics. He missed out on all three, but declared afterwards that he is "just doing the same thing." Asked about his goals for the year, Darvin admitted that by making the height for Worlds he had already achieved one, but added "I just really want to jump as high as I can this year.

"I feel good [about qualifying for Worlds and Olympics]" Darvin continued, "but feeling good that I have made it is not enough. I want to go there and be a competitor, not just go on holiday, so I'm telling myself now I have got to keep working hard." This year, the former CARIFTA champion should also be one of at least six athletes in St Lucia's team for the Pan Am Games.

As of this weekend, 2.28m is the 13th-best height on the planet and joint second-best in Central America and the Caribbean, behind only former Donald Thomas, the former World Champion from the Bahamas.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

2011-06-01T08:05:00.001-04:00

A famous detective.

Ask me anything

Spencer Second in Golden Gala

2011-05-27T13:45:00.002-04:00

St Lucia's Levern Spencer finished second in women's High Jump on Thursday at the Compeed Golden Gala, the third stop on the Samsung Diamond League series at the 1960 POlympic Stadium in Rome. The Commonwealth Games bronze medallist finished ahead of the likes of Frenchwoman Melanie Melfort, Vita Styopina of the Ukraine, Russia's Svetlana Shkolina, long-time rival Emma Green Tregaro from Sweden and veteran Spanish campaigner Ruth Beitia.

Reigning World Champion indoors and out and World Athlete of the Year Blanka Vlašić of Croatia cleared 1.95m to score her fifth victory in six years in the Italian capital, then went on to miss three times at 2m. Spencer was one of four athletes to clear 1.92m, taking second from Melfort on countback. Levern, an alumnus of Entrepot Secondary School in St Lucia and the University of Georgia, has just completed a lengthy training period in the United States in preparation for the Worrld Championships in Daegu, South Korea later this year.

Scheper Sets new PR at SEC

2011-05-15T23:47:00.002-04:00

South Carolina freshman high jumper Jeannelle Scheper hit a personal best and scored five points for the Gamecocks at the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships at Spec Towns Track in Athens, Georgia on Saturday.

Scheper, a soon-to-be 17-year-old from the Caribbean island of St Lucia, hit a big personal best on her second jump at 1.79m to place fourth overall in the women's High Jump. Scheper, who earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors as the only freshman to score in the meet, bested her previous personal best of 1.75 to solidify the first points for the women's team at the championships.

The fourth-place finish by Scheper is the best for a women's high jumper in Gamecock history. She tops the fifth-place finish that Julie Symonds had in 1994 for the Gamecocks.

"It feels good especially since I was the only freshmen left in that last set of people," Scheper said. "People kept asking me if I was nervous. All I could say was I was blank. I tried to be as confident as I can because that's always my problem, and it just worked out."

"The big thing of the day was Jeannelle's high jump," South Carolina head coach Curtis Frye said. "For her to PR two times and to jump 5'10 ½ as a freshman coming in mid-year as a 16-year old college student, we're really excited about her performance in the meet."

Makeba Sets The Record Straight

2011-05-15T21:19:00.003-04:00

Makeba Alcide missed out on a St Lucia National Record last month, despite compiling a personal-best 5543 points in the Heptathlon at the 84th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, thanks to an illegal wind during her opening event, the 100m Hurdles. She got a chance to set that right at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Outdoor track & Field Championships on the campus of University of Georgia at the Spec Towns Track in Athens.

Competing as a sophomore for the No. 8 University of Arkansas women's team, Makeba began relatively slowly, running 14.23 to finish seventh in the 100m Hurdles. But she got back on track with victory in the High Jump, her height of 1.79m matching her previous best mark, and then a new personal record of 12.09m to win Shot Put. Another personal-best performance in the 200m, third with a time of 25.08 seconds, on course for what would be her first SEC title.

On the second day of Heptathlon competition, Makeba opened with yet another PR, 5.65m, fourth in Long Jump. She threw 35.60m to end seventh in Javelin throw, and entering the final event of the day, led Kaylon Eppinger of Alabama by 84 points in the overall standings. Makeba turned in a fourth personal-best effort in the 800m, crossing second in a time of 2:17.25 and adding 861 points to her winning total of 5646, setting two records in the process.

Makeba erased her previous personal best Heptathlon mark and surpassed her prior National Record of 5153, which she compiled last year at the SEC Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee. Just as importantly, the 21-year-old St Josphe's Convent alumnus established a new Heptathlon benchmark for the Organisation of Eastern CAribbea States, OECS. The OECS standard had heretofore been 5178 points, posted by Grenada's Colleen Felix in 2009.

Speaking to her SEC title-winning performance, Makeba said "It was pretty big for me. It's a new national record. It probably put me in the standings to compete for my country. That's pretty special to me. It wasn't easy to get 5,600 points, but I went out there and did my best. I've worked really hard to get here. It was a good effort on my part and my coaches' part because they really work hard with me.

Makeba became the fifth Razorback ever to life the SEC Heptathlon crown, the first since 2009. Her point total, also a Spec Towns Track facility record, is the fourth-best performance in Arkansas history. Only two other Razorbacks, Gi-Gi Miller and DeeDee Brown, had previously occupied the top five all-time. This year, Makeba has also established National Records in the 100m Hurdles outdoors, and 60m Hurdles and Pentathlon during the indoor season.

Photo by Robert Black

St Lucian Athlete to Join UConn

2011-05-10T23:51:00.002-04:00

St Lucian-born quarter-miler Nyanka Kizzy Moise-Joseph will be a Lady Husky next fall. The 18-year-old will be a freshman at the University of Connecticut on a track and field scholarship next September, after committing to the schoool by signing a letter of intent last month.

Nyanka, whose roots are from Mon Repos, has been credited as one of the pillars of the Medgar Evers Preparatory High School programme that is one of the best high school track programmes in the United States this season. She is also one of the top students in her graduating class.

For Nyanka, Connecticut represents a balance between the track and the classroom, but she says she also felt an instant sense of connection to the Huskies programme, especially sprints coach Clive Terralonge, a former Jamaican World 800m champion.

Nyanka, who runs the 400m and 800m races individually, was a member of hte Medgar Evers relay teams that broke New York State records in the 4x200 and 4x400 indoors. “Everything is happening so fast, you don’t have time to recognize what you’re doing,” she said. “It’s like damn, we broke two state records. We got into college and there’s still more to do.”

Research by Christopher Hunt

New National Record for Darvin Edwards

2011-05-08T22:37:00.002-04:00

Darvin Edwards won his first outdoor competition of 2011 on Saturday under sunny skies in the London district of Battersea. But the 25-year-old also set two new records in the process, entered the world top 15 and the top three in his region, and just missed out on the qualifying height for the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, later this year.

Competing for Belgrave Harriers in the northern section of Division 2 of the Men’s Southern League, Darvin faced only modest competition. With coach Trevor Llewellyn and training partner Samson Oni - last year's British number four - looking on, the St Lucia record-holder waited till Richmond Wilson crashed out at 1.75m before placing the bar at 1.80m for his first trial.

The former CARIFTA champion sailed over at 1.80, 2.00, 2.10, 2.15 and 2.20, all at the first attempt. At 2.24m, the All-Division Southern League Record set back in 1980, he needed two tries, but he eventually cleared his best outdoor height since 2007. Then, the St Lucia international asked for the bar to go to a personal-best 2.26, but his coach suggested a centimetre more.

At 2.27m, Darvin needed a single effort to clear, setting a new meet record and more importantly a new St Lucia National Record, eclipsing his 2007 mark of 2.21m outdoors and his 2008 performance of 2.25m indoors. He had three trials at 2.30m, close but unsuccessful, so he is yet to qualify for World Championships, but he will surely be invited to join St Lucia's Pan-Am team.

With his latest mark, the St Lucian champion is now the 12th-best jumper on the planet for the 2011 outdoor season. Darvin is also ninth overall in the Americas 9six of the top 10 jumpers are from the USA) and third in the latest rankings for the Central American and Caribbean region, behind former World Champion Donald Thomas of Bahamas and Edgar Rivera of Mexico.

"This is just the start, man, there is much more," said Darvin, who dedicated his performance to his mother, Martha. "I'm happy it's pulling together." For her part, Martha was delighted with her Mothers Day present, stating how proud she was for her son, and explaining that she had been praying for just such a feat and that she was very happy for Darvin.

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2011-05-07T10:56:00.001-04:00

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/terryfinisterre

Former Champ Leads Young St Lucia Team to LIME CARIFTA Games

2011-04-20T22:29:00.003-04:00

The St Lucia Athletics Association has named a fairly young team to the 2011 LIME CARIFTA Games, this Easter weekend in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The 10-member was named after the successful staging of three national events to date this year, the Indpendence Track & Field Championships, National Junior Championships and the Inter-School Track & Field Championships, all three having been held at the National Stadum in Vieux Fort.

Its relative age notwithstanding, St Lucia's team does include a former CARIFTA champion and two silver medallists from 2010; Shem Edward captured a CARIFTA title in men's Pole Vault at the age of 16, when the meet was held in St Lucia. Last year he could only manage silver in Georgetown, Cayman Islands, but having cleared a new career-best heightt three times this season, he will be confident of climbing the podium once again.

Last year in the Cayman Islands, Jeannelle Scheper was a silver medallist in under-17 girls' High Jump. Partly on the strength of that performance, she earned a scholarship to University of South Carolina, where she has been improving steadily, and preparing to take her under-20 bow in Montego Bay. Scheper has already qualified for the 2011 IAAF World Youth Championships, 6-10 July in Lille, France, the only St Lucian to do so thus far.

Michael James is one of the team's CARIFTA veterans; the 19-year-old Roadbusters athlete will be taking on the challenge of the under-20 men's 1500m run. Representing Morne Stars Athletics Club, Nicarge Arnold will be making his under-20 debut in Long Jump, having competed in the under-17 ranks the past two years. Sharnique Leonce will try the women's Pentathlon for the first time, and Abilene Wildcats star Verlyn Taylor will run the 100m.

A pair of 15-year-old boys from St Mary's College by way of Survivors Athletics Club are on the St Lucia team. Denzel St Marthe will debut in the under-17 Javelin Throw, and Akhenaton Pierre will compete in the 400m dash. Also making their CARIFTA debuts at hte 40th edition of these Games will be schoolboy sensation Marbeq Edgar of Piaye and a second pole vaulter, Sylvester Charles Jr, demonstrating the strengh of the four-year-old Pole Vault St Lucia programme.

The team will be led by manager Wayne Burton, former president of the St Lucia Athletics Association, and coaches Henry Bailey and Victoria Despaigne. Earlier this week, the team received gift packages and a cash donation of $7500 from LIME, the presentng sponsors of the LIME CARIFTA Games.

Alcide Sets New Heptathlon Mark

2011-04-09T10:13:00.001-04:00

AUSTIN, Texas - Makeba Alcide has established her fourth St Lucia National Record for the 2011 track and field season, the University of Arkansas sophomore placing fourth in women's Heptathlon at the 84th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Track Stadium in Austin. Along the way, the former CARIFTA silver medallist established personal-best marks in six out of the seven events in which she competed, and she has qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Makeba started with a fourth-place time of 14.05 in the 100m hurdles. Unfortunately the 3.6 metre-per-second wind meant she did not break her National Record for that event, but it will go down as a personal-best mark. She also set a PB in the 200m dash, 25.12 placing her eighth in the half-lap race. Her height of 1.73m is below what she did indoors earlier this year, but it is her best mark outdoors and placed her third on this occasion. And her Shot Put mark of 11.88m left her in fourth place overall after Day 1.

On Day 2, Makeba threw the javelin 37.06m, 30cm shy of her previous best performance. She leapt to a 10th-place mark of 5.47m in Long Jump, her best ever effort. And she rounded out the seven-event competition with a fantastic run of 2:18.03 in the 800m.

Overall, Makeba ended with 5,543 points, bettering the 5,172 she compiled last year at the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Under-23 Championships. Lance Harter, head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, was full of praise for the young St Lucian: "What a fantastic first heptathlon of the season for Makeba," he said. "Of the seven events, she had six personal bests which is rarified air because of all the variables that could go wrong during two days of competition. This is a score that will rank in the NCAA and get her to the national meet."

This is just Makeba's first Heptathlon for the year, having set a National Record of 14.11 in the open Hurdles last weekend. She also set records for the 60m Hurdles and Pentathlon during the indoor season this year.

Record-Setting weekend for Leonce, Scheper

2011-02-20T10:24:00.003-04:00

With most of the United States collegiate indoor track and field season over, we've already seen three new St Lucia National Records established. But with a couple of weeks remaining, there's time still to put down some new marks. This weekend, a couple of St Lucian ladies posted new personal-best performances in their respective events, and although they were not National Records, Christabel Leonce and Jeannelle Scheper set school and facility records at two different meets.

Leonce, a junior at Northwest Nazarene University, helped her women's team to third place at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference indoor championships, a home meet at the Jackson Center in Nampa, Idaho. Leonce was the third-highest point scorer for the Crusades, with nine. In the 200m dash on Saturday she finished fourth in 25.93 seconds, and in the 60m dash, she ended in 8.12, good for fifth place.

In the 60m dash preliminaries, though, Leonce - a graduate of Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in St Lucia - became the first woman in Crusader history ever to run the distance in under 8 seconds, her time of 7.98 seconds eclipsing the 8.00 seconds she ran two weeks prior. Teammate Melissa Grammer ran 8.04 in the preliminaries and failed to advance.

Meanwhile, the University of South Carolina held the Gamecock Invitational at the USC Indoor Fieldhouse in Columbia. The Gamecock women hit four facility marks, including one in women's High Jump. St Lucian freshman Jeannelle Scheper cleared a personal best 5'8 ¾ (1.75m) to break the 16-year old record by three inches. Scheper jumped from 17th to fourth on the SEC performance list in one day while also cracking the national top 40 in the event.

Photo credit: Scott Kinnaman, NNU Track & Field Sports Information Assistant

Mandela Resets 200m Indoor Record

2011-02-13T13:15:00.002-04:00

The University of Arkansas played host to the Tyson Invitational this past weekend (11-12 February) and saw four St Lucian athletes in action, including Arkansas combined-events athlete Makeba Alcide, Lincoln sprinter Mandela Clifford, South Carolina freshman Jeannelle Scheper and Missouri State freshman Pernell Joseph.

Two weeks ago Clifford ran 21.67 seconds in the 200m dash at Indiana University Relays to set a new National Record for that event. On this occasion, he won heat 16 on the banked track at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, stopping the clock at 21.49 to establish yet another record and ending 22nd overall. Mandela's new National-Record time is the fourth-fastest in Division 2 of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) this season.

Meanwhile, Alcide and Scheper competed in High Jump, finishing third and sixth, respectively. Both athletes cleared 1.68m, but Alcide (currently ranked 18th in NCAA Division 1 for the indoor Pentathlon) finished better on fewer misses. Joseph completed the 60m and 200m races in 7.77 and 25.74, both career-best performances for the 20-year-old from Vieux Fort.

Over at the USAF Academy in Colorado, University of Wyoming student athletes Jeremiah James and Lenyn Leonce competed at the Air Force Invitational. Jeremiah won the men's Triple Jump with a clearance of 15.75m, his season best and 16th in NCAA Division 1. Lenyn, a sophomore, won the men's Long Jump with a distance of 7.45m, three centimetres shy of his personal-best mark in that event.

St Lucia's Leonce Sets School Record

2011-02-08T12:00:00.002-04:00

2/5/2011 8:15:13 PM

Northwest Nazarene Track & Field competed at the Bronco open this weekend as they continue to tune up to host the GNAC championships in two weeks. Coaches and athletes are starting to see results on the track as all the hard work from the Fall takes shape.

One of the Crusader performances that stood above the rest this weekend was Christabel Leonce breaking the school record in the women's 60m.

The sophomore from Castries, St Lucia darted to a school record of 8.00 seconds in the 60 meters just shaving .01 seconds of the previous record held by teammate Melissa Grammer set in 2010 at 8.01. Christabel was previously sitting in 2nd place all time in the 60m behind Grammer at 8.02.

The question seems to be “who will break 8 seconds first?” Hopefully that question will be answered in the next two weekends and the only thing left to determine will be “who is it and by how much?” For now, Leonce holds the title of NNU's fastest woman.

Heineken Tennis Underway

2011-02-08T11:55:00.001-04:00

The sixth annual Heineken Tennis Open got off to a fine start yesterday evening at the St. Lucia Racquet Club situated at Smuggler’s Cove Resort & Spa, said Tournament Referee Stephen Marcelle with the completion of nine matches being played in the Men's 40 and over Singles and 2 matches in the ladies singles division.

Local veteran tennis coach Titus Butcher based in Soufriere at Jalousie Hilton Resort & Spa defeated Anthony Roheman 6-3, 6-3. Derek Mogal beat Lester Alvis of the UK 6-2, 6-2. Keith Grenda of the USA had a close encounter with Anthony Bousquet winning 6-4 3-6 6-2. The evening saw a marathon match between Kim Louis and Vilan Edwards with Kim Louis coming from behind to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 in a 2 and a half hour battle. Denis Mauricette got the better of Dr Thushar Mirajka in straight sets 6-3, 6-1. And the match of the evening which had all spectators at the edge of their seats was between Martin Satney and Conrad Lovell, with Martin Satney defeating Lovell 6-4, 7-5.

In the Ladies Singles Round Robin Draw, after a nail-biting first set Saoil Miztani of Japan defeated Solange Stanislas on her debut 7-5, 6-2

Play commences this evening (Tuesday) from 6pm. Some matches to look forward to include Anthony Roheman versus Keith Grenda of the USA, Sergei Chavyrine of Russia versus Lester Alvis of Great Britain, Jane DuBoulay versus Anne Dickinson, Colin Hunte up against Derek Mogal and David Cooper meeting Toshihara Takafumi.

Five Wins in Two Weeks for Beaubrun

2011-02-08T11:53:00.002-04:00

The Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) swimming and diving team demolished two conference rivals Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University in two separate meets as the FGCU prepare for the CCSA Conference finals 17-19 February 2011.

On 22 January FGCU swimming and diving team took the top spot in all 12 events scored to beat in-state rival FIU, 178-75. Danielle Beaubrun, a sophomore from Vieux Fort, St Lucia, placed first in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:05.43, then teamed up with Vicky Cadge, Butler and Christina Tanninen to win the 200m medley relay. Her team also won the 200m freestyle relay with a time of 1:38.60.

One week later, the FGCU swimming & diving team downed visiting in-state rival FAU, 182-59 Beaubrun took first in the 100m breaststroke, touching in at 1:05.50. In the 200m medley relay Cadge, Beaubrun, Butler and Tanninen finished in the top spot with a time of 1:46.80.

FGCU now begins its preparation for the 2011 CCSA Championship from 17 February at the University of Georgia.

The CCSA (Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association) comprises 13 Universities across the southeastern United States: Campbell, College of Charleston , Davidson, Florida A&M , Florida Gulf Coast, Gardner-Webb, Georgia Southern, Howard, Liberty, North Carolina A&T, North Florida, Radford and VMI.

FGCU has won the Championships for the past two years and the Eagles are odds on favorites for the threepeat.

Clifford Named MIAA Track Athlete of the Week

2011-02-08T11:13:00.002-04:00

2/7/2011 6:08:20 PM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Lincoln University track and field athlete Mandela Clifford has been named Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Track Athlete of the Week as announced by the conference office Monday.

Clifford set or tied meet records at last weekend's Findlay Division II Team Challenge in both the 60m and 200m. The junior from St. Lucia, West Indies raced to first in the 60m with a time of 6.80 to tie a pair of former athletes in the same event for their top marks at Findlay. His time tied that set by both Kendall Stevens of Findlay and Lincoln’s Kimour Bruce.

He added to that a time of 21.79 in the 200m (converted to 21.49, as the track is a flat track) to not only win the event, but set the meet record time in the process, breaking Jamaree Gordon’s old mark of 21.81 set last year. His time in the 200 is the third-best mark so far in Division II.

This marks the third straight week that the Blue Tigers have swept the Track Athlete of the Week honors on the men’s and women’s side, as Mandela's fellow Blue Tiger, Judith Riley was named female Athlete of The Week, after Roxroy Cato and Nyoka Cole took the honors in back-to-back weeks.

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2011-01-30T22:21:00.001-04:00

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New St Lucia Records for Makeba, Mandela

2011-01-30T11:51:00.002-04:00

University of Arkansas sophomore Makeba Alcide has established her second St Lucia National Record for 2011, this time in the women's indoor Pentathlon. Meanwhile, Lincoln University senior Mandela Clifford forced his way into the record books by setting a new mark for the men's indoor 200m dash.

Makeba turned in a first-place performance in the Pentathlon at the Razorback Invitational for the No. 6 University of Arkansas women's track and field team. Her mark of 3887 points represents an improvement of by more than 500 points, and she set new personal bests in the High Jump and 800m.

Alcide's point total is No. 7 in the nation, less than 200 points from automatic qualification for the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Track & Field Championships, 11-12 March in the Rhonda & Frosty Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium at Texas A&M. Makeba missed joining Arkansas' top-5 performers by just 42 points.

"We're obviously elated with our multi-event athletes," head coach Lance Harter said, speaking of his number six ranked team's performance on Friday afternoon, and speaking specifically to the Pentathlon. "They had really good days but we know there's room for improvement. Today was a good day."

Meanwhile, at Indiana Relays, Mandela was sixth in the men's 200. Having clocked 22 seconds flat last weekend, the 24-year-old was confident that some time this season he would run below the 21.88 seconds established as St Lucia's National Record on 15 February 2003 by Anselm Felix at Boston.

That time was Friday evening, as Mandela ran 21.67 seconds to win his heat in a timed final. He also ran a personal-best 6.79 seconds to finish third in the 60m final, edging closer to the 6.66 clocked by Ronald Promesse on 19 February 1999 at Colorado Springs, Colorado, competing for UTEP.

Also at Indiana, Missouri State freshman Pernell Joseph had a personal best in the 200m, leading her team by finishing seventh in the seeded heat, running in 25.49 seconds. Joseph also qualified the 60m semifinals, 8th in 7.82 seconds, but ran a disappointing 8.05 in the semis.

At the Don Barrett Air Force Duals in Colorado, University of Wyoming sophomore and St Lucia National Junior Record holder Lenyn Leonce won men's Long Jump with a mark of 7.38m, placed second in Triple jump with a performance of 14.18m, and ran 6.98 seconds to end sixth in the 60m dash.

Elsewhere, Jeannelle Scheper had an inauspicious weekend at the Texas A&M Challenge presented by Mondo, clearing 1.62m to finish seventh for the University of South Carolina, where she is a freshman. McKendree junior Chad Phillip clocked 7.31 to finish 14th in the 60 at Illinois Intercollegiate.

Photo credit: Wesley Hitt, University of Arkansas

Scheper Enjoys Successful Gamecock Debut

2011-01-23T12:10:00.002-04:00

BLACKSBURG, Va. - South Carolina freshman Jeannelle Scheper enjoyed a strong opening week of collegiate athletics competition, claiming second in the High Jump at 1.69m (5'6.5") and 21st in the long jump at 5.18m (17'0") Saturday as the Gamecocks got into action at the Hokie Invitational at the Rector Field House.

In the high Jump, an event in which she commanded an under-17 bronze medal for St Lucia at the 2010 CARIFTA Games with a clearance of 1.68m, Scheper and Staley Foster each cleared the top bar but took second and third on attempts.

St Lucia's Edwards Wins UK High Jump

2011-01-17T21:34:00.001-04:00

Darvin Edwards got his 2011 indoor track and field season underway with a win at the South of England Athletics Association Championships on Saturday 15 January. The 24-year-old St Lucian, representing Belgrave Harriers, had competed just once in the past 18 months, but he has been training consistently with the goal of improving his 2.25m National Record, established in 2008.

Darvin won against against a relatively weak field, clearing 2.20m, but his nearest rival on this occasion - 19-year-old Chris Baker - got no closer than 10 centimetres, a career-best mark. It was a disappointing effort for the former CARIFTA champion, but one he will be eager to build on as he aims to conquer greater heights and get amongst the world's leading jumpers.

Grenada Prevail In OECS Swimming

2011-01-17T21:00:00.002-04:00

In what has been unanimously described as the very best OECS Swimming Championships ever, the Grenada National Swim Team overcame the spirited challenge from the St Lucia Swim Team to hold onto the trophy for the fifth consecutive year.

Over the weekend 14-16 January at the Rodney Heights Aquatic Center, with a total of 1668.5 points to St Lucia’s 1508 points, the Grenadians relegated the hosts to second place and also held off the new kids on the block, a resurgent Antigua-Barbuda Swim Team with 1079.5 points. Fourth place went to St Vincent & the Grenadines with 180 points and the three-member British Virgin Islands with 44 points.

The Grenadians took an early lead from the Friday swimming and while the lead was never too much, they were always confident that the trophy would be returning with them

Of the 27 OECS records broken, five were accounted for by the St Lucians, three by Runako Daniel and two by Siona Huxley. In the boys 13-14 age group, Daniel set new standards in the 50m freestyle (25.31 seconds), 100m freestyle (55.94) and 50m butterfly (27.99). Siona set two OECS standards in girls 15-17 year 50m freestyle (28.08) and 100m backstroke (1:11.73).

Grenada set 13 OECS records and in a bold statement to St Lucia and Grenada, the Antiguans’ younger swimmers set an amazing 10 OECS records, promising that island – the 2011 host nation 4-6 November – to be a major mover in OECS swimming in the very near future.

This Grenadian victory in the 20th Championships has St Lucia and Grenada equal with ten victories each over the past two decades. The meet was characterized by keen competition, a plethora of officials, coordinated organization and attention to finer details, tremendous sponsors exposure and festive atmosphere while supporting the swimmers in their efforts for glory in the pool.

Alcide Opens 2011 In Record Fashion

2011-01-10T07:33:00.003-04:00

FAYETTEVILLE - Makeba Alcide opened the calendar year 2011 in style with podium finishes in three events, personal-best marks in four and the first new St Lucia national athletics record for the season, besting her one-year-old performance for the 60m hurdles. Competing at the Razorback Invitational, hosted by her school, University of Arkansas, Makeba also made the podium in the Shot Put and High Jump.

Bahamas native Ivanique Kemp won the hurdles event in 8.46 seconds, but Makeba broke the St Lucia national record twice on the way to third place. She ran 8.87 in qualifying and then 8.80 in the final; the previous record was 9.16, established at this same meet a year prior. Earlier in the day, Makeba improved her personal-best in High Jump, clearing the bar at 1.70m, ending second on missed attempts.

She missed out on a top-three spot in the Long Jump, but Makeba had a career-best indoor performance of 5.21m for that event. Her third-place throw of 11.15m was also a personal-best mark for Shot Put. "We're pleased all the way across the board," head coach Lance Harter said. "Our jumpers jumped well, our multi-event specialist competed in four of the five (pentathlon) events." Alcide, a sophomore, turns 20 in February.

Elsewhere, two St Lucians competed at the University of Missouri Invitational in the Hearnes Center. Lincoln University senior Mandela Clifford ran 6.83 and finished fourth in the men's 60m dash. In the women's version, Missouri State freshman Pernell Joseph was second with a 7.79 time. She was also fourth in the 200m, running in 26.25.

Herman Plays Well, But Olivais Lose Again

2010-11-28T12:58:00.004-04:00

St Lucian foward Kiva Herman scored an efficient 12 points and pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds, but Olivais Coimbra lost 64-79 in theri latest EuroCup Women basketball contest, falling to top team ESB Lille Metropole, and dropping to 0-5 on the season.

The 23-year-old 1.82m Herman converted six of her 11 field goal attempts for the Portuguese team, right on her season average, and grabbed six boards at the defensive end in the losing effort. Earnesia Williams led Olivais in socring with 23 points.

UNCG shoots well, but loses

2010-11-22T07:18:00.002-04:00

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Despite shooting 56 percent from the floor for the game, 29 turnovers wound up being the demise of the University of North Carolina Greensboro men's basketball team, as the Spartans fell to No. 22 Virginia Tech, 92-70, Sunday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum.

The Spartans (0-3) were led by sophomore Kyle Randall, who had 15 points, and freshman Aloysius Henry, who posted 14 points on 7 of 8 shooting from the field. The 6'10" St Lucia-born centre also had four turnovers and four fouls, missed all four of his free throws, and had just one rebound.

Florida State spoils UNCG home opener

2010-11-15T21:29:00.001-04:00

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Chris Singleton had a triple-double as Florida State defeated the University of North Carolina Greensboro men's basketball team, 97-73, in the home-opener for the Spartans on Sunday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum.

The Spartans (0-2) were led by a trio of freshmen in double figures in their Greensboro Coliseum debuts. David Williams led UNCG with 16 points and St Lucian centre Aloysius Henry added 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, and 3-3 from the stripe.

“Aloysius showed some pretty good things on the inside,” coach Mike Dement said of hte Bocag Secondary graduate. “We have to get him to stay out of foul trouble.” In two games against high-quality opposition, Henry has gone 9-for-15 from the floor in scoring 25 points.

Henry is probably the most skilled player of his size to wear the Spartan uniform in several years. Once he learns to avoid the unnecessary reach-in or the late and improbable post challenge, he should be a vital part of an interesting young team.

The 6'10" centre's quick post moves featured a deft baby hook and an effective head-fake or two. “That has always been part of my game, but as I’ve been at UNCG, I’ve been getting better at my craft,” said Henry, who played two solid seasons at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

LIME Christmas Pon De Remix Music Video

2010-11-15T20:38:00.000-04:00

Beenieman, Cecile, Elephant Man, Edwin Yearwood and Iyaz remix Christmas with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, prizes and surprises for LIME customers in St Lucia. YOU could WIN a $10,000 lifestyle remix, or a family vacation for four! Text MERRY to 5463 for YOUR chance to WIN!

St Lucia Names 13 For Commonwealth

2010-09-27T23:08:00.002-04:00

CAC Games High Jump champion and Continental Cup bronze medallist Levern Spencer leads a 13-member St Lucia team to the 19th Commonwealth Games to be held 3-14 October in Delhi India.

Levern, wih a best height of 1.98m this season, is easily the Commonwealth's number one high jumper, but she has been working through a loss of form over the last few weeks. Still, she will have high hopes of recording St Lucia's best-ever individual finish in Commonwealth Games athletics, after Dominic Johnson's Pole Vault bronze in Machester.

One other track and field athlete, Albert Reynolds, eclipsed his men's Javelin Throw national record this year in finishing fourth at the CAC Games.

Two female swimmers, Olympian Danielle Beaubrun and Siona Huxley, will be travelling to Delhi. Boxers Miguel Auguste (welterweight), Dalton George (lightweight) and Thomas Melville (junior welterweight) will also be part of the St Lucia team.

One cyclist, Kurt Maraj, will compete in the time trial and road race. Chris Wells, 16 year old Omari Ferdinand and Jedaiah Pierre will compete in table tennis. Alberton Richelieu Jr and Stacey Roheman will compete in tennis.

Edwards Adds 16 Kills in QC Tri-Match Split

2010-09-06T18:25:00.001-04:00

Sophomore Suzanne Byrne led the Queens College Lady Knights attack with 22 kills in a tri-match split with Georgian Court and Southern Connecticut State. The Knights lost to SCSU in four in the first match of the day but rebounded to sweep GCU in an afternoon match played in Fitzgerald Gymnasium on Saturday.

Senior Latoya Edward, from Castries, St Lucia, recorded 16 killsv in the two games, the third-best output for QC. The 5'4" outside hitter, an alumnus of Leon Hess Comprehensive, and an economics major, is also third in digs after two games with 11.

Spencer Third In Split, Americas Second

2010-09-06T15:37:00.001-04:00

Representing the Americas - just the second St Lucian ever to do so at such a meet - Levern spencer finished third in women's High Jump at the IAAF/VTB Bank Continental Cup in Split, Croatia over the weekend. The Americas placed second, 9.5 points behind Europe, but ahead of Asia-Pacific and Africa. The Continental Cup replaces the former World Cup, n which St Lucia's Dominic Johnson had previously represented the Americas in men's Pole Vault.

Split belong to hometown girl, World Champion Blanka Vlasic, who led Europe with a Championship-Record win in High Jump. Vlasic equalled her season-best leap of 2.05m before attempting to clear 2.10m, a centimetre higher than the 23-year-old world mark of Bulgaria's Stefka Kostadionva. But her three attempts all fell short before the slender Croatian collapsed into the arms of her father Josko.

Spencer, the second-leading high jumper in the Americas this season, went clear first time at 1.83m, but needed two tries to clear 1.88, the same results as Nadiya Dusanova, the Uzbekhisani who tied Spencer for third. Sweden's Emma Green, with a 1.95m clearance, was second for Europe.

Though their distance runners stepped up to contribute valuable points, and their sprinters dominated as expected, the Americas team had a rough time of it in the field. They won just two events, men's Long Jump through Dwight Phillips and men's Shot Put through Christian Cantwell, both of the USA. Sub-standard performances in women's Javelin Throw and women's Long Jump were especially costly.

For Spencer, her last meet of 2010 is the Commonwealth Games, 6-12 October in Delhi, India. She is favoured to win gold, but after her longest-ever season, during the course of which she won the Finnish Jackpot Series, took CAC Games gold and established a new CARICOM record for her event whilst competing on three continents, she will need to dig deep to hold off her main challengers from Canada and Jamaica.

She can take heart , however, from having picked up her first global medal of any kind since her days in the under-20 ranks. Although she has not gone as high as 1.90 since July, she will surely be motivated too by her inability to get a medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, when she placed fifth. That event was won in 2006 with a height of 1.93m by Anika Smith of South Africa.

St Lucia's Mitchell Joins MSU

2010-09-06T09:56:00.003-04:00

Pernell Mithcell is the latest St Lucian to take up an athletics scholarship at Missouri State University. Pernell follows a distinguished line of runners, including Augustina Charles, Michelle Baptiste, Verneta Lesporis, Jineill vite and Leander Ernest, all of whom established national records in their respective events during their time under Missouri State Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Ronald Boyce.

Pernell joins a 23-member recruiting class for the upcoming 2010-11 cross country and track and field season, one of the largest recruiting classes ever at Missouri State. "We think this incoming class is a very talented class," Boyce said. "More than anything, we were able to cover every spectrum of track and field, from distance to sprints to throws, so I think we did a good job."

Mitchell, 19, is a transfer from the Vieux-Fort Comprehensive Secondary School, and a resident of La Ressource, Vieux Fort. The newest member of the Bears has competed at successive CARIFTA Games in St Lucia and the Cayman Islands, and her personal-best marks are 12.03 and 24.90 in the 100m and 200m races. The diminutive National Champion is a member of the Abilene Wildcats track club.

Elephant Man Live at LIME Mobile TV Bash Shizzle Part 3 of 3

2010-08-28T08:02:00.000-04:00

Levern Spencer Wins Finnish Elite Games Jackpot

2010-08-23T17:59:00.002-04:00

22 August 2010, Joensuu, Finland - St Lucia´s high jumper Lavern Spencer won the Finnish Elite Games series jackpot after taking a fifth victory in Joensuu on Saturday 21 August.

Spencer secured her first place by winning and collecting 40 points in the five-meeting series. On Saturday Spencer´s shape was not brilliant, but 1.82m with the first attempt was fair enough to capture the 30,000 series prize.

"Of course I´m very pleased with the first place in the overall competition, but not with my result today. I´m still planning to jump at some international meetings this season, and I believe I can set good results, too," said Spencer.

Jamaica´s sprinter Steve Mullings would also have had a chance to take the jackpot, but he was unable to run due to a hamstring cramp in the Zürich 4x100m Relay on Thursday. Neither could Trinidad & Tobago´s Josanne Lucas run the 400m Hurdles, and so the only obstacle for Spencer was Finland´s Tommi Evilä, but he could not win the Long Jump.

Denmark´s Morten Jensen leaped 8.10m in the second round with a jump that clearly seemed to be fouled, but there was not any trace of spikes on the wax board. Nonetheless Jensen´s second best leap of 8.05m would have been ample for the victory, with Evilä reaching 7.83m but was only the second best Finn in the competition, as Roni Ollikainen jumped a windy 7.86m in the sixth round. That meant that Evilä dropped into the fourth place overall, as Eemeli Salomäki won the Pole Vault with 5.35m. Salomäki had the bar raised the bar to his PB 5.61m, but none of the attempts were close.

Caribbean Athletes Slated for Athletics Continental Cup

2010-08-13T20:31:00.002-04:00

The Caribbean will be well represented on the Americas team to the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup in Split, Croatia on 4-5 September. The Americas will compete with Africa, Asia-Pacific and Europe. The Americas team selection was assembled from the athletes at the top of the season's lists on 31 July 2010. Two athletes from each region were selected for most events, with three for the 1500 metres and long distance track events.

St Lucia's Levern Spencer is the second-ranked high jumper in the Western hemisphere, behind Chaunte Howard-Lowe of the USA. Recently crowned women's High Jump champion, Levern established a new CARICOM record for her event earlier this year and has been having her most consistent season ever. Along with Howard-Lowe, they will be taking on the highly-favored Europeans in Split.

Kelly-Ann Baptiste of Trinidad & Tobago will be competing in the women's 100m, whilst Cydonie Mothersill of the Cayman Islands will be in the 200m. Shericka Williams of Jamaica is slated for the 400m, and fellow countrywoman Kenia Sinclair for the 800m run. The other two female track athletes from the region are also Jamaicans, Korine Hinds in the 300m steeplechase and Nickiesha Wilson in the 400 Hurdles.

Baptiste and Mothersill are also down for the 4x100m relay, along with Jamaica's Sherone Simpson and Americans Shalonda Solomon and Connie Moore. Williams and compatriot Novlene Williams-Mills, as well as Christine Amertil of the Bahamas, will join Debbie Dunn and Dominique Darden of the USA to comprise the women's mile relay team for the Americas.

Howard-Lowe will do double duty in Split. She will be contesting Long Jump alongside Cuba's Yargelis Savigne. Savigne will also be doing Triple Jump. The Cubans have one competitor in each of the women's throws, including Misleydis Gonzalez in Shot Put, Yarelis Barrios in Discus Throw, Yipsi Moreno in Hammer Throw and Yainelis Ribeaux in Javelin Throw.

For the men, Daniel Bailey of Antigua-Barbuda is the Caribbean representative for the 100m. Although he is presently out with an injury, Jamaica's Asafa Powell is listed for the 200m. Ricardo Chambers of Jamaica is the man for the 400m. Randy Lewis of Grenada joins Cuba's Alexis Copello for Triple Jump; Tyrone Smith of Bermuda and Bahamian Donald Thomas will contest Long Jump and High Jump respectively.

For the men's 4x100m, Bailey, Powell and young Jamaican Yohan Blake will join Churandy Martina from the Netherlands Antilles, Wallace Spearmon of the USA and Walter Dix also of the USA. Chambers and compatriot Jermaine Gonzales will link up with Americans Jeremy Wariner, Greg Nixon and Bershawn Jackson, as well as Nery Brennes of Costa Rica for the men's 4x400m.

Cuba's Dayron Robles will attempt 110m Hurdles with new American record holder, David Oliver. Javier Culson of Puerto Rico will do the 400m Hurdles. Again, Cubans are well repped in men's throws, with Jorge Fernandez (Discus), Roberto Janet (Hammer) and Guillermo Martinez (Javelin).
Jose Sanchez is down for the 300m steeplechase,

Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados Stay Unbeaten

2010-07-25T00:53:00.003-04:00

Group favorites Trinidad & Tobago kicked off the second night of six in the Americas Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) World Netball Championship 2011 Qualifiers with a straightforward win over St Vincent & the Grenadines. The tournament is being played at the Beausejour Gymnasium in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia.

The ladies from the Land of the Hummingbird made fairly short work of their opponents. Having disposed of Canada on Friday night, the Calypso Girls were always in control, ending the contest at 53-43. Anastasia Wilson and Janelle Barker combined to miss just seven tries on goal, compared to 11 misses for the Vincentians.

Barbados made early tactical changes from their tournament opener, but that cost them the advantage against a scrappy USA team. Goal shoot Laurel Brown made 16-23 shots on goal and goal attack Nikita Piggott 23-29, but Barbados trailed until the fourth, when the re-introduction of Lydia Bishop (12-12) paid off in a 51-40 win.

Saint Lucia held their nerves and held Canada off 47-45. The host team demonstrated more athleticism and skill, but they were frustrated by the length of the Canadians, who kept disrupting Saint Lucia’s passing game. In fact, Canada’s midcourt defense kept them in the contest throughout, as Saint Lucia never really seized control.

Canada overcame a 1-goal deficit to start the fourth 33-32. With eight minutes on the clock and scores tied at 38, Saint Lucia lost two players to apparent ankle injuries, forcing Judy Mathurin into the match. But Judy added a physical element that Canada could not counter, and with less than three minutes left, and Dedra Mathurin (39-40) catching and scoring virtually every ball, Saint Lucia took the lead for good at 46-44.

On Sunday, action kicks off with the Battle of North America at 4pm, the USA meeting Canada. The host nation will engage in the War of the Saints, taking on St Vincent & the Grenadines from 6. The nightcap will be the Encounter of the Unbeatens, as Barbados takes on Trinidad & Tobago from 8 at Beausejour.

Photo by Robertson Henry.

Barbados, Trinidad, USA win AFNA Netball Openers

2010-07-24T02:45:00.003-04:00

Beausejour, Saint Lucia – The 2010 American Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) Netball Qualifiers got underway Friday at Beausejour Gymnasium, with the top two teams from the six-team, six-day tournament guaranteed spots at the World Netball Championships next July in Singapore. Jamaica, ranked #4 in the world, does not need to qualify; nor do defending champion Australia, New Zealand, England, Malawi or hosts Singapore.

Barbados won their opening match 57-33, through the shooting of veteran Lydia Bishop, who made 31 goals on 39 attempts, and goal-attack Nikita Piggott (26 of 31). They enjoyed far better ball possession than their opponents, St Vincent and the Grenadines, who managed only 45 attempts on goal, compared to 70 for the victors.

Trinidad & Tobago beat Canada 48-36 after some early experimentation. Janelle Barker made 18-21 shots, but Samantha Wallace converted just 8-16. A halftime change brought in Anastasia Wilson (13-13) and Joelisa Cooper (7-8), captain of the Under-21 team from last year’s World Youth Championships in Cook Islands.

Finally, playing with a core built around Caribbean emigrants, United States of America beat host nation Saint Lucia 45-40. The home team had a tie at 39 in the fourth quarter, but the USA was able to pull it off despite taking just one more shot than their opponents, 53 to 52. Georgiana Hibbert was 40-44, Roneish Darius 5-9. For Saint Lucia, Glatta Gabriel was 19-22, Shem Maxwell 9-13 and Dedra Mathurin 15-17.

On Saturday, after the AFNA General Meeting, Trinidad & Tobago will meet St Vincent & the Grenadines, the USA and Barbados will meet in a clash of unbeaten teams, and St Lucia will come up against Canada, whom they beat two years ago when a similar tournament was held in St Vincent & the Grenadines.

Four National Records In Two Days At CAC Games

2010-07-21T08:00:00.002-04:00

Competing in the 21st CAC Games in Mayaguez Puerto Rico at the Mayaguez aquatic complex, St Lucias Danielle Beaubrun placed fourth in the female 100M Breaststroke with a new National Record of 1:12.30 seconds.

The 100M Breast Final was won by Jamaican speedster Alia Atkinson who swam a new CAC record time of 1:10.25 followed by the Mexico’s Aligrina Medina (1:10.80) and Byanca Rodriquez (1:10.96).

Beaubrun broke two national records in one event as her first 50M of that event set a new standard of 33.22 seconds. Earlier in the day at the 100M breaststoke preliminaries, she swam a 33.29 in the 50m split to establish an earlier National Record and placed 4th of the 21 swimmers

Today’s result was an improvement on the 200M Breast where she placed 9th in the preliminaries and she now looks forward to her favorite 50M Breast on 23rd July

Today also saw in action Runako Daniel who swam a respectable 1:03.63 in the 100M Fly as he prepares for the 50M Free tomorrow. Also tomorrow brings into action Julien Brice in the 50M Free and Siona Huxley in the 100M Backstroke

Mixed Returns Expected from Caribbean Girls at WJC 2010

2010-07-19T05:09:00.002-04:00

The Caribbean will be anticipating three likely individual gold medals from its boys at the 13th World Junior Championships in Athletics, 19-25 July in Moncton, Canada. Of course, in sports there are no foregone conclusions, and just as any of these three might slip up, there are many Caribbean athletes ready to tear up the form table.

Among the girls, the form table will have to be discarded if there is to be Caribbean gold in Moncton. The region does not have a single girl atop an event for 2010. But there is hope in the relays, especially for a formidable group of Jamaican quarter milers, despite the fact that they only have one of the top 20 junior times in the individual 400.

Jody Ann Muir and the fabulous Chris-Ann Gordon will lead a team that has the two fastest times in the world this year. Though they will be hard pressed to hold off the USA and Nigeria, Jamaica's quartet, likely to include hurdler Ristananna Tracey and middle distance specialist Natoya Goule, ought to be firmly in the chase for the gold on the day.

Jamaica's reserves include Janieve Russell and Danielle Dowie. Would that they could lend their talents to the British Virgin islands, who, in spite of fielding two of the top runners over this distance, do not have the strength in depth to field a mile relay team. Instead the rest of the Caribbean challenge will be helmed by Trinidad & Tobago and Bahamas.

T&T has been beaten twice by Jamaica this year. Sparkle McKnight, half-miler Alena Brooks and hurdler Gabriela Cumberbatch were on both of those teams. Jessica James, Kai Selvon and Shawna Fermin round out the team. Bahamas, with Shaunae Miller leading the individual medal chase, will also be aiming for at least a spot in the relay finals.

Jamaica's sprint relay team contain no household names, but they won the Central American & Caribbean Junior Championships, and are very much a threat. Trinidad & Tobago did not enter a team for the 400m relay, despite their CARIFTA-winning time being the sixth-fastest this year. Bahamas are entered for that relay, led by Rashan Brown and V'Alonée Robinson.

In the individual sprints, Michelle-Lee Ahye in not in the Trinidad & Tobago team - she would have been the fourth-fastest enrant based on times for 2010. Compatriot Kai Selvon would have been sixth-fastest, she is entered for the 200m, leaving World Youth silver medallist Allison Peter of the US Virgin Islands to fly the Caribbean flag.

Chantel Malone will have a busy competition, and a bit of a strange one. Along with the Jamaicans, she will be in contention for the 400m title against Nigerian favorite Margaret Etim. Malone has the sixth-fastest time in the world, behind five of Etim's. Muir and Gordon, Ashley Kelly of BVI and Miller of Bahamas will also be hopeful.

In between the heats and final of the 400, though, Malone will have qualification for Long Jump and Triple Jump. She is ranked fourth in the world for the year in Long Jump, by a centimetre, and two centimetres off second, but it remains to be seen how wise it is to place such a burden on a young woman coming off a tough NCAA season at Texas.

I'm disappointed that Barbados did not take Akela Jones. The High Jump prodigy is the early favorite for World Youth gold in 2011, and right now she could make the finals in Moncton. She is 16 years old, but Jamaica has three girls that age (who should take WYC 2011 by storm). It would have been a fine experience for the young Bajan.

On the other end of the spectrum, Natoya Goule is our last best hope for middle distance glory at WJC. She comes in as the fifth-fastest over 800m, but less than two seconds out of first. After a massive career at Champs, CARIFTA and CAC, it would befit her to end her junior career with the Caribbean's first-ever middle distance medal at the World Junior Championship.

Positive Outlook for Caribbean Boys at WJC 2010

2010-07-19T03:28:00.004-04:00

This should be a fun year for the Caribbean at the 13th IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics, from 19-25 July in Moncton, Canada. Some of the most outstanding kids on show in Moncton will surely be thinking about joining Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Ryan Brathwaite and company at the 2012 Olympics - you know, before the world ends and everything.

Three young men in particular everyone will be looking forward to seeing: Dexter Lee, Kirani James and Jehue Gordon.

Trinidad & Tobago's Gordon already owns four of the 10 fastest junior times ever for 400m Hurdles. A newly-minted professional, Jehue is a prohibitive favorite for Moncton gold. He has the six fastest times for under-20 boys this year, the fastest being 48.87, and he could take direct aim at Danny Harris' 48.02 World Junior mark as a farewell to the junior ranks.

James, from the spice Isle of Grenada, has set every age group record for the 400m dash. The 2008 silver medallist is 18 this year yet favored for gold, with the five fastest junior times in the world. Next season, with no major global junior competition, he might wonder if Steve Lewis' 22-year-old WJR of 43.87 is within his reach. He is 22nd on the all-time list.

Meanwhile, Jamaica's Dexter Lee is a co-season leader in the 100m. Thing is, the 19-year-old is also a defending champion! He upset a lot of older boys including compatriot Yohan Blake in 2008, and now could become the first male sprinter to repeat at this level. He has been running more consistent times than Jimmy Vicaut of France, with whom he shares the season lead.

James, Lee and Vicaut will also meet in the 200m. James an Lee, along with another Jamaican, Odane Skeen, should be in contention for the finals on form. James has the eighth-fastest time in the world this year, Skeen and Lee 12th and 13th, but come competition time, the Caribbean boys may well be feeling their oats over the half-lap.

Lee and Gordon will lead their nations' respective relay teams into contention for medals in Moncton. Jamaica has not run with Lee and Skeen this year, though Skeen's high school, Wolmers, has the second-fastest 400m relay time in the world for 2010, behind Trinidad & Tobago, with Jamol James, Sabian Cox, Moriba Morain and Shermund Allsop, all entered for Moncton.

Trinidad & Tobago is also second on the world list for the mile relay, with Gordon on anchor. Germany tops the list, but there is probably no real favourite for this race. Jamaica go into Moncton with essentially the same team beaten by Trinidad & Tobago at CAC Juniors a couple of weeks ago, but along with Bahamas, they should at least make the finals.

There are few Caribbean contenders in the distance and field events, but Chad Wright, Quincy Wilson and Traves Smikle could be the exceptions. Trinidad & Tobago's Wilson has had some fine battles with his Jamaican rivals in Discus Throw, that have seen these three fourth, sixth and seventh in the world, and well in the medal hunt. Wright and Wilson are also in Shot Put.

In a positive sign for Caribbean field events and for the fine programmes run by men like Ishmael Lopez and Julian Robinson, T&T and Jamaica have each included a 17-year-old thrower - Keshorn Walcott (Javelin Throw) and Ashinia Miller (Shot Put), respectively - in hopes that these two will be in the medal hunt when the WJC rolls around in two years.

CISC Gold For Siona

2010-06-28T21:25:00.003-04:00

Triple Junior Sportswoman of the year Siona Huxley may have found a new favorite event when she out swam the competition at the Caribbean Island Swimming Championships in Havana Cuba to win gold in the 50M Fly and in the process set a new National Record

Placing second in the preliminaries with a time of 30.33 seconds, Siona blasted to the fore in the Finals in the National Record of 29.46 seconds. This follows on the heels of her first CARIFTA Gold in the same event earlier this year

Also at the championships, Runako Daniel made it to the Finals of the 50m Fly with a time of 28.04 in the preliminaries in 7th place and then placed 6th in the Finals with a time of 27.67 seconds.

Julien Brice swam a 27.75 to place 10th in the 50m fly Preliminaries and Brad Worrell placed 9th with a time of 28.84 in his age group

Levern Spencer Second In Torino

2010-06-13T10:19:00.002-04:00

Russia's Irina Gordeyeva pulled off a big surprise winning the women's High Jump title at the 11th Memorial Primo Nebiolo, a European Athletics Outdoor Premium Meeting, in Torino on Saturday.

23-year-old Gordeyeva just had to clear a modest 1.97m to beat Levern Spencer of Saint Lucia (1.95m) and world season leader Chaunte Howard-Lowe (1.92) of the USA.

It was Spencer's sixth time over at least 1.94m this season, and her fourth effort of 1.95m or better, 1.95 having been her best mark up to May 2010.

A relative newcomer on the international circuit, Gordeyeva was fourth at the 2005 European Athletics Junior Championships.

Levern Extends Win Streak

2010-05-25T21:40:00.003-04:00

St Lucia's Levern Spencer extended her winning streak to five consecutive competitions to open the 2010 track and field season, winning again on Monday at the Pfingstsportfest International meet in Rehlingen, Germany.

More importantly, the 25-year-old St Lucian high jumper, a 2009 graduate of the University of Georgia, has had her best and most consistent start ever to a season, in this her second year as a full-time professional.

Levern cleared 1.96m to win in Germany, the second-best height she has ever produced, after her national and CARICOM record 1.98m three weeks ago in Athens' Georgia. She also cleared 1.94m last week in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Those heights are three of the six best heights Levern has ever hit. She has three of he top 10 jumps for the year and is one of just two women to have done at least 1.94 as many as three times, one of three to do it at least twice.

In Rehlingen, Levern started at 1.84m, getting first-time clearances at her first four heights. She needed three tries at 1.96 and missed at 2m. Second was Ireland's Deirdre Ryan, (1.87m), with Germany's Julia Hartmann (1.84m) third.

Spencer Victorious In Brazil

2010-05-16T11:10:00.001-04:00

St Lucia and the Caribbean's number one high jumper, Levern Spencer, got her South American tour off to a solid start on Sunday. The 25-year-old beat a strong field in challenging conditions to win the GP Internacional Caixa Unifor in Fortaleza, Brazil.

A week after setting a new St Lucia and CARICOM record of 1.98m, Levern stayed consistent, her winning height of 1.94m matching her third-best height all-time. Her victory in Fortaleza also established a new meet record, eclipsing her 1.89m performance from 2009.

Also comepting at Fortaleza were former Polish champion Karolina Gronau, and Canadian champon Nicole Forrester, who is likely to be one of Levern's greatest rivals at the Commonwealth Games next October in Delhi, India. They cleared 1.84m and 1.81m resectively.

The jumpers had to overcome poor footing, but for Levern it was all good. "The support of the crowd was very important for me to get a good jump," she said. Levern started at 1.84, skipped 1.87, had a single miss at 1.91, cleared first time at 1.94 and missed at 1.97.

Maiden MWC Title For Leonce

2010-05-15T01:08:00.002-04:00

Lenyn Leonce is the Mountain West Conference men's Long Jump champion, dethroning teammate and fellow countryman Jeremiah James on Friday, the third day of the Mountain West Conference Championships in Albuquerque, N.M.

Jeremiah, a third-year student, was just the second freshman to win the MWC outdoor title in 2008, and has been unbeaten indoors and out since. For the first time in his collegiate career, Jeremiah tasted defeat at this level.

Lenyn seized the initiative from his first trial, a career-best 7.58m with a tailwind of 3.1 metres per second. Jeremiah began with a 7.24, placing him second, and though he improved to 7.47, he never climbed out of that position.

Lenyn's title was the only one won by the University of Wyoming on Friday. The Cowboys got a further four top-three finishes aside from Jeremiah's second place, and were in second place on 58 points, BYU leading with 94.

But for the wind, Lenyn's jump would have been a new National Junior Record for St Lucia. The distance would also have qualified Lenyn for the IAAF World Junior Championshoips in Moncton, Canada next July.

Aloysius Henry Gets Full Schol At UNCG

2010-05-12T18:23:00.002-04:00

Aloysius Henry, a graduate of Bocage Secondary in St Lucia, is going to be a Spartan. Henry, a 6'9" 225-lb center, has committed to a basketball scholarship at University of North Carolina Greensboro. He will join UNCG in September, where he will also continue working towards his bachelor's degree. Aloysius spent the past two years, 2008-2010, at Three Rivers Community College in Missouri.

Aside from Aloysius, UNCG men's basketball coach Mike Dement has also announced the addition of swingman David Williams, via First Coast High School, in recent weeks. Said Dement, "David and Aloysius both come from highly successful programs and have excellent coaching in their background. They are both serious students and will bring needed strengths to our roster."

Henry helped Three Rivers to the National Junior College national title game this past season. He had 17 points and 13 rebounds against Howard College (Texas) in the overtime loss. An all-region selection this past season, Henry averaged 11.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game this year, shooting 51 percent from the floor, playing for Gene Bess, the winningest coach in the NJCAA.

"Aloysius had a great year in an equally great programme at Three Rivers Community College under legendary Coach Bess," Dement said. "Aloysius certainly is a winner and he was a big part of his team's advancement to the national championship game. He is a big presence inside on the defensive end of the floor and can score on the offensive end with good post moves and offensive rebounding."

The Spartans added three players during the early signing period in November, to go with returning guards Kyle Randall and Brandon Evans. UNCG wrapped up the 2009-2010 regular season with a 7-22 overall record and 6-12 in the Southern Conference.

Levern Leaps To World #2

2010-05-09T12:13:00.001-04:00

Levern Spencer has established a new St Lucia National Record for women's High Jump. Not the first time that headline would have been written, but on this occasion the soon-to-be 26-year-old has leapt her way to the number two spot on the planet.

Competing at Saturday's Georgia Invitational at her alma mater, University of Georgia, Levern cleared 1.98m, a three-centimetre improvement on the mark she set just last July in Zaragoza, Spain, and a fitting Mother's day tribute to Anne-Marie Spencer.

The young lady from the community Babonneau easily won the competition, starting at 1,86m after the Georgia duo of Shaquita Young and Carin Walker ended at 1.76m and 1.71m respectively. At 1.86, 1.91 and 1.96, Spencer needed just a single attempt.

Having already set a new National Record and established herself as the second-best jumper so far this season, Levern needed all three tries at 1.98m, but she eventually cleared before failing on all three attempts at 2m.

Levern set a new facility record for the Spec Towns Track in Athens, Georgia. She erased Tisha Waller's 14-year-old standard of 1.97m, and so far this year only Chaunté Howard Lowe of the USA, at 2m, has gone higher.

A former All-American high jumper for Georgia, Levern upped her season-best performance significantly. Two weeks ago she jumped 1.90m, ranking her 10th. Now she is ahead of World Indoors medallist Ruth Beitia of Spain, whose 1.95 mark is third.

With the Commonwealth Games coming up this year, St Lucia's Sportswoman of the Year is demonstrating ominous form, and is definitely on course for a great season.

Aloysius Comes Up Big, But TRCC Lose Title

2010-03-21T02:06:00.001-04:00

Aloysius Henry saved the best for last, leading the Three Rivers Community College (TRCC) Raiders in rebounding and ending second in scoring in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I men's basketball title game.

Unfortunately, the young St Lucian forward's 17 points (on 7-14 shooting from the field and 3-6 from the free throw line) and game-high 13 rebounds - seven off the offensive glass - came in a losing cause.

Howard College (Texas) beat TRCC 85-80 Saturday night at the Hutchinson Sports Arena in Kansas, behind 27 points from guard Jae Crowder and 26 from Josh Watkins. Crowder also had 12 rebounds to lead Howard.

The difference for Howard, though, was at the line. Three TRCC players fouled out, giving Howard 51 free throws and giving the 21-year-old from the Caribbean the chance to step up, with 29 minutes of play.

The 6'9" 225lb Henry, a graduate of Bocage Secondary in St Lucia, added a block and a steal to his stat line. He trailed only Marquise Carter, with 35 points, in scoring for TRCC, though Carter made just 8-24 shots.

A second-year player, Aloysius ended his TRCC career on a high note. He was the second-leading overall rebounder (6.2 per game) and third-leading scorer (10.8) for the Raiders in the four-game championship tournament.

TRCC Win NJCAA Round 1

2010-03-17T07:22:00.002-04:00

Gene Bess got his 39th career win in the NJCAA DI men's basketball tournament as his Three Rivers (Mo.) team defeated Monroe (N.Y.) 81-69 in Tuesday's second game of the opening round. The Raiders used a 12-2 run in the first half to build a 37-32 lead at the half.

Nick Niemczyk had 14 of his game-high 25 points in the first half for Three Rivers. Monroe then mounted an aggressive attack to start the second half with an early 7-0 run and actually led 44-41. However, the Raiders pulled away with a couple of spurts late and hit 23 of 28 free throw attempts to pull out the win.

Playing for TRCC, St Lucia's former junior basketball player of the year, Aloysius Henry was saddled with foul trouble, scoring just six points on 2/7 shooting and pulling down four rebounds.

TRCC next plays NW Florida on Wednesday for a place in the quarterfinals. NW Florida were ranked 5th in the last NJCAA poll.

Aloysius, TRCC Win NJCAA District 4

2010-03-11T01:34:00.001-04:00

The Three Rivers Community College Raiders men's basketball team beat the Kanakee Cavaliers 90-75 to win the National Junior Community College Athletic Association (NJCAA) District IV championshipship Tuesday night.

TRCC will now advance to the NJCAA National Championship in Hutchinson, Kansas. They are scheduled to face off against District 3 Champion Monroe College (N.Y.) on Tuesday, March 16, at noon in the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

St Lucian sophomore Aloysius Henry, a forward for TRCC, scored 12 points (on 6-11 shooting), pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, had two assists and a blocked shot. Marquise Carter paced the Raiders with a game-high 23 points.

Aloysius, a 6'9" former junior basketball player of the year in St Lucia, leads the Raiders in rebounding this season, with 6.9 caroms per contest. He is second in blocked shots with just over one per game.

Jerry James For NCAA

2010-03-10T23:36:00.001-04:00

St Lucia's Jeremiah James will represent the University of Wyoming Cowboys at the National Collegiate Athletics Association Indoor Track & Field Championships meet, to be held in Fayetteville, Arkansas, this Friday and Saturday March 12-13. Jerry is currently ranked 15th in the United States in the Triple Jump and 29th in the Long Jump; he will compete in Triple Jump on Saturday.

Jerr, a junior at Wyoming and an alumnus of St Mary's College in St Lucia, has gone as far as 16.00m this season, one of the best jumps in school history and one of the best distances ever by a St Lucian athlete. He won two events at the Mountain West Conference league championships, making the Indoor Track and Field All-Conference team, along with freshman teammate Lenyn Leonce.

James was awarded his third straight high-point award as well, scoring 26 points for the Cowboys. He added to his conference championship total, winning his seventh and eighth titles in just two and a half years. It was his third straight indoor Long Jump title and second straight Triple Jump crown, while being named to the all-conference list five times.

Valcin Sixth In NJCAA PV

2010-03-06T18:12:00.000-04:00

Cowley College Community College freshman Rick Valcin cleared 4.30m to take sixth place at the 2010 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Indoor Track and Field Championships. The NJCAA meet was hosted by Eastern Illinois University at Lantz Fieldhouse in Charleston.

Rick, an alumnus of Gros Islet Secondary in St Lucia, had clean clearances on his first attempts at 4.15m and 4.30m, making strong trials at 4.45m, but the 20-year-old had to settle for sixth, in just his third collegiate competition. With a best mark of 4.35m for the year, he is hoping for bigger things outdoors.

Rick picked up 2.5 points for Cowley, the team standing in seventh place after day one of the NJCAA Champs on 11.5 points.

Travis Wins Conference Title

2010-03-05T10:14:00.002-04:00

Grambling University junior Travis Joseph overcame a nagging ankle injury to win the men's Triple Jump last weekend, as the Southwestern Athletic Conferencee 2010 Indoor Track & Field Championships concluded at Carl Maddox Field House in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Travis, a 26-year-old St Lucian, and a graduate of St Mary's College in St Lucia, had been struggling with a sore ankle for weeks. But with the SWAC title on the line, he pulled off a season-best 14.96m (49'1") to gain 10 points for Grambling. Travis has, in the past, represented St Lucia at CARIFTA, the Pan-Am Junior Championships and Francophonie Games.

James, Leonce Excel at MWC Champs

2010-02-27T11:35:00.002-04:00

Jeremiah James and Lenyn Leonce (pictured) helped lead the University of Wyoming Cowboys to second place on 53 points after the second day of the 2010 Mountain West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The young St Lucians took the top two spots in the men's Long Jump. Jerry, a junior, held on for a third straight title, clearing 7.47m (24' 6.25") on his second trial, staving off a strong challenge from Lenyn, who matched that distance on his final jump.

James' consistency paid off, though, as he had three jumps over 7.30, whereas his freshman teammate and countryman would have rued a poor overall series. But there will be chances aplenty for 19-year-old Leonce to make his Wyoming mark.

In fact, the younger Cowboy established a new National Junior Record for his event. This surpassed the 7.37 he put down to win the CARIFTA title in 2009, and should put him in a good frame of mind as he prepares for a title defense in a few weeks.

In other events, James finished third in men's High Jump, with a personal-best clearance of 2.06m (6'9") a height ninth best in UW history. Leonce ended 16th in the 60m dash, clocking 7.06 seconds, fifth in Heat 2.

"We had some really good performances out there today," said head coach Don Yentes.

LIME Services Directory Pays Tribute to Levern Spencer

2010-02-22T17:24:00.002-04:00

LIME has honored St Lucian champion high-jumper Levern Spencer by featuring her on the 2010 Services Directory. The directory was officially unveiled on Tuesday at the Babonneau Primary School.

Levern is the youngest St Lucian to date who has been featured on the cover and just the second person featured on a Services Directory reflecting the LIME brand.

Originally from Babonneau, Levern attended Babonneau Primary, Entrepot Secondary, Albany State College and University of Georgia. Her High Jump records include the St Lucia national record and records for CARICOM, CARIFTA Games and Central American & Caribbean Senior Championships.

Levern won her seventh Sportswoman of the Year title in St. Lucia on Saturday night. She is an NCAA, CAC and NACAC champion. Levern was the only St Lucian to qualify for the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics. For the 2010 indoor season she is ranked third in the Americas and second in the British Commonwealth for her event.

Jerry Sets New PB

2010-02-22T17:18:00.002-04:00

Feb. 19, 2010 - LARAMIE, Wyo. The University of Wyoming track and field teams had a great end to the regular season on Friday in preparation for the upcoming Mountain West Conference Championships at their last home meet, the Robert Shine Invitational. The Cowboys and Cowgirls had 14 total titles, eight coming from the men and six coming from the women.

The men were led by junior Jeremiah James in the Triple Jump. A graduate of St Mary's College in St Lucia, Jerry continues to climb the UW all-time list as he entered his name below his coach's for second best. His leap of 16.00m (52' 6") trails only assistant coach Quincy Howe and his 54' 9.25" back in 2001. James is currently 11th in the nation and enters the MWC Championships as the reigning champion.

St Lucia's National Indoor Record for men's Triple Jump is held by Jerry's former coach with Morne Stars Athletics Club, Dane Magloire. Dane's best mark indoors was 16.21m in 2001, when he attended St Augustine's Colllege. Next, the Cowboys and Cowgirls will travel to Albuquerque, N.M. from Thursday Feb. 25 through Saturday Feb. 27 for the MWC Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Levern Spencer Qualifies For World Champs

2010-02-11T22:01:00.002-04:00

Levern Spencer set a new National Record for women's High Jump on Wednesday, taking third place at the GE Galan indoor meeting at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. Levern, St Lucia's only qualifier for the IAAF World Indoor Championships and the only Caribbean woman to meet the qualifying mark for this event, jumped two centimetres higher than her previous best, a St Lucia and CARICOM indoors record.

In Sweden, Levern finished behind Croatia's Blanka Vlasic and Sweden's Emma Green, having cleared the same height as the latter. Levern's clearance of 1.92m elevates her to joint 13th on the world list. She is one of just two athletes from the British Commonwealth to have made the qualifying height for World Indoor Championships, along with Canada's Nicole Forrester.

The World Indoor Championships are scheduled for 12-14 March in Doha, Qatar. Spencer, the gifted 25-year-old St Lucian who is currently competing in Europe from her training base in Atlanta, Georgia, is scheduled to return to St Lucia briefly in advance of St Lucia's 31st anniversary of Independence, including National Sports Awards, where she is favoured to be named Sportswoman of the Year.

Rick Valcin Makes NJCAA Height

2010-02-07T23:05:00.000-04:00

Rick Valcin will represent Cowley County Community College at this year's NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.

The 20-year-old St Lucian, a freshman, will compete in men's Pole Vault at NJCAA, after qualifying Saturday at the Iowa State University Open with a career-best clearance of 4.30m, good for fifth place. National Championships will be 5-6 March at Eastern Illinois University.

Rick, a CARIFTA 2009 silver medallist, cleared 4.3 (14'1.25") on his first trial at ISU. "I felt great," he said afterwards. "But I think I was just a little too pumped after making 4.30, so I missed the next height." Rick's prior best mark was 4.00 last December. This was his first indoor meet.

Rick is currently eleventh on the NJCAA performance list.

Story by Terry Finisterre

New PB For Jerry James

2010-01-31T10:22:00.002-04:00

Jeremiah James established a new personal-best mark in Triple Jump and repeated his previous lifetime best in Long Jump in just his second meet for the 2009-10 season. James, a 22-year-old junior at University of Wyoming, was competing at the Air Force Don Barrett Duals last Saturday.
James soared to 7.60m to win the Long Jump. Wyoming swept the top three spots in that event, as 19-year-old freshman Lenyn Leonce improved substantially on his previous best indoors performance, going 7.34m for second place, and fellow freshman Justin Will did 6.78m for third.
Jerry’s big performance, though, came in Triple Jump, where he added over 30cm (about a foot) to the career-best indoor mark he set in December. On this occasion, the young man from Morne Fortune went 15.88m, cementing provisional qualification for the NCAA Nationals in both events.
Back on the tracks, meanwhile, Leonce ran 7.04 seconds in the 60m dash, easily winning Heat 3, but ending up eighth overall in his first indoor sprint.
James and Leonce are both graduates of St Mary's College in St Lucia. Leonce is a two-time CARIFTA champion, looking forward to defending his Long Jump title in the Cayman Islands this Easter.

Alcide Gets Arkansas Career Underway

2010-01-24T18:01:00.002-04:00

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - St Lucia's 2009 CARIFTA silver medallist, Makeba Alcide got her collegiate career underway this week. Makeba, a University of Arkansas freshman, was contesting the indoor Pentathlon on Friday, the first day of the Razorback Invitational in the Randal Tyson Track Center. Makeba joined the Razorbacks in January.

Competing in her first collegiate Pentathlon and first collegiate competition, the St Joseph's Convent graduate finished fifth overall with 3,318 points. She recorded marks of 9.16 seconds in the 60m Hurdles, 1.59m in High Jump, 10.66m in Shot Put (second overall), 4.87m in Long Jump and finished with a time of 2:35.93 in the 800m.

Fellow freshman Leah Orley won the event for Arkansas, ranked No. 17 for women's track and field in Division 1 of the National Collegiate Athletics Association. Orley won her first collegiate pentathlon with 3,666 points. Her score leads the SEC and ranks No. 4 in the NCAA. She was just off the NCAA provisional point total of 3,725.

Rick Valcin Vaults His Way to School

2010-01-16T09:26:00.002-04:00

2009 CARIFTA men's Pole Vault silver medallist, Rick Valcin is on his way to Cowley College, Kansas, on a partial athletics schlarship.

Peace Corps volunteer Andy Behl and the St Lucia Athletics Association started the island's first developmental Pole Vault programme less than 18 months ago in preparation for the CARIFTA Games, resulting in a gold medal for Shem Edward and a silver for Rick at last year's meet. now further fruit has been borne.

Rick, a 19-year-old from La Croix Maingot, set personal-best marks of 3.6m at National Championships in June, and 4.0m at the Castries Market Street Vault in December. He will be a solid addition to the Cowley team and looks forward to competing at the junior college level in the United States.

Rick will be pursuing studies un automotive technology, and once he completes his associate degree at Cowley, he hopes to transfer to a four-year college. Three-time St. Lucia Olympian and National Record holder Dominic Johnson helped connect the St. Lucia Pole Vault programme with Rick's new collegiate coach in the U.S.

Aloysius Near Perfect In Massive Win

2010-01-12T19:54:00.003-04:00

St Lucia's Aloysius Henry had a big game as Three Rivers Community College Raiders beat STLCC-Forest Park Highlanders in their latest NJCAA baskebtall contest, 135-40. (Yup, you read that right. A 95-point pasting!)

Henry, a forward / centre who attended Bocage Secondary in St Lucia, missed just one of 12 shots from the field, scoring 24 points and grabbing a team-high eight rebounds, five of them on the offensive glass - mostly off his teammates' misses, of course.

LO, as he is know at TRCC, hit both his free throws and swatted two STLCC shots.

50 A Henry 17 11-12 0-0 2-2 5-8 0 3 0 0 24

Jerry James Named Athlete of the Week

2009-12-17T13:30:00.002-04:00

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -

For the first time in his career, Wyoming junior Jeremiah James has been selected as the Mountain West Conference Men's Indoor Track & Field Co-Athlete of the Week, this after the first week of action of the 2009-10 season.

Hailing from Morne Fortune, St. Lucia, James recorded personal best leaps in both the long jump and triple jump while competing in his first contest of the season at the Wyoming Power Meet on 5 December, in Laramie, Wyo. James sailed to an NCAA Championship provisional-qualifying mark of 24'-11.25" (7.60m) in the long jump to finish first in the event. The distance currently ranks first in the Conference and second in the nation, according to TFRRS.org, and replaces his third-place all-time league mark.

James went on to win the triple jump with a mark of 51'-0.25" (15.55m), which also provisionally qualifies him for the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. His triple jump performance ranks first in both the league and the NCAA so far this season.

Next action for the University of Wyoming track and field teams will be January 22, in Boulder, Colo., at the Potts Invitational.

Siona Huxley Qualifies For Youth Olympics

2009-12-17T11:50:00.001-04:00

Siona Huxley of the RHAC Sharks Swimming Team of St Lucia created swimming history in becoming the first regional swimmer to qualify for the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore. At the 2009 ASATT Invitational in Trinidad & Tobago, Huxley achieved this feat in the 50m Backstroke on Saturday 12 December, the penultimate night of the championships.

Huxley came to the Championships on a mission to qualify for these games. In Thursday's event, she won gold in 30.51 seconds but was unsuccessful in her quest to make the 30.31-second B time. She bettered her performance in a Friday time trial but again missed the cut. Finally, on Saturday Huxley swam a blistering 29.96 seconds in a time trial to qualify for the inaugural Youth Olympics. This is a St Lucia national record, a CCCAN record and the fastest time ever swum in the event by a female competing in Trinidad & Tobago. Huxley has shown dramatic improvement in form as she chopped almost 1.5 seconds off the 31.71 clocking she made to win silver at CARIFTA in Aruba this year.

Another record fell as the St Lucia team witnessed Joshua Runako Daniel take four seconds off his personal best time in 100m butterfly to claim his first National Record, with a time of 1:02.56. In a keenly fought race, he placed third, getting his third medal of the meet. Runako also captured bronze medals in the 50m Back and 50m Fly

Younger brother Jhasi Daniel set the other Age Group record when he broke his brothers 50m back time in the Boys 9-10 division with a time of 39.84

Clifford Resumes at Lincoln

2009-12-17T08:12:00.002-04:00

Mandela Clifford has started the second stanza of his collegiate athletics career, continuing his bachelor's degree in wellness at NCAA Division 2 Lincoln University (Missouri) alma mater of St Lucian compatriots Fabian Felix and Maxime Charlemagne.

Mandela transferred from NAIA school Mid-America Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas. Part of the team that won the Heart of America Athletic Conference championship from 2006-08, he was also successful off the track, making the Dean’s List with a 3.93 GPA.

With two indoor meets in December, Mandela started with mixed results. At the University of Kansas Bob Timmons Challenge, he ended the 60m dash in 6.96 seconds, third in Heat 4, sixth overall, behind teammates Dwain Bryden, Gavin Terrelonge, Kimour Brice and Gerald Bascoe.

Kenroy Dixon, competing unattached, clocked 6.88 seconds for the 60m win. In the 200m dash, Mandela was fourth (22.45) overall, winning Heat 5. Bascoe won that event.

The next event showed improvement for the young man from the eastern Caribbean, as Mandela ran 6.95 seconds (fifth-best) in qualifying and 6.85 seconds (third) in the final as Lincoln swept the 60m dash at the Iowa State Holiday Preview, Brice (6.81) taking first.

Results were even better in the 4x300m relay, with Brice, Terrelonge, Bryden and Clifford combining to run 2:21.33, second behind the host team, who ran 2:20.81 for the victory. Mandela closed out the meet with a time of 54.24 in the 400m run.

Two More Wins For TRCC

2009-12-17T06:48:00.001-04:00

Aloysius Henry contributed to two big wins for Three Rivers Community College in the past week. The 6'9" forward from Castries, St Lucia led his team in rebounding on both occasions, as they defeated Southwestern Illinois and Lewis & Clark.

Against Southwestern Illinois, an 81-74 win for the TRCC Raiders, Aloysius converted an efficient 4-6 field goals to finish with eight points, but he also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, including three at the offensive end.

The second-year player out of Bocage Secondary had a similar line againt Lewis & Clark, with nine points on 4-8 shooting, and a team-high nine rebounds, this time with five on the offensive glass.TRCC are now 12-1 for the season.

BVI Athletics Celebrates 40 Years

2009-12-15T07:30:00.001-04:00

TORTOLA; BVI: The British Virgin Islands Athletic Association will celebrates its 40the anniversary in 2010 and one of the ways the association intends to commemorate the occasion, is by producing an anniversary book to highlight the achievements of the islands’ athletes, who competed over the past 40 years.

President of the BVIAA Dean Greenaway, said, “We have plans to honor several persons who have contributed to the development of the sport prior to the formation of the association. We will produce an anniversary book incorporating past publications, highlighting our achievements over the last 40 years. We will honor all our national record breakers, international medalists over the last 40 years and others who have contributed to the organization on Sept 25, 2010.”

READ MORE HERE

Aloysius Leads TRCC Past Vols

2009-12-11T07:56:00.000-04:00

Aloysius Henry netted a team-high 17 points to lead the Three Rivers Community College Raiders men's basketball team to an 85-60 win over the John A Logan Volunteers on Thursday night.

The 6'9" centre from Castries, St Lucia made 7-13 field goals and although his team missed eight of 34 free throw attempts, he was perfect on all three trips to the charity stripe.

Aloysius, a sophomore, added three rebounds, a block and a steal in just 22 minutes, fifth-most on his team for the night.

Henry, TRCC Set For Big Weekend

2009-12-10T08:15:00.003-04:00

Aloysius Henry and the Three Rivers Community College Raiders are entering a stretch of three games in four days, starting Thursday night at home against the John A Logan Volunteers. This weekend, the Raiders will play back to back games against Lewis & Clark Trailblazers and Southwestern Illinois Blue Storm.

For the 6'9" centre from St Lucia, it will hopefully be a chance to get some consistency. Over the past three games, Aloysius has been averaging over 12 points, six rebounds and two blocks, with a 22-point output against Rockingham Eagles (104-54), seven rebounds and four blocks against the Oakton Raiders.

For the season (nine games) the former St Lucia junior basketballer of the year is averaging 10.1 points per game, third-best on his team, and is third in rebounding for TRCC at 6.3 per contest. He is second on the team in shot-blocking at 16. Aloysius is fifth on the Raiders for minutes played this season.

Pole Vault to Feature in National Day Athletics

2009-12-08T22:45:00.002-04:00

On December 13th, from 2:00pm-4:00pm the St. Lucia Athletics Association, in partnership with Super J / IGA and LUCELEC, is bringing its newest event to the streets as it hosts the Caribbean’s first ever Street Vault and jumps exhibition in front of the Castries market. In addition to an exciting pole vault competition that is catching international notoriety, the day’s events will include high jump, a reintroduction of the City Circuit road relays and road race exhibition put on in conjunction with the Cycling Association.

In a true St. Lucian atmosphere of music and excitement, Dominic Johnson, three-time St. Lucia Olympian, will be displaying his world-class pole vaulting skills alongside 2009 Carifta medalists Shem Edward and Rick Valcin. Up-and-coming jumpers and sprinters will also compete in front of the market on Jeremie Street as they prepare to qualify for the national team. The SLAA encourages all families, youth, and individuals to come experience these ground-breaking sports up-close and support our young national hopefuls at the Castries Market Street Vault.

Special mention must be given to Super J / IGA and LUCELEC for their substantial support given to the development of youth and sports through this event. DVDNow has also been a long-standing supporter of the pole vaulting program in St. Lucia.

More information on Pole Vault St. Lucia can be found at

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=104307616134&ref=ts

Run Barbados Win #6 For Ledgers!

2009-12-08T10:36:00.002-04:00

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – St Lucian veteran Victor Ledgers brilliantly paced himself to a sixth victory in the Powerade Marathon yesterday to highlight the closing of the annual Run Barbados Series.

Ledgers clocked 2:32:29 for the only Caribbean triumph of the two-day series. He won ahead of Kenya’s Simon Sawe, with St Lucian Zepherinus Joseph third.

Ledgers was among the leading group from the start and shrugged off a sustained challenge from Sawe to move clear for an uncontested victory at the Bay Street finish in front of Government House.

Trinidad & Tobago’s Curtis Cox was fourth in 2:38:18 with defending champion and three-time winner Pamenos Ballantyne, of St Vincent and the Grenadines, fifth in 2:39:59.

Jamaican Andrew Gutzmore was sixth in 2:40.33.

St Lucian Swimmers Star At College Meets

2009-12-08T08:13:00.002-04:00

Johnny Calderon and Danielle Beaubrun have helped their respective university teams to major victories of late.

Calderon, who swims for the University of Western Ontario Mustangs, was the top male swimmer at the Bob Eynon Senior Division Championships where he captured three gold medals in the 50M backstroke (27.77), 50M butterfly (26.92), 50 freestyle (24.40) and two relay silvers in the freestyle and medley relay. UWO went on to win by a huge margin.

Mustangs head coach Paul Midgley was naturally pleased with his team’s performance and looked forward to his teams upcoming meets "It get a lot tougher from here, while these are good results for this point in the season, we face a bit of a reality check with next week's University Challenge followed by the Canada Cup."

Further south in Oxford, Ohio, at the 16th Annual Miami Invitational held at the Corwin Nixon Natatorium, Danielle helped the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles to an overall second place finish for the second consecutive year. The Eagles held off a field that featured eight schools, including some from major Division I conferences (Illinois and Cincinnati).

Danielle placed first in the “B” Final of the 100 yard breaststroke (1:04.80) and second in the “B” final of the 200 yard breaststroke (2:23.29) and her team placed fourth in the 200 yard medley relay and fifth in the 400 yard medley relay.

Miami University, the host school, who competed with 13 more swimmers and four more divers than the Eagles, won the event with 2321 points.

James Sets New Marks

2009-12-08T07:53:00.002-04:00

Track and field season is underway! Yes! (Exceuse me for a sec whilst I go do my happy dance.)

There were strong performances from top to bottom as the University of Wyoming men's and women's track teams came away with two wins against Colorado State at the Wyoming Power Meet, Saturday at the War Memorial Fieldhouse. The Cowboys ended the day with a total of 59 points while their counterparts had only 33. The Cowboys and Cowgirls combined to win 11 of the 22 events performed on Saturday.

The men were led by junior Jeremiah James, from Castries, St Lucia. Jeremiah provisionally qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the long jump and triple jump. James won both events and dazzled the crowd with his personal best long jump of 7.60m (24' 11.25") and personal best triple jump of 15.55m (51' 0.25"), both of which are fifth all-time in Wyoming history.

"All the jumpers had breakout performances today, new personal records were attained across the board and our freshmen did well in their first collegiate meet," said assistant coach Quincy Howe. "Jeremiah had an exceptional day today and we look forward to him continuing his success the entire year."

The jumpers highlighted the meet with the first five men in the long jump coming from Wyoming with redshirt-freshman Stephen Michel coming in second. Freshman Lenyn Leonce, another St Lucian placed fifth, jumping 6.81m for his first indoor competition.

"Jeremiah was a big stand-out today and with his performance today, it will put him in the forefront of the national scene," said head coach Don Yentes. "This is one of our best starts in a couple years and I just hope we can continue to keep our training over the break," he continued. "I am very happy with all of our performances today and am excited to see the progression of this team."

The Cowboys and Cowgirls will wait until January 22, 2010 to compete in the Potts Invitational in Boulder, Colo.

Zeph Second in Martinique Half

2009-11-29T18:07:00.002-04:00

Zepherinus Joseph came away with second place in the 2009 edition of the Fort de France International Half Marathon, repeating his result from last year.

Once again, the St Lucian and OECS champion was second to a Venezuelan, this time Arias Lervis. The South American won the 25th edition of the Half Marathon International in 1:08:40 ahead of Zepherinus, 1:10:17, some two minutes slower than his 2008 effort. Meddy Akaouch took third place in 1:10:21.

The former University of North Florida Osprey, originally from the east coast community of Mon Repos in St Lucia, was pleased with his race: "It was a slow race today," he said, "but I am very happy with my performance given the training I have been doing. Second place ain't too shabby."

Zeph is in the middle of a gruelling season of road running. This was his third half marathon this month, including third place at the University of the West Indies race and victory in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States contest in Kingstown, St Vincent & the Grenadines.

In Martinique, Christine Simon won the women's race in 1:24:14 ahead of Jyolimar Pinéda in 1:24:55 and Louis Guyline in 1:29:54.

TRCC Beat Warriors in Sechrest Classic

2009-11-21T14:34:00.001-04:00

The Three Rivers Community College Raiders beat Indian hills Warriors 55-47 in the keenly contested opening match of the Bob Sechrest Classic. The tournament, which also involves Kennedy King college, is hosted by Mineral Area College.

Friday evening, TRCC guard Marquise Carter returned to his high-scoring ways, pouring in a game-high 18 on 5-13 shooting, whilst St Lucian forward / centre Aloysius Henry contributed eight points on 4-10 from the field.

Carter also had two blocked shots, four rebounds and four asssists. His Caribbean teammate pulled down three boards and swatted two, despite playing just 17 minutes. Henry is third on the Raiders in both scoring and rebounding.

The Sechrest Classic continues Saturday at the Bob Sechrest Field House with TRCC, the #4 team in NJCAA, up against Kennedy King. Three-time national champions Indian Hills will play the host, Mineral Area, in the late game.

Individual Success For Edward In 2009

2009-11-18T07:04:00.002-04:00

St Lucia's Latoya Edward has just completed her second season starting at outside hitter for the Queens College (New York) Lady Knights volleyball team. Despite a lack of team success this season - QC ended with just seven wins from 26 games, and three from 12 in conference play - "Toya" had another good season, showing off her skills on both sides of the ball.

The Leon Hess Comprehensive alumnus hails from the CDC in the heart of Castries, and at 5'4" she does not have a classical volleyball build. But Edward makes up for her lack of height with incredible leaping ability, timing and brilliant defense. She played 116 sets in her first season at QC and featured in all 87 sets for her sophomore campaign, one of just two players to do so.

Last year she was second on the squad with 289 digs, this year she led with 231 digs (in fewer games), averaging 2.66 digs per contest. Not just a defensive force, though, Toya was second in kills (224), coming in behind only Camila Dantas, the Brazilian sophomore who sparked the knights' attack this season with a total of 270 kills, earning her all-conference team honours.

Next season, Camila and Toya will have to break in a new setter, with senior Janice Loo due to graduate this academic year. But alongside the likes of Linda Tatala-Colin (France), Suzanne Byrne (Canada) and Maria Loor (Ecuador) the two should be hopeful of returning head coach Pascale Lubin's cosmopolitan team to winning ways in 2010.

Zeph Wins OECS #5

2009-11-16T23:09:00.004-04:00

Zepherinus Joseph triumphed over a field of 25 men for his second consecutive hold on the NEMWIL-sponsored Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Half Marathon, his fifth win overall in this event.

The 34-year-old native of Mon Repos led a St Lucian 1-2 in Kingstown, St Vincent & the Grenadines, 43-year-old compatriot Victor Ledgers finishing second on a mountainous course that left the athletes short of their best times.

Joseph and Ledgers crossed the finish line in the Vincentian capital at 1:14:13 and 1:15:21 respectively. Curtis Cox of Trinidad & Tobago was the top finisher from outside the OECS, the 41-year-old clocking 1:16:13 for third.

Meanwhile, hometown favorite and former OECS champion Pamenos Ballantyne led the charge for the host nation. Pamenos stopped the clock at 1:17:48 for fourth place, in a race that featured runners from just seven territories.

Trinidad & Tobago’s Shermin Lasaldo led 12 women over the line in 1:39:18, the 20-year-old beating Vincentian veteran Lisa Daniel (1.43:27) into second. 22-year-old Kenisha Pascall came in at 1.50:39 to take bronze for Grenada.

Leonard Ballantyne led three Vincentians home in the veterans' division. The 50-year-old ended in 1:47:05, with Ernest King second in 2:04:40, and Raymond Bernard - the oldest runner at 58 years old - third in 2:35:41.

St Lucia Second At OECS Swimming

2009-11-15T10:22:00.002-04:00

The St Lucia National Swim Team returned from the very successful SAGICOR OECS Swimming Championships in Grenada last weekend November at the Good Hope Pool, St. Paul’s, St. George’s without the Championship Trophy as hoped, but with a well earned second place.

The Grenadians, who enjoyed the home advantage, fielded a powerful team especially in the female division and placed first with 1780.5 points, followed by St Lucia with 1586 points, third Antigua with 661 points and finally St Vincent with 6 points

Leading the St Lucian challenge were the age group winners including Thalia Bergasse (Girls 9-10, 81 points, 5 gold, 4 silver medals); Jason Beaubrun (Boys 11-12, 88 points, 9 Gold, 1 Silver); Runako Daniel (Boys 13-14, 94 points, 9 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze); Siona Huxley (Girls 15-17, 97 points, 10 gold, 1 silver); and Julien Brice (Boys 15-17, 93 points, 9 gold, 2 bronze).

St Lucia tied with Grenada with 63 Gold medals each but fell behind in the Silver (39 to 84) and in the Bronze (40 to 59)

Other medal winners for the St Lucians were Jean Luc Augier (4 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 bronze); Jordan Augier (2 Gold and 9 silver); Raina Bergasse (3 silver, 5 Bronze); Laura bruce (1 Gold, 1 silver 4 bronze); Jyasi Daniel (1 Gold, 2 Bronze); Evelyn Day (3 Bronze); Etan Dyke Elliot (1 Bronze) Mark Emanus (1 Gold, 2 Silver); Vanessa Eugene (2 Silver , 8 Bronze), Sarah Georgeos (1 Gold 3 Bronze); Jon L Innocent Dolor (2 Gold,6 Silver , 3 Bronze), Solange Lenihan (2 bronze); Sarah Mayers (2 Bronze); Jamie Peterkin (3 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze).

Photography by Chris Huxley

Kiva Herman Helps Canti Beat #1

2009-11-15T09:58:00.002-04:00

Her team was off this weekend, but that just gave Kiva Herman the chance to reflect on one of her best games as a professional to date. The St Lucian-born forward, a first-year pro, poured in 20 points on 8-11 shooting from the field, and grabbed a team-high 8 caroms, as Canti Riva Basket beat the top team in the Swiss National League.

It was the first loss for Sdent Sierre Basket, 73-72, Canti Riva coming back from a four-point halftime deficit through Herman and Cameo Hicks. Kiva, a 6'0" forward, is averaging an even 18 points per game on a team-high 57.7% shooting for the season, to go with a team-leading 7.8 rebounds per game. Canti Riva sits fourth in the League.

Aloysius Leads In Big TRCC Win

2009-11-15T09:24:00.001-04:00

Three Rivers Community College defeated St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley 96-61 on Saturday night, behind a dominant display from their frontcourt, including former St Lucia Junior Basketballer of the Year, Aloysius Henry.

Henry paced the TRCC Raiders with 17 points on 8-14 shooting from the field, adding 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. It was the second big game for the 6'9 forward / centre from Bishop's Gap, Castries, by way of Bocage Secondary.

A second-year player, hoping to catch a full university scholarship when he graduates from TRCC in 2010, Aloysius scored 14 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in TRCC's season-opening demolition of Arkansas Baptist College, 120-82.

He is currently joint third on the team in scoring, at 9.50 per game. He is joint second in rebounding, with 6.75 rebounds per contest. And he is second in blocked shots per game, with an even 1 per outing. TRCC currently boasts a 4-0 record.

Plataneros Lose Two Straight At Worlds

2009-11-04T07:48:00.000-04:00

Doha, Qatar - Zamalek of Egypt came from behind twice to win an exciting match five-set match against Plataneros of Corozal (Puerto Rico) 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-14, 21-19) in the second day of Pool A of the 2009 Men’s Club World Championship at Aspire Zone indoor hall in Doha, Qatar on Wednesday.

The outstanding performance of Zamalek attacker Mohamed Badawy and the setter Ashraf Aboulhassan was the key factor for the victory specially the first who scored 31 points that put him as the match scorer. From Corozal side Victor Rivera was the best scorer with 30 points, whilst St Lucia's Jason "Long" Octave weighed in with six kills and a block.

Corozal also lost their opening match Tuesday against Zenit Kazan of Russia, 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-17). Struggling against one of the tournament favorites, Corozal wing spiker Thomas Mckinney and Octave tried to to get their side back into the match, but Zenit controlled the net with their efficient blockers. Again, Octave ended with six kills and a block.

The last match for Long and the Plataneros will be Thursday afternoon against Trentino Betclic, which promises to be another tough matchup for the Caribbean side.

Canti Riva Drops To 3-2 In Swiss League

2009-11-03T07:51:00.003-04:00

St Lucia-born forward Kiva Herman had 18 points and fellow first-year pro Megan Skouby led the team with 21, but Canti Riva Basket still fell to their second loss in the Switzerland Professional League, 80-69 to BCF Elfic Fribourg.

As a team, Canti shot just 36% from the floor and 31% from behind the arc. Skouby was lights out from three-point range, making 5 of 7, but just 2 of 12 inside the circle. Herman, on the other hand, made 7 of 17 from the field.

Veteran pro, Cameo Hicks had 15 points, and no other Canti player had as many as 5 points for the game. Herman, a University of San Diego graduate, led the team in rebounding with 9, including 6 huge offensive rebounds.

Celeste Trahan scored 35 points for Elfic Fribourg in Saturday's contest, missing just twice from the field. Canti are now 3-2 for the season, fourth in the seven-team Ligue National A.

Bobcats Win One, Lose One To Manitoba

2009-11-03T07:15:00.002-04:00

Defending Great Plains champions the Brandon Bobcats dropped a surprising loss to the Manitoba Bisons on Friday. Luckily, they had the chance to show their mettle 24 hours later.

Dany Charlery, a 6'3" guard from the Caribbean island of St Lucia, went for 33 points to lead the 'Cats to a 106-83 win that they hope will be more indicative of their season.

Terril Thomas had 20 points, Tarik Tokar led the game with 9 assists. Head Coach Keith Vassell said, “I’m really proud of the guys coming back from a loss. We still have a lot of work to do and are looking forward to the rest of the season.

“Dany has established himself as one of the top players in Canada and Tarik is one of the most effective point guards in the conference.” says Vassell of his returning players.

Dani, FGCU Beat FAU and Tampa

2009-11-03T07:07:00.002-04:00

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU swimming and diving team swept Florida Atlantic and Tampa in a tri-meet Friday evening, picking up convincing victories over both schools. The Eagles defeated FAU 180-112 and knocked off Tampa 194-92.

The Blue and Green started strong, placing first and second in the first event, the 200 medley relay. The second-placed team featured St Lucia's Dani Beaubrun, a freshman at FGCU. FGCU dominated the Owls and the Spartans for the rest of the meet.

Florida Atlantic’s Eszter Bucz was the only female swimmer not wearing an FGCU suit that won an event. She took the 100 breast, in which Beabrun swam 1:06.66 for third place.

Fast start carries QC past Nyack in three

2009-11-03T07:05:00.001-04:00

Queens College used a fast start and the hitting prowess of Camila Dantas to beat Nyack College in three sets in a non-conference match played on Thursday night in Fitzgerald Gymnasium. Dantas had a game high 20 kills to lead QC to their sixth victory of the season.

Dantas had three kills as the Knights roared out to an early 8-0 lead on their way to a 25-10 win in set one. The story was much the same in set two with QC streaking to a 12-4 lead en route to a 25-13 victory.

In set three, the all-round prowess of St Lucia national player Latoya Edward came to the fore. She scored a kill to give the Knights a 25-24 lead, ending with nine kills and a team-high nine digs.

World's fastest man adopts world fastest feline

2009-11-02T18:02:00.003-04:00

By TOM ODULA (AP) – 49 minutes ago

NAIROBI, Kenya — The world's fastest man adopted the animal kingdom's fastest sprinter Monday, as Usain Bolt welcomed a new baby cheetah named Lightning Bolt into his life.

The Jamaican sprinter's sponsorship of the 3-month-old male cheetah is part of an effort to boost Kenyan conservation efforts of its famous wildlife, whose survival is threatened by trophy hunting, climate change and human encroachment.

The world record-holder in the 100m and 200m paid $13,700 to formally adopt the cub. He will also pay $3,000 a year to care for Lighting Bolt, who will be raised at an animal orphanage in Nairobi.

The money will go to the Kenya Wildlife Service, and some will be used to protect Kenya's endangered species, KWS director Julius Kipngetich said.

Bolt, who was on a four-day visit to Kenya, said Friday he was looking forward to seeing Kenya's diverse wildlife, but was scared of meeting lions.

He nearly ran away when asked Monday to pet a fully grown cheetah named Sharon for a photo shoot with Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

The world record holder appeared more comfortable later while handling his baby cheetah, which was the size of a fully grown domestic cat. He cradled the fuzzy-headed cub while feeding it bottled milk as cameramen snapped away.

When asked if he was afraid of cheetahs, Bolt said: "Yes, I was, but not anymore."

Lighting Bolt is among three cubs rescued by KWS officials after their mother abandoned them in a game park.

Zeph Third in UWI Half Marathon

2009-11-02T08:11:00.001-04:00

St Lucia's Zepherinus Joseph was again the top Caribbean runner as the sixth annual University of the West Indies Sports and Physical Educational Centre (UWISPEC) International Half-Marathon concluded Sunday in St Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago.

Kenyan distance runner Alfonsi Kibor Yatich made a winning debut in this event, beating Kenyan-American Simon Sawe into second place. Yatchi ran 1:06.47, with his one-time compatriot just under two minutes behind him in 1:08:56.

Joseph commanded third place, the OECS champion clocking 1:09.09 to top Trinidad & Tobago's Richard Jones, the first local runner to cross the line with a time of 1:10.09, ahead of Ronnie Holassie (1:10.09) in fifth.

"This third place feels like first," said Zepherinus. "I am happy with myself and proud of the way I ran today. I am really looking forward to the OECS race in a couple of weeks, that should be fun. Based on how I ran in Trinidad, I hope I can retain my title."

Multiple T&T Clico marathon winner, Pamenos Ballantyne of St Vincent & the Grenadines was ninth with Kelvin Johnson (1:11.22) of Guyana, sixth.

Zeph Set For OECS 1/2 Marathon

2009-11-01T10:25:00.007-04:00

ST LUCIA: Zepherinus Joseph, St Lucia's and the Caribbean's top distance runner, is targetting his fifth consecutive Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) half-marathon later this month.

Joseph said the EC$25,000 race, set for 15 November in Kingstown, VIN, is very important to him. It has "always been a priority on the calendar for me," he said, "and I just want to go out there and retain my title."

Joseph took the event in 1:07:44.14 to defeat Trinidad & Tobago’s Curtis Cox last year. St Vincent & the Grenadines' veteran Pamenos Ballantyne, once the Caribbean’s top distance man, finished fourth in 2008.

The St Lucian Olympian is coming off a dominant win in a week-long race in Martinique. This weekend he is contesting the UWI half marathon in Trinidad.

Information from Track Alerts was used in this story. Visit http://www.trackalerts.com/ for more Caribbean athletics.

Octave, Plataneros For World Champs

2009-10-29T07:45:00.002-04:00

COROZAL. St Lucia's leading male volleyballer, Jason "Long" Octave is in Doha, Qatar this week. The 6'4" hitter, a graduate of Queens College (New York) is in the Persian Gulf nation for the Men's Club World Volleyball Championship, where he will play with Puerto Rican outfit Los Plataneros.

Plataneros begin on 3 November with a baptism of fire against heavy favorites, the Russian club Zenit Kazan, then come up against Zamalek from Egpyt, and the champions from the Caribbean will close the preliminary round on 4 November with a match against the Italians, Trentino Betclic. The top two teams advance.

Before leaving Puerto Rico, Plataneros cemented their position at the top of the Men's Volleyball League with a 25-22, 25-19, 25-21 win over Mets Guaynabo. Octave, who has also played professionally in Germany, contributed 10 kills to go with 13 each from Nils Robert Nielsen and Matthew McKinney.

The FIVB Men's Club World Championship is back on the international Volleyball calendar after last featuring in 1992. The competition will consist of 16 matches in total, including 12 Preliminary Round matches and four matches in the Final Round with total prize money of US$750, 000 on offer.