The Saint Lucia Athletics Association has named a youthful, inexperienced 14-member team to contest the CARIFTA Games over Easter weekend, 26-28 March, in St George’s, Grenada.
The team includes just three holdovers from the eight-member 2015 team. Ace Louis and Denzel St Marthe earned medals in Under-20 boys High Jump and Javelin Throw, respectively.
Both are now overage, but Danny Francois, Amber Lucien, and Ibed Sealy are all eligible for the Games. Danny – a thrower – has tried to transition to combined events, Amber has moved to the upper age group, and Ibed has been struggling with injury.
Also conspicuous by their absence are female sprinters Mechaela Hyacinth and Sherlan Jules, and high jumper Daivon St Prix. Mechaela was Saint Lucia’s sole representative at last year’s World Youth Championships. Sherlan competed at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa. Both are eligible for competition in the Under-18 girls category. Daivon was also in Samoa, where he contested the High Jump.
Making the team, however, is Rochelle Etienne in the U20 girls Javelin Throw. Rochelle was a medallist at the Commonwealth Youth Games last season. Also in the U20 girls will be Kamillah Monroque, who will be doing the open 3000m run. Both were members of the team in 2015.
Also on last year’s team was Uric Mathurin, who will be taking part in Octathlon for the third year. So too will Vincent ‘Bijoux’ London, at the tender age of 16.
The bulk of the team is in U18 competition, led by Julien Alfred. The 15-year-old phenom is at school in Jamaica, after impressing in the 2015 Central American and Caribbean Age Group Championships. Also impressive at that meet was Desray Desir. In Grenada, Julien will do the 100m and 200m. Desray will do the 100m.
Julien was one of just two qualifiers for the Games, under the standards set out by the Athletics Association. The other was Neema Leon, in the U18 Long Jump. She will be attempting that event in Grenada. Kimani Alphonse, meanwhile, will be doing the 200m and 400m. According to two missives from the Association, the four U18 girls and Kamillah will comprise either a 4x400m of 4x100m relay pool.
The U18 boys are also entered for the 4x400m. Individually, Jean Meachel Etienne is down for the 200m, Tyrese Paul and Armani Modeste the 400m, and Randy Serville will make the trip solely for the relay.
Saint Lucia’s team also includes two raw-but-promising young throwers, Devon Moise in the Javelin Throw and Jean Pierre Frederick in the Shot Put and Discus Throw, both U18 boys.
The team will be coached by Denise Herman, Liaxna Montalvo Martinez, and Cuthbert Modeste. The contingent is scheduled to depart Saint Lucia for Grenada on 23 March via British Airways.