TSSS make sixth visit to Penn Relays

The Thomas Saunders Secondary School (TSSS) will make its sixth straight visit to the annual Penn Relays in the USA, this weekend, April 28 -30, at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.{{more}}

Represented by 14 athletes (seven males and seven females), along with four officials, the TSSS will once again compete in the 4x 100m and 4 x400m, in both genders.

The 2016 male squad which left last Saturday night, comprises Zenron Chance, Mickail Legair, Nigel Thomas, Neilo Thomas, Edwin Weston, Derold Samuel and Azare Samuel, with the females being Mekelia Slater, Zamesha Myle, Kavesia George, Cheslyn Simper, Oleisha Ryan, Shanise John and Ariel Jackson.

The management unit is made up of Godfrey Harry (head coach), Chantel Legair (coach), Farrah Bailey (chaperone) and Larissa John (manager).

It will be a return to the relays for male athlete Neilo Thomas, while in the case of Chance and Legair, they were part of last year’s team, but did not get an opportunity to show on track.

Female athletes Slater, Ryan and Myle debuted at last year’s relays and for Simper, it is her third straight time representing her school.

Harry told SEARCHLIGHT that the school has been able to make the trip thanks to anonymous donors, fund-raising carried out by the school, as well as the Vincentian organizations in the USA, which make that extra effort to ensure that the TSSS contingent is taken care of.

Harry made special mention of James Cordice, who has been pivotal in their accommodation and other hospitality over the years.

The TSSS contingent will be feted on the final night at a reception, set for the Calabash Restaurant and Catering House, which is a Vincentian-owned business in Philadelphia.

Also coming in for thanks was the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines, which has supported the school in its ventures from 2011 to 2015, but did not do so this year.

At last year’s outing, the Thomas Saunders Secondary participated in both events.

The quartet of Rogike Thorpe, Kailon Kirby, Neilo Thomas and Erasto Da Silva clocked 44.48 seconds in the male 4x100m, which ranked them 100th out of 580 participants. The same four in the 4x400m, returned a time of 3 minutes 25.72 seconds, which put them 79th of 552.

The females – Kerina Hooper, Rownesha Spencer, Jasmine Robertson, and Zamesha Myle – registered four minutes 08.15 seconds in the 4x400m, gaining a ranking of 93rd out of 636 quartets. Hooper, along with Oleisha Ryan, Mekelia Slater, and Cheslyn Simper clocked 51.20 seconds in the 4 x 100m, which saw them earn 53rd, ranked from a total of 376 participants.

Thorpe, Kirby and Da Silva have since been recruited by the Kingsborough Community College in New York.

The Penn Relays is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the USA, first started in April 1895 by the University of Pennsylvania.