Vincentian athletes get NACAC Age Group experience

Eight Vincentian athletes were last weekend gaining valuable experience, as they contested the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Age Group Championships, which were held at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago.

Returning the best effort was Andrew Mapp, who placed 10th from a field of 29, in the male 11-12 age group.

Mapp finished on 2,756 points. He had the distinction of winning the 60m.

The other Vincentian male in that age grouping was Omar Baptiste, who ended 27th, tallying 2,210 points.

St Vincent and the Grenadines was represented in the females 11 to 12 grouping by Gail Ann John and Almarie Providence, who finished 15th and 17th respectively.

John put together 2,272 points and Providence, 2,240.

Mapp, Baptiste, John and Providence combined to place second in the mixed 4x100m relay, in a time of 52.54 seconds.

The overall winner among the males was Lebron James of Trinidad and Tobago, who counted 3,143 points, while Samiya Dells of Barbados ended with 2,894 points.

In the other age group, for the 13-14-year-olds, SVG’s participants were Verrol Sam and Jadyn Delpesche in the male segment and in the female bracket, Grenisha Thomas and Assonnae Ollivierre.

When the final tally was made, Sam totalled 4,331 points, to place 15th and nine places down the field was Delpesche, who was 26th. Delpesche scored 3,898 points.

Meanwhile, Thomas earned 3,455 points, to finish 15th and Ollivierre was 17th on 3,308 points.

Thirty-one athletes were in the male category and 32 in the female.

The overall male winner was Matthew Sophia of Curacao with 5,083 points and Shaniqua Bascombe of Trinidad and Tobago, 4,057 points, the female champion.

A multi-discipline event, the NACAC Age Group Championships saw the male 11-12 athletes involved in a pentathlon.

The males did the 60 metres dash, 1,000 metres, long jump, high jump, baseball throw and the females – the 60 metres dash, 800 metres, long jump, high jump and baseball throw.

Consisting of seven events, the heptathlon saw an 80 metres dash, 1,200 metres, 80 metres hurdles, long jump, high jump, baseball throw and shot putt were the requirements for males 13-14,  and the females, the 80 metres dash, 1,000 metres, 60 metres hurdles, long jump, high jump, baseball throw and shot putt.

St Vincent and the Grenadines in 2013 won the female 13-14 category, when Shaffiqua Maloney outpointed her opponents when the then Central American and Caribbean Championships were staged in Curacao.