… No room for disappointment, says AAG head

By Tamica Garnett
THE Guyana 2016 CARIFTA Games team of 15 athletes and three officials left these shores early yesterday morning for Grenada, ahead of representing the Golden Arrowhead Guyana at the esteemed meet which will run from March 26 to 28.The team of seven girls and eight boys, consists of sprint star Kenisha Phillips, Avon Samuels, Claudrice McKoy, and Chantoba Bright in the Girls’ Under-18 category; Andrea Foster, Natricia Hooper and Jevina Sampson in the Girls’ Under-20; Samuel Lynch, Jeremy Garrett, Daniel Williams, and Tyrell Peters in the Boys’ Under-18; and Matthew McKenzie, Odwin Tudor, and Compton Caesar in the Boys’ Under-20 category.
The officials are Sheryl Hermonstine as team manager, Robert Chisholm as the head coach. He is assisted by Rawle Griffith.
Meanwhile, the fate of the singular US-based athlete selected to attend the Games remains uncertain. According to the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG no word has been received on whether Alyssa Sandy will still be travelling to the Games or even when she would be travelling. Sandy nonetheless remains registered for the Girls Under-20 100m and 400m hurdles.
The team represents one of the largest contingents that Guyana has sent to the event in recent times. AAG head Aubrey Hutson said that he is looking for the best from the athletes with no room for disappointments.
“I would say that I am very, very confident about this team and their upcoming performance, I think this team will surpass their personal best and once they do that they should be coming back with medals, based on what we’ve seen at CARIFTA over the last few years.” Hutson commented yesterday
“I don’t think I would be disappointed, there will be no disappointments here, because this is a building process in track and field in Guyana, I don’t think I would be disappointed unless it’s an administrative glitch or something. Once they go out there and give of their best I don’t see that there will be any disappointments.”
According to Hutson, while he is keeping an eye out for a lot from the distance athletes, he is particularly hopeful of the sprinters since this is where Guyana has had some of its most challenging experience over the years at CARIFTA.
“On the shorter distances, we know that Jamaica, Barbados and the Bahamas train really well but we are hopeful that this year we can break that glass ceiling that has been hovering over us whenever we compete against these people,” Hutson said
Leading the list of sprinters to look out for is Guyana Defence Force’s Phillips, who over the past months continues to churn out impressive performance after impressive performance. Phillips will be in the 100m and 200m. Quarter-miler Samuels will be in the 200m as well as the 400m.
Peters will be in the 100m and 200m of his category, as will Caesar, who is another of Guyana’s impressive sprinters in recent times.
Phillips will start off Guyana’s bid at the event, when she fires off in the 100m preliminaries. According to the Games schedule, day one’s events will include the 100m and 400m. Hooper and Sampson will be out in the 400m girls under 20 heats.
On the Boys’ side Caesar will try to earn his way into the 100m final of the Boys’ Under-20, Peters will try to do same on the Under-18 side. Samuel Lynch and Williams will be in the 400m.
Some 26 countries will be taking part in CARIFTA Games this weekend. It will be the second time in 16 years the Games will be staged in Grenada That country hosted the regional event in 2000 but could not do so in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan (September, 2004) which resulted in the relocation to Tobago.
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