AFTER Guyana’s Emanuel Archibald on Friday claimed a silver in the Penn Relays College men’s long jump, Guyana’s Female Athlete of the Year Natrena Hooper yesterday followed up by capturing the college women’s high jump silver as the competition entered its final day

at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The pair was representing the University of the West Indies (UWI), where they are studying on scholarships. Archibald cleared 7.47m to take the silver, after Oklahoma’s Thomas Cheval took a come-from-behind win and covered 7.49m on his final attempt.
Prior to Cheval’s winning leap, it was Houston’s Antwan Dickerson who was looking poised for the win, after the 7.37m he achieved on his first jump. A series of fouls, however, would rob Dickerson from getting any further and ultimately seeing him ending with the bronze medal.

Archibald started out with a 7.12m distance and gained momentum with each successive leap, save for a foul on his third lunge, and until he peaked at his penultimate try. On his last jump the 22-year-old would only make it across 6.13m. At the end of it all though, the former University of Guyana student was satisfied with what he put out for the day.
“I can’t complain because I gave it my best,” Archibald told Chronicle Sport, following his accomplishment. “The competition was very hard though, a lot of big jumpers were present. I was very nervous because it was the largest amount of persons I have ever seen.”

Archibald was also in yesterday’s college men’s triple jump but his 14.58m distance left him in fifth, as the event’s top spots went to Richard Stockton’s Jared Lewis (15.17m); Central Michigan’s Jake Peister (15.12m) and UMBC’s Thomas Johnson (15.05m).
Meanwhile, not even overwhelming nervousness could hinder Hooper’s natural talent as she cleared 1.78m for her high jump silver. Lehigh University’s Courtney Avery took the gold with 1.82m.

“I was nervous, it being my first Penns,” Hooper expressed.
Archibald and Hooper were offered part scholarships to UWI Mona Campus, after they were spotted competing in Barbados at separate events. They then received funding from the government, through the National Sports Commission, to attend the University.

The two were a part of a larger group of Guyanese that participated at the esteemed meet. All Guyanese teams from Guyana Technical Institute and the Fort Wellington Secondary were also there. The Penn Relays, also called the Penn Relay Carnival, is the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, hosted annually.