GUYANA’S Claudrice McKoy has already begun to make her mark at her new school, Monroe College, in the USA, where she is currently attending on an Athletics scholarship. She achieved her first win for her school after championing the Queensborough Community College Invitational cross-country event last Sunday.

The CARIFTA Games gold medallist finished the 5K race in 20:22.24s to top a field of 205 athletes, leading the Monroe College women’s cross-country team to an impressive second-place finish out of 27 teams in the competitive meet.
She was the only one of her teammates to finish in the top five in the race, and only one of three to finish in the top ten. This saw McKoy being named the female athlete-of-the-week at her school.

McKoy is one of three Guyanese athletes, who were awarded scholarships to Monroe College earlier this year, following impressive performances at regional meets.
McKoy was approached after her performance at this year’s CARIFTA Games, where she finished with a gold medal in the Girls’ 3000m and a bronze in the 1500m. She also medalled at the South American Junior Championships, where she took bronze in the 1500m.

The other athletes offered scholarships were sprinters Onasha Rogers and Avon Samuels.
Rogers and Samuels each took silver medal at SA Juniors, finishing second in the 100m and 400m respectively. They both had bronze in the Girls’ 4x100m at the Championships, while Samuels also had a gold medal in the Girls’ 4x400m.