JUNIOR 2019 Caribbean Under-17 champion Shomari Wiltshire was among the top performers in the recently concluded 2019 Canadian Junior Squash Open.
Wiltshire was a part of a 4-man team which included Caribbean Under-15 runner-up Nicholas Verwey along with 2019 Junior Caribbean Under-13 runner-up Mohryan Baksh, Nicholas and Joshua Verwey.
The team though small gave a good account of themselves with spectacular performances, as Wiltshire who ended sixth in the U-13 division in 2015 and ninth in the U-15 in 2017, went even further this year as he made it to the final before losing to Canadian Gabriel Yun in 3 sets; 11-4, 4-11, 9-11, 8-11.
Wiltshire, who was seeded 13/16, defeated Canadian Max Shewchenko in the first round 11-4, 11-2, 11-5 before whipping Caribbean counterpart Caymanian Jace Jervis 11-9, 12-10, 11-5.
In the round of 16 he found himself matched up against the number 2 seed in the tournament, New Zealand’s Jack Conder. He upset his more seasoned opponent winning 4-11, 11-5, 11-7, 12-10.
In the quarter-finals Wiltshire battled 9/12 seed Canadian Griffin Manley and defeated him in straight games 12-10, 11-8, 11-7, before tackling seeded Canadian Amin Khan.
In 2015 while playing in the U-13 division Wiltshire beat Khan, fast-forward two years later in 2017 when Amin Khan was the number one seed in the U-15 category when the Guyanese lost 3-2.
This year, Wiltshire won the first game 13-11 but dropped the second game 9-11, before winning the crucial third game 12-10. He then closed out the match 11-8 to reach his first Canadian Open final. The final saw him clinch the first game 11-4 but then Gabriel regrouped to win the second game 11-4.
The Guyanese then went up 9-7, two points away from taking this game, but it was not to be. He lost the game 9-11 and the fourth 8-11 to finish as runner-up – a fantastic achievement.
Meanwhile, in the U-13 category, Baksh finished a creditable ninth place while in the U-15 Verwey, who was unseeded, faced Canadian Danny Leigh, an unseeded opponent in the first round where he thrashed the home guy; 11-2, 11-2, 11-4.
The four players now move on to the 2019 US Junior Squash Open in Massachusetts from December 14 to 17, in Allston, Massachusetts. U-13 division Baksh is seeded 49/64 and Nicholas 65/96, Joshua is seeded 33/48 in the Boys’ U-15 with Wiltshire in U-17 seeded 49/64.