Cold, rainy weather significantly hampers Vincy athletes at Penn Relays

The coach of the Thomas Saunders Secondary School (TSSS) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines has attributed the team’s subpar performance in last week’s Penn Relays Carnival at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia to persistent rain and the unusually cold weather.

“They are a young bunch. All of them never participated in these events – different weather, different circumstances,” Javed Marksman told Caribbean Life Sunday night ahead of the team’s departure for home early Monday.

“This time, the weather was wet and cold,” he added. “They’re trying to stay warm, despite feeling cold. They did their best. They did what they could have done. The track was wet; the girls were wet; yesterday was a wet day.”

Actually, it rained heavily on Friday and Saturday, the last of the three days in which the University of Pennsylvania hosted the annual Carnival at the Franklin Field Stadium.

Marksman – who first came to the Penn Relays as assistant coach and physiotherapist in 2017 and 2018 – said the all-girls TSSS team competed on Friday in the 4x100m for high schools and then on Saturday in the 4x400m for high schools.

Despite the setbacks, he said the 4x100m team of Shadia Semper, Kaylah Durrant, Colissa Lewis and Tiffany Douglas – who ran in that order – “did well for some athletes who came here for the first time”, recording 55.50 sec. among nine schools and placing 78th overall for 116 schools in all heats.

In the 4x400m, Marksman said the team of Colissa Lewis, Mephia Monroe, Tiffany Douglas and Shaquania Jacobs – in that order – ran 4 min., 20.85 sec. among 10 schools.

He said the team placed last primarily due to an early an injury to Lewis in the first leg.

“Colissa was trying to pass the huddle and twisted her leg,” Marksman said. “She finished the race and handed the baton. The injury turned out to be a minor sprain.”

However, he said he was still proud of the team’s brave performance.

“I’m proud of them after looking at other heats in which girls came second with slower time,” said the coach, who filled in for Head Coach Godfrey Harry, who pulled out of the trip at the last minute. “They ran their hearts out.

“I think personally that, in the overall performance, we still have room for improvement after getting back in the game after COVID and the volcano (volcanic eruptions of La Soufriere Volcano),” Marksman added. “We try to get them into the bigger world to get some exposure. We still have some work to do when we get home.”

TSSS athletes pose on the tracks during the Penn Relays at the Franklin Field Stadium at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Photo by Javed Marksman

He said two of the TSSS athletes are likely to compete in next year’s Penn Relays since the other four will be taking CXC exams – equivalent to high school diploma in the United States – and are expected afterwards to pursue studies at the local community college.

The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College does not participate in the Penn Relays, despite efforts by James Cordice, the Philadelphia-based coordinator of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Penn Relays initiative, for the school to do so.

Newly-appointed St. Vincent and the Grenadines Consul General to the United States Rondy “Luta” McIntosh told Caribbean Life on Tuesday that he was among nationals on a bus – organized by the Brooklyn-based Vincentian umbrella group, Council of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, USA, Inc. (COSAGO) – who trekked to the Penn Relays to render boisterous support to the Vincentian athletes.

“I made the journey because I wanted to experience firsthand what the entire trip was like, because I endeavor to work with those involved and to get more of our people and organizations onboard to make 2024 bigger and better,” he said.

“It was an exhilarating experience for me, and I had the opportunity of cheering on our fellow Caribbean athletes as well,” McIntosh added. “I want to personally, and on behalf of the Consulate General of SVG (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) to the USA, express a sincere thank you to our junior athletes from the Thomas Saunders Secondary School, along with teacher Ms. (Larissa) John and coach Javed Marksman, for their service to our country at the 2023 Penn Relays. They showed up, and that’s part of winning.”

TSSS’s new principal, Ms. Adams, first name not given, was also among the TSSS contingent.

Additionally, McIntosh lauded, among others, Cordice for his efforts, noting that he has been the driving force, over the years, behind Vincentian athletes participating in the Penn Relays.

“Let’s make 2024 bigger and better,” he urged. “Let’s have more schools from SVG participating. Let’s get as many Diaspora groups involved. Let’s mark the date on our 2024 Calendar and make it a Vincy link-up in Philly (Philadelphia).

“If your only contribution is your presence, our young athletes would be most grateful for it,” McIntosh added.

Cordice said that the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Grammar School, which competed before the pandemic in 2019, did not participate this year, declining to state the reason. TSSS and the Grammar School competed in the Penn Relays in 2019.

Cordice said both teams were preparing to vie in 2020, but organizers did not stage the relays carnival that year because of the onset of the pandemic.

TSSS made its debut at the Penn Relays in 2011, with an all-boys team, winning both heats.

The Penn Relays resumed last year, but Vincentian athletes did not compete.

“I’m always elated to have Vincentian athletes compete in the Penn Relays,” Cordice told Caribbean Life. “It’s just a joy to know that they can use this opportunity of competing at Penn (Relays) for academic and economic reasons.

“They are actually competing with that in mind, because it’s really helping them,” he added.

On April 8, after a three-year hiatus, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, several Vincentians converged on Marine Park in Brooklyn for a walkathon in supporting Vincentian athletes competing in the annual Penn Relays Carnival.  

The event, last held in 2019, was organized by the Brooklyn-based Vincentian educational and cultural group, Club St. Vincent, Inc.

“The members of Club St. Vincent, Inc. organized this walkathon, dating back to 2015, to bring awareness to our people about the Penn Relays and to raise funds to support the athletes from schools in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to participate in the Penn Relays, organized by the University of Pennsylvania, during the last week of April,” said Ancilla Friday, coordinator of the walkathon and a former Club St. Vincent president, who was among club members who traveled on the bus last Saturday to cheer on TSSS at the Penn Relays.

“I am pleased to organize this walk as a fundraiser, while keeping fit, in their support,” she added.