In just only their fourth appearance at the prestigious Penn Relays Carnival at the Franklin Field Stadium, at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, the St. Vincent Grammar shocked athletic fans by eclipsing their competitors in their heats.
The all-boys school, considered among the top secondary schools in the multi-island state of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, startled even the commentators by out-running contenders in the 4×100 and 4×400 meters on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
On Friday, the team took the upper-hand against eight other high schools from Pennsylvania; Connecticut; Maryland; Colorado; New York; and Washington, D.C.
With a time of 43.11 sec., the Grammar School out-ran Hatboro-Horsham of Pennsylvania, which placed second (43.48 sec.); Naugatuck of Connecticut (third, 44.27 sec.); and Norristown of Pennsylvania (fourth, 44.51 sec.).
The Grammar School was also in winners-row on Saturday, before vociferous supporters – most of whom had traveled by bus from Brooklyn – by clinching the 4×400-meter race in 3 min., 26.92 sec.
Even with a recurring leg injury to Leemore Ollivierre, who ran the first leg, eight other schools from New Jersey; New York; Maryland; and Washington, D.C. were no match for the Grammar School team, which also comprised Matthew Robinson, Jeremy Marin and Ken Davin, running in that order.
Dwight Morrow High School of New Jersey placed second (3:27:68); Goshen Central High School in New York took the third spot (3:27:71); and Glassboro High School of New Jersey placed fourth (3:28:71).
Though the Grammar School did not place later on Saturday in the 4×100 International Finals against top teams, primarily from Jamaica, the mere fact that the team competed in the race was historic.
It was the first time that any high school from St. Vincent and the Grenadines made the 4×100 International Finals. The Thomas Saunders Secondary School (TSSS), which has been competing in the Penn Relays for 11 years, is the other Vincentian team vying for a place in the relays.
“I cried on the very occasion that we won our heat,” Hugh Colin Sam, headmaster (principal) of the Grammar School, told a reception Saturday night, at the Vincentian-owned Calabash Restaurant and Lounge, in Philadelphia, for athletes from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Belize. “I’m extremely proud.
“When I heard the shouts, I was very happy,” added Sam, who made his maiden trip to the Penn Relays. “You showed us, and you made us feel good.”
In a subsequent interview, he told Caribbean Life that “the guys put in a lot of heart.”
“They were up against very different (weather) conditions, but they did extremely well,” Sam said.
Like the Grammar School, TSSS’s girls ensured that the school also brought home a medal and plaque from this year’s games.
TSSS’s boys were not so fortunate, as they failed to place in the 4×100 and 4x400m championship.
In the 4x100m, the boys’ starter fell early in the race. In addition, two of the better 4x400m runners were unable to secure visas to travel to the US, TSSS Head Coach Godfrey Harry told Caribbean Life.
TSSS’s girls won both 4×100 and 4x400m heats. Antoniye Haynes, Mephia Monroe, Shaquania Jacobs and Jniah Goddard competed in the 4x100m; while Olicia Phillips, Mephia Monroe, Shaquania Jacobs and Jniah Goddard vied in the 4x400m.
Harry told the reception Saturday night that competing in the Penn Relays for the past 11 years has been “a journey”.
“We battle the odds; and, 11 years on, it seems like yesterday,” he said. “And the girls were also able to give us a plaque to go home with.
“We’re both going home with plaques,” added Harry, referring to the Grammar School. “We’ll always be back.”
He thanked members of the SVG Diaspora and the Vincentian public at home for their financial and other support, giving special recognition to James Cordice.
Cordice – the Philadelphia-based president and founder of Team St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) International, coordinator of the SVG and Belize Penn Relays initiative – thanked the Vincentian teams, as well as those from Belize and St. Kitts and Nevis (the latter debuted at the Penn Relays this year), for their valiant efforts.
He was also high in praise for Vincentians, who trekked from Brooklyn, including Consul General to the United States Rondy “Luta” McIntosh, and members of the Council of St. Vincent and Grenadines’ Organizations, U.S.A., Inc. (COSAGO), the umbrella Vincentian group in the US, and Club St. Vincent, Inc. for rendering boisterous and other support to the athletes.
“The CG (Consul General) could have been doing a lot of things today, and he’s with us,” Cordice told the reception Saturday night. “It’s a wonderful thing.
“I want to thank Club St. Vincent for doing what they’re saying they’ll do,” he added. “I want to thank the Boys Grammar School for almost destroying the track (huge applause).”
McIntosh described Cordice as an “unsung hero”, adding: “It takes a lot of sweat and pain to be standing here today.”
He urged nationals to fully support the Penn Relays effort and to begin preparing to journey with COSAGO for next year’s meet.
Laverne McDowald-Thompson, COSAGO’s vice president and former president, lauded the athletes for competing in the relays.
“We’re so grateful that you have the opportunity, and you don’t know where this will lead you,” she told the reception. “On behalf of COSAGO, we just want to thank you.
“We took a bus from New York at 5:00 o’clock (a.m. on Saturday), and we got here at 7:00 a.m.,” McDowald-Thompson added. “Some of us did not get any sleep. I just want to wish you guys a safe return home.”
As she stood next to Sandra Millington, president of Club St. Vincent, Inc., Ancilla Friday, the group’s vice president and coordinator of the annual Walk-a-Thon at Marine Park in Brooklyn to raise funds for Vincentian athletes at the Penn Relays, told the athletes that they should not be judged by what have accomplished but by what they have overcome to accomplish their goals.
“Don’t let your dreams and gifts go unused,” Mrs. Friday, the wife of Crispin Friday, the president of COSAGO, told the reception. “Set your goals high, and don’t stop until you get there.
“Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, the best way it can be done,” she urged. “Work hard, be unstoppable, embrace difficulties, seek opportunities, find mentors, and define success on your terms.”
