by Lincoln DePradine
Officials at the Grenada Boys’ Secondary School call it a “proud moment for GBSS.”
They are referring to the presence in the United States of a continent of 8 athletes, who are there to participate in Penn Relays, a renowned annual track and field event that features emerging and established talent drawn from clubs, colleges and secondary schools in the US, as well as from foreign nations.
The GBSS efforts at fielding a team were publicly endorsed by former national 100-metre record-holder, Dr Sean Lambert, and Olympic and World Championship gold medallist Dr Kirani James, both ex-GBSS students. “It’s always important for our young athletes to get that experience and that exposure early; so that way, they could be motivated,” James said in the video message to the GBSS Alumni International Foundation (AIF), which spearheaded a fundraising campaign in support of the athletic team. “I think it’s going to be exciting for the boys; it’s going to be exciting for everybody; I’m excited for them.”
Among the 8 GBSS students competing in the meet at Franklin Field in Philadelphia is 13-year-old Kashay Stephen, who, at last week’s secondary schools’ Intercol games, broke James’s 200 metre record for sub-junior boys. Stephen’s Penn Relay teammates are Josh Thomas, Jaylon St Louis, Jaiden Pierre, Nathan Hillaire, Antwoin Alleyne, Nathaniel Alfred and Rishon Daniel.
Some other top GBSS Intercol athletes, such as Ethan Sam, Timothy Greenidge, Emilio Blanco Bishop, Qwanell Pierre, Kemron Mathlyn and Karmal Joseph, are headed to the Carifta Games in Trinidad. So, too, is Lee Cuffie, a GBSS coach at Intercol.
In preparation for travel to the United States for the Penn Relays, several Grenadians in the US, including members of the GBSS AIF, have made logistical arrangements for the team, such as accommodation and transportation to the training facility.
A key facilitator is also Kent Simon, a Grenadian with a long history of involvement in the Penn Relays. The team’s first showing is in a preliminary 4 x 400 metre in the afternoon of Thursday, 24 April.
“At the end of the day, they are all representing Grenada, and they are all trying to make us proud,’’ said superstar James, Grenada’s most decorated athlete, who was knighted last year. “If they can go out there and perform to the best of their ability, they’re going to make us proud, and we are going to be excited and happy and inspired by them.”
Qualification in the preliminary will put GBSS into the 4 x 400 metre final of the competition, which also includes 4 x 100 metre, 4 x 200 metre and 4 x 800 metre races.
Team GBSS is accompanied by school principal Kenny James and teacher Vaughn Joseph, who is serving as coach. In a word of gratitude for the team’s participation at the Penn Relays, the school expressed “big thanks to our ever-supportive alumni group, AIF, for fully funding the trip and accommodation, making this dream a reality.”
The Penn Relays culminate on 26 April. It’s the third time a GBSS team has competed at the Philadelphia track and field event.
