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HomeNewsArchivesTRACK ATHLETES COMPETE ON V.I. NATIONAL TEAMS

TRACK ATHLETES COMPETE ON V.I. NATIONAL TEAMS

Aug. 7, 2002 – A number of V.I. track and field athletes are off to San Antonio for the North America and Central America Under 25 Championships to be held on the weekend.
The V.I. Track and Field Federation, in cooperation with the Virgin Islands Olympic Committee (VIOC) has identified several athletes as pre-selections for national teams for the San Antonio games and for the Central America and Caribbean Championships to be held in El Salvador in December.
Competing in San Antonio will be: Sherma Aurelien, a middle distance runner and national junior college champion, Barton Community College in Kansas; Kadie Joseph, a-400 meter runner for Morgan State University; Kenneth Telemaque, a sprinter and captain of his South Carolina State University track and field team; and Julio Felix, a sprinter for Inter American University of Puerto Rico.
Activities of other pre-selected athletes include: Lawrence Lockhart, a middle distance runner at East Tennessee University; Billy Bohlke, a middle distance runner for NCAA champion Louisiana State University; Xiamara Gomez, a sprinter at Witchita State University; Laverne Jones, just graduated from Barton Community College and starting at the University of Oklahoma this fall, the Bronze Medal winner in the 400 meters in the national junior college championships; Ruth Ann David, a distance runner from St. Thomas; Misoui McBean, a middle distance runner at Florida A&M University; Kendall Jno-Finn of Samford University in Alabama; Andrian Durant, a recent graduate of Teaneck High School in New Jersey, the sole representative for the V.I. in the World Junior Track and Field Championships in Jamaica last week; Rodney Pitts, a sprinter at Abilene Christian College in Texas; and Vaughn Walwyn, a long jumper and sprinter at Rice University.
Lisa Hamilton, Theresa Harper, Earthla Arthur, Jackie Morgan, Albert Huggins, Kenneth McIntosh and Rodneysia Pitts are eligible and are considered as strong candidates for qualifying. To qualify for a V.I. national team, athletes must register with the federation and meet standards for eligibility and qualification.
The Virgin Islands fields national teams for youth, junior, open and senior categories. The VIOC provides financial grants to those athletes targeted for participation in the CAC Games, the Pan American Games and the Olympic Games. The federation, with the support of the International Association of Athletic Federation, provides assistance to developing athletes who aspire to compete on Virgin Islands national Track and Field Teams. It also provides training for certification of track and field coaches. Presently, approximately 30 coaches have received certification in the Virgin Islands.
For more information call 772-0412 or log on to: virginislandspace.org.
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