SVG Grammar School impresses Penn Relays

In 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 School continues to perform impressively.

The all-boys school, considered among the top secondary schools in the multi-island state of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, made the International Finals in the 4x100m for the second successive year. It competed against top high school athletes from the US and Jamaica, among other places, in the 129th Penn Relays Carnival, which ran from Thursday through Saturday.

On Thursday, the team — comprising Desroi Quammie, Nasari Nash, Serani Roban, and Jeremy Marlin, running in that order— placed second in the 4x100m, clocking 43.01 sec., ensuring a place in the International Finals the next day.   

 However, even though the team placed seventh in the International Finals, clocking 42.55 sec., it was the fastest time ever for the team at the Penn Relays.

In the 4x400m on Thursday, the St. Vincent Grammar School placed 3rd in 3 min., 27.30 sec.

That team, comprised of Zaheim Michael, Leemore Ollivierre, Ethan White, and Jeremy Martin, ran in that order.

“I’m very proud of the team’s performance,” Deputy Headmaster (Principal) Suzanna Ollivierre told Caribbean Life. “They qualified for the International Finals for the second time and ran the fastest time ever run by the school in the history of the school.”

Head Coach Rawlston Morgan also shared similar sentiments.

“I am very proud of the team’s performance – though mixed but satisfactory,” he told Caribbean Life. “Once more, making the International Finals was the highlight of our performance.

“I am also very proud that we ran our fastest 4x100m ever since entering the Penn Relays,” Morgan added.

Later, on Saturday night, at a reception for Vincentian, Kittitian, and Belizean athletes at the Calabash Restaurant and Lounge on Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia, Morgan expressed delight about his school’s performance.

“We’ve been doing well,” he said.

Last year was the first time any high school from St. Vincent and the Grenadines made the 4x100m International Finals.

The Thomas Saunders Secondary School (TSSS), which has been competing in the Penn Relays for 12 years now, and the Emmanuel High School Mesopotamia (EHSM) are the other two Vincentian high schools vying for a place in the three-day meet, culminating on Saturday.  

TSSS’s girls ensured that the school brought home a medal and plaque from this year’s games.

TSSS’s girls – Olicia Phillips, Patriana Quow, Jueneka Quow and J’niah Goddard, running in that order – placed second in the 4x400m on Saturday, clocking 4:14.

On Friday, the girls’ team placed fourth in the 4x100m.

Last year, they won both their 4x100m and 4x400m heats, Head Coach Godfrey “Fuzzy” Harry told Caribbean Life.

“We had to overcome a few injuries before they got here,” he said about this year’s performance, stating that the girls’ 4x400m running eclipsed their best timing at home (4:22).

On Thursday, the TSSS’s boys team placed fourth and sixth in the 4x400m and 4x100m, respectively.

Harry did not hesitate to express disappointment, especially in the 4x400m.

“I was disappointed because we had the lead right up to the final change-over (in the 4x400m),” he said. “We thought we had enough to give us a place in the top three.

“I don’t mind we lost, but to move to fourth was disappointing,” the head coach added.

Harry said, “There’s room for improvement, based on the fact that most of them are young athletes—young in terms of age and exposure to competition at this level.”

However, he said TSSS has gained much exposure since competing in the Penn Relays 12 years ago.

“Coming to Penn has had value to the school,” Harry said. “A lot of people (students/parents) have requested to come to the school because of what the school has been involved in.”

Even though EHSM girls’ performance was much below par on Saturday in the 4x400m – they placed fourth in the 4x100m the day before – Physical Education and Sports Teacher Samantha Cumberbatch, however, sought to put a positive spin.

“All of our students gave their best,” she told Caribbean Life. “We just wanted them to give their best and to showcase their talent out here.

“We’re excited to be here,” she added. “We wanted the exposure for the kids. We wanted the kids to see what it’s like to compete in the international tracks.”

In running order in the 4x400m, EHSM consisted of Malia Roberts, Jayanna Murray, Kadee Blackette, and Denisha Woods.

In the 4×100 m, they were in running order: Tahalia James, Denisha Woods, Kadee Blackette, and Malia Roberts.

James Cordice — the Philadelphia-based president and founder of Team St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) International and coordinator of the SVG and Belize Penn Relays initiative — expressed gratitude to the Vincentian teams and community, as well as to those from Belize, St. Kitts, and Nevis (the latter debuted at the Penn Relays last year), for their valiant efforts.

“Thank you for the support, thank you for your guidance, thank you for all that you have done for these athletes to come to Penn,” he said.

Later, Cordice told Caribbean Life that he looks forward to the public’s continued support but would like that support to be “within the program’s guidelines that have worked for many years.

“It would seem that people are coming up with new ideas that would take the program in a different direction, and those ideas have not been vetted,” he added, without elaboration.   

Sandra Millington, president of the Brooklyn-based Club St. Vincent, Inc., and Ancilla Friday, the group’s vice president and coordinator of the annual Walk-a-Thon at Marine Park in Brooklyn, which raises funds for Vincentian athletes competing in the Penn Relays, told Saturday night’s reception that they had no hesitation assisting the young athletes from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

“It’s always a pleasure to be with the younger generation,” Millington said. “I see you guys out there; you have a passion to be here.

“I love it when children are doing positive things,” she added. “You’re good, and you’re great. You don’t have to win the race. I admire you. I’ll support you forever.”

Friday urged the Vincentian athletes to “keep on keeping on.”

Her husband, Crispin Friday – president of the Council of St. Vincent and Grenadines’ Organizations, U.S.A., Inc. (COSAGO), the Brooklyn-based umbrella Vincentian group in the US – also told the reception that the Penn Relays initiative is “very good,” urging the athletes not to “give up.”

Laverne McDowald-Thompson – COSAGO’s vice president and former president, one of the principal coordinators of a bus-load of nationals from New York supporting the athletes competing in the relays – said the athletes were making nationals “very proud.”

“You’re making us very proud,” she told the reception. “You’re making your school very proud.

“To Vincentians who support you, we thank you,” McDowald-Thompson added. “Once you continue to come, we’ll continue to support you.”