Kailon Kirby (third from left) and Zenron Chance (fi fth from left receive special recognition, fl anked by COSAGO
executive members and other dignitaries. Photo by Nelson A. King
By Nelson A. King
Three Vincentian athletes from the
Thomas Saunders Secondary School
(TSSS), who participated in the prestigious
Penn Relays at the University
of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, were
given special recognition Sunday during
the St. Vincent and the Grenadines
40th Independence Anniversary Gala
Luncheon at Grand Prospect Hall in
Brooklyn.
Zenron Chance, Kailon Kirby and
Brandon Valentine-Parris were recognized,
with certificates, by the umbrella
Vincentian group in the United States,
Council of St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Organizations, U.S.A., Inc.
(COSAGO).
COSAGO president Laverne McDowald
Thompson said the athletes’ “outstanding
achievements have paved the
way” for them to attend colleges in the
US, adding: “We are very proud of you.”
Since its inception, eight years ago,
the Vincentian Penn Relays initiative
has been coordinated and spearheaded
by the Philadelphia-based Vincentian
community activist James Cordice.
Chance told patrons on Sunday that
his recognition would not “be possible
without your support.”
Kirby was also present at the ceremony,
but Valentine-Parris was reportedly
sick and was, therefore, absent.
Chance said he attended TSSS in
2012, “with numerous goals in mind,”
adding that participating in the Penn
Relays was not one of them, “because I
had no idea what the Penn Relays was
when I first started my athletic career
Caribbean Life, N 54 ovember 15-21, 2019
with Mr. (Godfrey) Harry (TSSS’s head
coach).
“However, he made sure that I understood
what it was and that I had the
opportunity to attend the relays,” he
said.
In 2015, Chance was picked, for the
first time, to attend the Penn Relays.
He also participated in the relays
carnival in 2016 and 2017 before graduating
from TSSS later in 2017 with two
awards, Student of the Year and Male
Athlete of the Year.
After high school, Chance said he
was offered an opportunity to study at
the Kingsborough Community College
(KCC) in Brooklyn, where he graduated
with an associate degree.
At KCC, he said he achieved “a lot
of awards,” such as: Male Cross Country
Scholar Athlete of the Year 2018;
Male Indoor Scholar Athlete of the Year
2018; Male Outdoor Scholar Athlete
of the Year 2018; Male Cross Country
Scholar Athlete of the Year 2019;
Male Indoor Scholar Athlete of the Year
2019; National Athlete of the Week in
April 2019; CUNYAC (City University of
New York Athletic Conference) Community
College Male Scholar-Athlete of
the Year 2019; NJCAA (National Junior
College Athletic Association) Two-Time,
All-American in the 400-meter hurdles;
NJCAA Two-Time, All American
in the 400 meters; NJCAA Two-Time All
American in the 4x400-meter relay; and
NJCAA One-Time, All American in the
4x100-meter relay.
Chance is currently a junior at the
Claflin University in Orangeburg, S.C
Kirby attended TSSS and participated
at the 2014 and 2015 Penn Relays,
running in the 4x100 and 4x400m relay
squads before graduating in 2015.
He then earned a scholarship to
attend KCC in 2016.
A year later, in 2017, after participating
in the 2017 CUNYAC/Army ROTC
(Reserve Officer Training Corps) Community
College Indoor Track & Field
Championships, Kirby was awarded
Indoor MVP Champion, having won
first place in the Men’s High Jump and
being part of the winning squad in the
Men’s 4x400m relay.
In that year, he said he was also
awarded the All American National
Champion at the All American 2017
Outdoor Track and Field, excelling in
the 110-meter hurdles.
Kirby graduated from KCC with an
associate degree in 2018. He then earned
both academic and athletic scholarships
to attend Post University in Connecticut,
pursuing a bachelor’s degree sports
management.
“I must say thank you to my coaches,
Mr. James Cordice, COSAGO, Club SVG
(St. Vincent and the Grenadines), the
DeShong sisters and the other organizations
for their solid support,” he said.
Valentine-Parris entered TSSS in
2006, but his track and field journey
started in 2009, when he represented
St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the
CAC (Caribbean and Central American)
Juvenile Championships.
In 2011, he was a part of the first
ever Penn Relay team to represent St.
Vincent and the Grenadines.
WAVE RIDER
Continued from Page 53
Pitted against Robinson in the final
ride of the wave, Burke scored 7.17
points leaving Robinson who already
had a deficit of 0.10 points to score
7.28 for victory, but the American
managed a move that earned him only
6.17 points.
The crown event, ‘Thomo QS 1,000,’
and ‘World Surf League Live Like
Zander Jr Pro’ brought together the
top 48 junior professionals, 64 men
and 32 junior women from around
the world.
Also comprising the Bathsheba
Soup Bowl is the ‘Association of Paddlesurfing
Professional’ competition
that began one day after the surfing
competitions and runs until Nov. 17.
“I knew I was going to need scores,
Chauncey has made three-straight
finals out here which is an incredible
achievement,” said a victorious Burke.
“It felt like I only made one heat
properly, the rest I barely made so it’s
nice to feel my luck turning around
heading into 2020 and hopefully it’s a
good year.”
French 16-year-old Noe Ledee won
the ‘Live Like Zander Junior Pro’ for
18-and-under.
WI players
Continued from Page 53
squad aims to provide the platform
for these players to perform and
reward hard work they have been
putting in following their stints at
the West Indies High Performance
Center.
Floyd Refier, who up to recently
served as head coach of the West
Indies side, will take over the helm
of the squad, said he will be looking
forward for improvement in every
department.
Adams said this is a squad of
emerging talent, so it’s about bringing
the players closer towards selection
for their franchise, West Indies
“A” and West Indies senior teams.
Fitness priority
Continued from Page 53
that if we start at the PCL level, we
will make a serious impact here. We
are firstly going to improve fitness for
the franchise system,” he said.
Dr. Shallow said CWI will foot the
bill of having these professionals on
board to assist the franchises, adding,
that “we are going to centralize
them and assist in this way and
we expect all of the professionals
to be from the Caribbean providing
even more opportunities in cricket
for more people.”
Vincentian athletes receive special
Independence Anniversary recognition