Atlantic announces YES awards nominees

James Castagne-Hay with trophies won at the 2018 Carifta Triathlon and Aquathlon Championships. PHOTO BY ROGER JACOB
James Castagne-Hay with trophies won at the 2018 Carifta Triathlon and Aquathlon Championships. PHOTO BY ROGER JACOB

ATLANTIC has announced the ten primary school athletes nominated by their respective national sporting leagues to be this year’s champions for the Youth Excellence in Sports (YES) awards.

The nominees for the 2019 female youth champion are Neishelah Caseman (swimming), Makaira Wallace (triathlon), Jenna Marie Thomas (track and field), J'Eleisha Alexander (football) and Samantha Hosein (cricket).

Vying for the male youth champion are Nikolai Blackman (swimming), James Castagne-Hay (triathlon), Jordan Noel (track & field), Lindell Sween (football) and Alexander Chase (cricket).

The winning athletes will receive the coveted trophies at the YES awards ceremony on March 13 at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre.

Profiles of the nominees can be found below:

Nominees for Female Champion

– Neishelah Caseman, a swimmer of La Horquetta North Government, placed first overall at the Atlantic National Primary Schools Meet in the 10 & Over Girls’ category (50m, 100m and 200m) and was a member of the 11-12 girls squad for both the Carifta and CCCAN Swimming Championships, where she won bronze in the 50m backstroke.

– Second-time nominee and triathlete Makaira Wallace of Dunross Preparatory placed first in both the Atlantic Primary Schools Triathlon Championships and the Atlantic National Primary Schools Swim Meet 10 & Over Girls category.

– Jenna Marie Thomas, track and field athlete of Orange Field Hindu, emerged as the most outstanding under-11 athlete at the Caroni District Level. She went on to represent the district at the Atlantic Primary Schools Championships where she won all her individual events (100m, 200m and 300m) and was named the most outstanding national female under-11 athlete and overall national female champion.

– Tobagonian footballer J’Eleisha Alexander of Scarborough Roman Catholic is another second-time nominee. This year, she scored 14 goals in the Tobago zone of the Atlantic National Primary Schools Football Tournament. In the finals, she scored eight goals, securing victory for her school as well as the leading Goalscorer prize.

– Samantha Hosein, a cricketer at San Francique Presbyterian, had 21 wickets with a bowling average of 8.66 and 378 runs

after nine matches in the 2018 season. Her batting average was 126 with six not outs.

Nominees for Male Champion

– Nikolai Blackman, a swimmer from Bishop Anstey Junior School, placed first overall at the 2018 Atlantic National Primary Schools Swim Meet. He also participated in the Central American and Caribbean Amateur Swimming Confederation (CCCAN) Swim Meet 2018, where he medalled in his eleven events and contributed the most individual points to the team's success.

– Triathlete James Castagne-Hay of St Andrew’s Private School came first in the National Aquathlon and the National Triathlon Boys’ 11-12, where he set a new course record. He qualified to represent TT at Carifta 2018 where he won this country's only gold medal.

– Jordan Noel, a sprinter of Gaines Normal AME School, dominated all his contested events (100m, 200m and 400m) in 2018, including at the Atlantic National Primary School Track and Field Championship. At the District Port of Spain & Environs Games he anchored the Under-15 800 metres medley team to victory.

– Two-time nominee Lindell Sween is a footballer of La Pastora Government School. The left footer scored eight goals in the semi-finals of the Atlantic National Boys Under 15 Football Championship 2018 to ensure his team’s placement in the finals where they achieved a historic win.

– Cricketer Alexander Chase of Montrose Government is a left-hand medium pacer and a right-hand batsman. In his seven matches for the 2018 season, he took nine wickets with best bowling figures of three for 15. He also made a total of 280 runs with “not out” in two games to achieve an average of 56.

The Youth Excellence in Sports awards were established by Atlantic in 2015 to recognise and encourage exceptional sporting performance at the primary school level in five sporting disciplines sponsored by Atlantic: cricket; football; track & field; triathlon; and swimming. In addition to the individual awards, the initiative also celebrates the achievements of the administrator of the year; coach of the year; and team of the year; and also spotlights the team which best exemplified fair play.

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