Castagne-Hay leads formidable TT team

JAMES CASTAGNE-HAY, last year's 11-12 age group triathlon champion, will lead a strong contingent of 26 athletes, which departs today for the third annual Carifta Triathlon and Aquathlon and Mixed Relay Championships in Jamaica.

Both triathlon and aquathlon events in various junior divisions will run on Saturday and Sunday at Jewel Beach, Runaway Bay.

Castagne-Hay helped TT to a third place finish in the team standings last year when the championships were held at Turtle Beach, Tobago, winning the triathlon in his age category, clocking 18 minutes 37 seconds.

He is expected to face stiffer competition as he moves up into the boys 13-15 triathlon and aquathlon events.

More recently, Castagne-Hay finished third overall in the dash duathlon segment at the TT Triathlon Federation's 2019 National Duathlon Championships at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain, last month. He finished behind his older national team-mates Graeme Waithe-Toussaint and Justin Boynes, both of whom also earned their places on the TT team.

Boynes will feature in the boys 13-15 aquathlon and triathlon. Waithe-Toussaint will only challenge the triathlon.

Troy Llanos, who finished seventh in the triathlon boys 13-15 division, will compete in the 16-19 division, and Matthew Wortman, last year's 11th place finisher in the triathlon in the 13-15 division, will feature in the same category this year.

Among the girls, Makaira Wallace, fifth place finisher in the 11-12 division triathlon last year, will compete in the 13-15 division. Janae Price will challenge the 11-12 division, in which she placed 12th last year.

Rachel Grosberg, 18, who won the TTTF's duathlon sprint last month, and Steffi Scott, are the lone TT representatives in the aquathlon 16-19 and 11-12 divisions, respectively.

Derrick Simon will lead TT as coach for the third straight year, while Aliya Drakes joins him for her second coaching stint at the Carifta Triathlon and Aquathlon Championships.

The team was selected primarily using the top athletes from two national events – the National Triathlon Championships, held in June, and the National Aquathlon Championships, staged two months before.

Twenty-nine Caribbean nations and territories will represented.

TT Squad

Girls

Both aquathlon and triathlon

11-12: Jenae Price

13-15: Rebecca Lezama, Kaya Beadle, Makaira Wallace, Imani Bishop

16-19: Kristin Scott, Kirsten St Omer

Aquathlon only

11-12: Steffi Scott

16-19: Rachel Grosberg

Boys

Both aquathlon and triathlon

11-12: Harland Samuel, Tristan Scott, Ross Wortman

13-15: Matthew Wortman, Rowan King, James Castagne-Hay, Justin Boynes

16-19: Troy Llanos, Jean-Marc Granderson

Aquathlon only

11-12: Dante Pichery, Micai Dayal

13-15 Peter Trepte

16-19: Selik Leacock, Chad Hosein, Kareem Mason Jr

Triathlon only

13-15: Graeme Waithe-Toussaint

16-19: Logan Raymond, Liam Trepte