First Citizens' Anton Robinson lands CariFin beaver-trick with Cross Country win

First Citizens Bank's Anton Robinson capped off a fine season in the CariFin Games when he copped the Cross County Championship title at the Queen's Park Savannah in Port of Spain on May 25 – winning his fourth straight crown in the 2025 season.

Robinson lit up the 33rd edition of the CariFin Games as he had earlier copped the One Lap Savannah, Green Mile and Chancellor Challenge distance races. In the 6K Cross Country run which attracted over 150 competitors and seven institutions, Robinson again showed off his stamina and endurance as he won the race in a time of 21 minutes and 35 seconds (21:35). The 2024 champion Shay Gonzales, who represented Scotiabank, had no answer for the powerful Robinson as the former placed a distant second in 26:17.

Gonzales just saw off the challenge of Ministry of Finance's (MOF) Damian Joseph, who clocked 26:52 for third. Central Bank's Jonathan Pierre (28:46) and MOF's Ronald Sylvester (28:58) rounded off the top five positions in the men's category.

Robinson said his Cross Country win was no easy feat as he knew he had to push through the challenging 6K journey.

In the women's Cross Country race, which covered a 4K distance, Central Bank's Lorianne Ayoung-Chee improved on her second-place finish in 2024 when she claimed the winners' medal in 21:20.

Unit Trust Corporation's Elizabeth Alexander (23:31) finished the course more than two minutes behind Ayoung-Chee as she grabbed second, with MOF's Angel Peruza finishing third in 25:05. Peruza's MOF colleague Danielle De Gannes (26:55) was fourth, with Central Bank's Karyn Stewart finishing fifth in 28 minutes.

The men's 2K walking event was won by Central Bank's Brian Jeremie (19:26), who secured a third straight walking title. Meanwhile, MOF's Jewel Blackwell topped the women's walking race in 21:22 as she edged Sagicor's Cherisse Pierre (21:33) into second. For Blackwell, it was her second win of the season as she had also copped the Green Mile title.

The four-team mixed relay event, which saw the teams competing over a 3K distance with both running and walking participants, was won by Scotiabank in 21:24. Central Bank placed second in 21:47, with First Citizens grabbing third spot in 23 minutes.