Chantel Malone will be looking to improve her 400 meter Youth, Jr. & Sr. National Records this weekend and pick up personal bests elsewhere. Photo>Dean "The Sportsman" Greenaway

TORTOLA—Defending champions St. Kitts is sending a strong contingent to the weekend Leeward Islands Jr. Track and Field Championships on Tortola, with formidable hopes of retaining its title.

Rey O’Neal, BVI Amateur Athletics Association vice president said if everyone who’s supposed to take part participates, there should be some good performances. “St. Kitts and Nevis said that they were coming with their best people, although there is the issue of athletes leaving for the World Jr. Championships camp right at the beginning of the month so we’ll have to see after that,” he said. “St. Kitts-Nevis has a young lady—Meritzer Williams—in the 200 meters who has made the Olympic Games A qualifying standard (she ran 22.96 on Saturday). There are some good Long Jumpers coming from the other islands. We are looking for good things from Chantel Malone in whatever event she participates in and it would be the first triple jump she has competed in since the collegiate season and we believe she will break the All Comers Record.”

 Host BVI finished one point behind Antigua in the last championships and O’Neal said they have been strong in field events, but this year, they are looking for throwers, something they don’t have much of. Jovante Croal he said should do fairly well in the Under 17 boys division Long Jump and its left to be seen what happens in the senior jumps.

“What is happening right now is that most of the islands in the Eastern Caribbean are suffering from low participation from the males,” he noted. “St. Kitts might be the strongest in that regard. Antigua is suffering, we are obviously, but it may be part of a cycle but we do hope things turn around.”

O’Neal said Kirron Stoutt, a BVI athlete going to school in the United States that has been running quite well and he thinks that Stoutt will put in a reasonably good showing.  O’Neal said while there are some good athletes at the high school level, it’s a matter of putting everything together.

Competition will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and 3: p.m. on Sunday at the A. O. Shirley Recreation Grounds.