The UVI campus with the mountains in the view to the north and edged by the palm trees to the west, the campus buildings the south and the St. Croix Educational Complex along Queen Mary Highway on the northern border is the perfect setting for this event, which is the original route for V.I.Pace Runners events and have continued to be for the past 35 years.
Elementary Girls…The third of three races in the 4H/V.I.Pace Runners Cross-Country Series held on Wednesday afternoon was also designated as the St. Croix Championships. Well over 200 youngsters, representing public and private schools, raced over distances of 1-3.1 miles for the title champion.
Fifty nine girls lined up for the Elementary Girls one mile, the first race of the day. Michelle Smith, a third grader at Eulalie Rivera School, won her first cross-country race with a time of 6:59, her first run under seven minutes for the mile. Jadia Williams, a fifth grader at Charles H. Emanual School, was second in 7:13; Hannah Borring, a sixth grader at Good Hope Country Day School, was third in 7:20.
Elementary Boys… Makari Mathews, a first grade runner from Good Hope Country Day School, led a field of 93 boys to take first place in 6:17; Wayne Martin, a sixth grader at Juanita Guardine School, was second in 6:26; James Beck, a fifth grader at Freewill Baptist, was third in 6:27.
Junior Varsity Girls… In the mixed race with 14 girls and 21 boys, Mikaela Smith, a ninth grader at The St. Croix Educational Complex, was first with a time of 12:28; Rachel Conhoff, a ninth grader at Good Hope Country Day School, was second in 12:52; Jusenia Tuitt, a seventh grader at Arthur A. Richards School, was third in 14:38
Junior Varsity Boys… Jack Ramsdell, an eighth grader at Arthur A. Richards School, took first place with a time of 11:53; Keven Mathurn, a tenth grader at St. Croix Central High School, was second in 12:07; Jason Snow of Good Hope Country Day was third in 12:33.
Varsity/Open Males… The St. Croix Educational Complex boys led the field of runners mixed with females and open competitors. Malique Smith, a senior at St. Croix Educational Complex High School, had the honor of being the third of the Smith family to win a race that day, and he did it with a time of 17:40 for the 3.1-mile event; his teammate Barthelemy Peter, a junior, edged out teammate Rodney Griffin at the line to take second in 20:09; Griffin, a junior, was third in the same time; Chuck Emerson was the open male winner and second overall in the race with a time of 19:03; Randall Nielson was second in 20:57.
Varsity/Open Female… Nikkoiya Cromwell, an eleventh grader at St. Croix Educational Complex High School, was first in 25:42; Deana Nicholas; an eleventh grader at St. Croix Central High School, was second in 33:31
2014 Cross-Country MVPs
Elementary Girls: Michelle Smith of Eulalie Rivera School: 58 points
Elementary Boys: Makari Matthews of Good Hope Country Day School: 60 points
Under 16 Girls: Mikaela Smith of St. Croix Educational Complex High School: 60 points
Under 16 Boys: Jack Ramsdell of Arthur A. Richards Junior High School: 60 points
Under 20 Girls: Nikkoiya Cromwell of St. Croix Educational Complex High School: 60 points
Under 20 Boys: Malique Smith of St. Croix Educational Complex High School: 60 Points
Final Team Standing (Girls)
1 Good Hope Country Day School: 53
2 Freewill Baptist School: 55
3 Pearl B. Larsen School: 80
4 Eulalie Rivera School
5 Charles H. Emanuel School
6 Evelyn M. Williams School
7 Alfredo Andrews School
8 Claude O. Markoe School
Final Team Standing (Boys)
1 Freewill Baptist School: 57
2 Claude O. Markoe School: 70
3 Alfredo Andrews School: 103
4 Pearl B. Larsen School: 123
5 Eulalie R. Rivera School: 151
6 Evelyn M. Williams School: 220
7 Good Hope Country Day School
8 Charles H. Emanuel School
9 Ricardo Richards School
The V.I. Cross-Country Championships will be held on Saturday, Nov. 1, at UVI St. Croix. It is open to male and female runners of all ages. Contact Wallace Williams at [email protected], logon to: http://virginislandspace.org or call 643-2557
Notes:
1] Team scores are based on the addition of the first five places of the athletes for each team (lowest score wins)
2] Ranking for school with fewer than five athletes is accomplished by giving priority to the number of athletes on the team with higher number of athletes ranked higher) followed by team score compared to teams with the same number of athletes.
3] Scores for teams with fewer than five athletes are not posted.
4] Event(s) hosted by: The University of the Virgin Islands St. Croix Campus; organized by V.I.Pace Runners and St. Croix Track Club; sanctioned by Virgin Islands Track and Field Federation — http://virginislandstrackandfield.org and the St. Croix Inter-Scholastic Athletic Association; results generated by St. Croix Track Club — http://www.eteamz.com/stxtc/ ; timing by V.I.Pace Runners — http://virginislandspace.org
5] For full results, logon to links in note No. 4 above.