LNG producer 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 & field), J’Eleisha Alexander (football) and Samantha Hosein (cricket).
The nominees for this year’s 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 which will take place at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre on Wednesday March 13.
About this year’s Nominees
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 triathlon athlete, Makaira Wallace of Dunross Preparatory placed first in both the Atlantic Primary Schools Triathlon Championships and the Atlantic National Primary Schools Swim Meet 1st Place 10 & Over Girls.
- 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 then 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 awarded the Most Outstanding National Female Under 11 Athlete and Over-all National Female athlete.
- 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 and in the Finals, she scored eight goals securing victory for her school as well as the prize of “Leading Goal Scorer” with 21 goals.
- Samantha Hosein, a cricketer at San Francique Presbyterian, at the end of her 2018 season and 9 matches, had 21 wickets with a bowling average of 8.66 and 378 runs. Her batting average was 126 with “not out” in 6 matches.
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 medaled in all his eleven events and contributed the most individual points to the team’s success.
- Triathlon athlete, 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 Trinidad at CARIFTA 2018 where he won his CARIFTA Triathlon event bringing home the only gold medal for Trinidad & Tobago.
- Jordan Noel, a sprinter of Gaines Normal AME School throughout 2018 succeeded in all his contested events (100m, 200m and 400m), including at the Atlantic National Primary School Track and Field Championship where he won his individual events and anchored District Port of Spain & Environs in the Under-15 800 metres medley 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 handed medium pacer and a right handed batsman. In his 7 matches for the 2018 season, he bowled 9 wickets with bowling figures of 3 for 15. He also made a total of 280 runs with “no out” in two games to achieve an average of 56.
The Youth Excellence in Sports (YES) Awards were established by Atlantic in 2015 to recognise and encourage exceptional sporting performance at the primary school level in five (5) sporting disciplines sponsored by Atlantic: cricket; football; track & field; triathlon; and swimming. In addition to the individual Champion 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 who best exemplified Fair Play.