media_artricles :: 2013

T&T runners chase NACAC cross-country gold

T&T’s cross-country runners will be looking to mount the top of the podium at the ninth annual North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Cross Country Championships in Mandeville, Jamaica, today.

The local squad has never captured a gold medal but the trend in recent years has shown an improvement.

At last year’s edition at the Queen's Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain, the local team won silver medals for the first time as Tonya Nero delighted the home crowd with a spirited second place finish in the women’s 6K to earn the first individual medal for T&T in the seven of the nine occasions national athletes have participated.

Nero’s second place finish helped the local ladies to silver in the team race. In the previous edition, T&T captured three bronze medals (men's and women's teams in 2011 and women's team in 2010).

The 24-year-old is again this country's main medal hope and will be hoping to go one better in Jamaica. Standing in the way of gold for Nero in Jamaica are runners for the USA and Canada.

The North Americans have dominated the NACAC Cross Country championships sharing all nine titles since the inception of the event in 2005. The Maracas resident fine-tuned her preparation, capturing the 5k and half-marathon titles at the Trinidad and Tobago International Marathon series last weekend.

National champion Denzil Ramirez and veterans Jules La Rode and Curtis Cox are expected to lead the way among the local men while Matthew Hagley and Richard Jones are making their fourth appearance at the meet.

Triple Carifta gold medallist Mark London and two-time national junior cross-country champion Akeem Marshall will head the junior men's 6K squad.

T&T team
Men's 8K: Denzel Ramirez, Matthew Hagley, Richard Jones, Jules La Rode, Kendis Bullard.
Women's 6K: Tonya Nero
Junior Men's 6K: Akeem Marshall, Mark London, Ashton Gill, Romario Ricardo Rodrigues
Officials: Dawn Washington (manager), Juleus Smart (coach), Brent Elder (massage therapist)

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