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V.I. ready to vie for medals at 20th CAC Games
By MICHAEL POTTER
Thursday, July 13th 2006

Daily News Photos by MICHAEL POTTER USVI senior lightweight boxer Otoniel Ortiz is one of several athletes representing the territory in the Central American and Caribbean Games beginning today in Cartagena, Colombia.

For Virgin Islands athletes, the focus of the four-year cycle leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing is about to shift from primers and preparation to conquests and qualification.

A delegation of 75 of the territory's top athletes, coaches and officials will descend on the Caribbean-kissed shores of Colombia beginning Saturday to battle the best in the region during 15 days of competition at the Central American and Caribbean Games.

The CAC Games, which runs on its own four-year cycle and bisects the Olympic layover, is a precursor to the Pan American Games and the Summer Olympics. This year will mark the 20th edition of the event, which dates back to 1926 and is the world's oldest regional games. Almost 5,000 athletes from 32 nations are expected to compete in 28 sports July 15 to 30 at venues in and around the cities of Cartagena and Barranquilla.

The goals for V.I. athletes will be simple: Perform up to their own expectations and those of the territory, qualify for the Pan Am and Olympic Games, and grab all the glory they can.

"To us, this is the most important games," Virgin Islands Olympic Committee president Hans Lawaetz said. "This is more important than the Olympics. We can take more athletes, and we're much more competitive."

V.I. Track and Field Federation vice president Wallace Williams shows off some of the team warm-ups that V.I. athletes will wear.

In the Olympic Games, with athletes from so many countries vying for a limited number of slots, the Virgin Islands struggles to enter more than a handful of athletes. But the V.I. has sent delegations with as many as 182 representatives to the CAC Games and claimed as many as 11 medals in a single edition, both marks coming in Cuba in 1982.

"Here in these games we have a chance to make the finals and get a medal," Lawaetz said. "We've always won medals at this level, and we hope to medal this year as well."

The Virgin Islands is set to compete in nine sports in Colombia and should be buoyed by several impressive performances leading up the CAC Games. V.I. National Team boxers, swimmers and shooters have won medals at regional competitions in recent weeks. Sprinter Laverne Jones and swimmer Josh Laban, both Olympians in 2004, lead a group of rising stars who will spearhead the team's assault on the competition in Colombia.

Recent accomplishments, a stable of budding talent and a history of success in CAC competition all bode well for the V.I. team, but medals won't come easily. The territory's contingent is dwarfed by teams from the region's larger countries, most notably Mexico and Cuba. Those two nations have combined to win all 19 editions of the CAC Games - Mexico has eight CAC championships and Cuba owns 11.

A major blow hit the territory's medal aspirations on Tuesday when the V.I. Senior Men's National Basketball Team pulled out of the CAC Games because several players would have been unable to attend because of previous commitments. The team recently won silver medals at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championships and the Centrobasket Tournament and was considered one of the favorites to win gold in Colombia.

The Virgin Islands won three medals, including gold in cycling and sailing, at the 2002 CAC Games in El Salvador. The territory's top athletes will do all they can to improve on that total in Colombia. The competition officially begins Saturday with opening ceremonies at Pedro de Heredia Stadium in Cartagena. Laban will serve as flag bearer for the V.I. delegation.

A look at the V.I.'s medal hopes by sport:

Athletics - July 25 to 29

The international term for track and field, athletics is one of the Virgin Islands' bread-and-butter sports. The territory rarely enters the CAC Games without at least one serious medal contender and has compiled six medals - three gold, one silver and two bronze - in track and field events since V.I. teams began competing in 1966.

Laverne Jones, the former Oklahoma University standout who now competes professionally, is a virtual lock to make the finals in the women's 100- and 200-meter dashes. The St. Croix native advanced to the semifinals at both distances in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and is the V.I. record holder in each.

Another 2004 Olympian, sprinter Adrian Durant, will take the track in Colombia. Durant, a college runner at the University of South Carolina, is fresh off an appearance at the NACAC Under-23 Championships in Santo Domingo and will compete in the men's 100 and 200.

Both Jones and Durant competed in the 2002 CAC Games, as did distance runner Bill Bohlke, who also returns this year. Bohlke will run the marathon after competing in middle-distance events in El Salvador.

"He's still young at this marathon thing," V.I. Track and Field Federation vice president Wallace Williams said. "But if he runs a solid race, he could challenge the front runners."

Valma Bass, 100 and 200; Nichelle Gibbs, 800; and Tyfia Lee, 200 and 400, round out the roster. The team will be without top men's sprinter Julio Felix and talented women's marathoner Lisa Hamilton because of injury.

Beach Volleyball - July 19 to 23

The Virgin Islands will send one men's team and one women's team to compete on Bocagrande Beach in Cartagena.

The team of Terry Stevens and Zack Caiger-Greaves, both of St. Thomas, will look to build off a fifth-place finish at the International Spikedown Beach Volleyball Tournament in Trinidad in June. Stevens and Caiger-Greaves had some impressive moments during the two-day competition, including an upset win over the tournament's No. 1-seeded team from Trinidad.

On the women's side, the team of Kathleen Hosie and Karima Wesselhoft could surprise teams. Wesselhoft was a late injury replacement, and the pair will be challenged to develop chemistry despite having never played together, but both players have the talent and athleticism to make a formidable combo.

The Virgin Islands did not enter a beach volleyball team in the 2002 CAC Games.

Boxing - July 20 to 28

Another staple of the Virgin Islands' CAC Games success, accounting for four medals since 1982, boxing once again represents one of the territory's best chances to bring home hardware.

Amateur boxing in the Virgin Islands has been on the rise during the last two years, and the marked improvement should be evident in Colombia. Virgin Islands National Team boxers won nine medals, four of them gold, at the Caribbean Amateur Boxing Championships in Trinidad earlier this month. Two of those gold medalists, lightweight Otoniel Ortiz of St. Croix and middleweight Julius Jackson of St. Thomas, will box at the CAC Games. Bantamweight Jamal Harvey, who won silver, and light welterweight Hugo Moolenaar, who won bronze, also will make the trip.

"That was basically a tune-up for us," V.I. team trainer Julian Jackson said of the Caribbean Championships. "The CAC Games are really what we've been looking forward to, and we're gonna take this thing by storm."

Moolenaar, who boxed at the 2002 CAC Games, and Ortiz are the most seasoned of the quartet, but Julian Jackson said all the V.I. boxers have been dedicated to their training with one thing in mind.

"We're not going there second-guessing," he said. "We're going there to win. We're not big in numbers, but we're big in heart."

The Virgin Islanders will need all the gumption and skill they can muster when they get in the ring with athletes from regional powerhouses like Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and defending CAC team boxing champion Colombia.

Cycling - July 16 to 23

St. Croix's Sue Brown will be the territory's lone representative in cycling. A veteran of the sport, Brown recently returned from three weeks of training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado and should be ready to turn in her best performance.

"Sue is one of the strongest riders in the region, and I think she's done as much training as anyone who is gonna show up for this competition," cycling team leader Tom Guthrie said. "Her fitness is excellent - as good as it's ever been."

Brown will compete in an array of events. She will race on the track in the 3,000-meter pursuit, a sprint race; she will race against the clock in the women's individual time trial; and she will take to the streets around Barranquilla for the women's road race. Brown should be among the top competitors but will face a stiff challenge in her attempt to match the effort of Che Frey, who won cycling gold for the V.I. in 2002.

Sailing - July 23 to 29

A team of six sailors will represent the territory: Michael Compton, sailboard; Thomas Kozyn and Jean Sylvester, Snipe; Mayumi Roller, Laser Radial; Peter Stanton, Sunfish; and Cy Thompson, Laser.

Compton will try to become the second V.I. windsurfer to win CAC gold, following Lisa Neuberger in 1993. Compton of St. Thomas has already qualified for the 2007 Pan Am Games after a strong performance at U.S. Sailing's Rolex Miami OCR in February.

Thompson, who just finished his senior year at Antilles School, has won high school team championships with the Hurricanes and placed 14th in Laser at the 2006 U.S. Youth Sailing Championships in June after finishing fifth in 2005.

All-time, the Virgin Islands has won six medals in sailing at the CAC Games.

Shooting - July 16 to 23

Another sport in which the V.I. has demonstrated success, shooting offers more promising medal opportunities this year. Headlining an eight-member team is the husband-and-wife duo of Ned and Karen Gerard. The Gerards of St. John combined to win five medals, including four golds, at the Caribbean Shooting Championships in Puerto Rico earlier this month.

Karen won gold medal in sport pistol and a bronze in air pistol and will compete in both events in Colombia. Ned will look to duplicate his gold-medal performances in the rifle prone and rifle 3-position.

Bruce Meredith, a veteran of the sport, returns to the CAC Games to compete in air pistol and rifle prone. Meredith already owns a bronze medal from the 1990 CAC Games in Mexico City.

Also competing are: William Coles, Robert Isherwood, Cuthbert James, Andre McBean and Alexander Dudkin.

Swimming - July 17 to 22

The Virgin Islands returns three swimmers - Josh Laban, Kevin Hensley and Scott Hensley - from the 2002 CAC Games. They will provide the core of a team that coaches expect will be competitive in every individual men's race and could be especially strong in relay events.

V.I. swimming coach Kevin Tyrrell said that the trio, along with Kieran and Morgan Locke, have the talent to put the team in contention to win multiple medals in Colombia.

"Not only do they have the experience in the Central American and Caribbean Games, but they've also done it at the college level," Tyrrell said. "They're very experienced swimmers who can raise their game up to the level of this meet."

Laban, the 2004 Olympian, is a freestyle sprint specialist. Kevin Hensley, who swims for Laban's alma mater at the University of Georgia, will compete in the 50-, 100- and 200-meter breast stroke. Scott Hensley will handle the 50- and 100-meter butterfly.

Kieran Locke is set for the freestyle and back stroke events, and Morgan Locke will compete in freestyle and the individual medleys.

The swimmers will look to continue a rather rich tradition of success by V.I. swimmers at the CAC Games. Swimmers have won 12 CAC medals for the territory, most recently in 2002 when George Gleason captured a bronze.

"Having a tradition and a history behind us really motivates us," Tyrrell said. "Everything has been leading up to this."

Youngsters James Whitehurst, Lauren Harcrow and Annie Myrvang also will compete. All members of the swimming team are from St. Croix and are members or alumnus of the Dolphins Swim Team.

Tae kwon do - July 26 to 29

This is a team that will be short on international experience but long on potential in Colombia. Expectations surrounding this group are somewhat unknown, but the V.I. fighters could produce one of the biggest surprises for the territory if they quickly adapt to the level of competition.

Jason Tuitt is the most experienced of the three Crucian black belts who will make the trip. Tuitt has competed at the World Championships in Spain and should be prepared for the quality of opponents he will face at the CAC Games.

"We should compete very well," V.I. taekwondo team leader Mervin Mills said. "I'm looking for good things from Jason. He should be up there along with the group from Cuba and Mexico."

Devante Vegas and Jahmar Jean Marie, both in high school, will have to prove themselves. The young fighters have been tested in local competitions but will face a serious challenge in their first major international tournament.

"I want to see what they have," Mills said of the junior fighters. "I think Devante has a chance to do real well. I have good expectations for both of them. I really want to see how they perform against other countries."

Tennis - July 23 to 29

Two things should work in favor of the V.I. tennis team in Colombia: experience and familiarity.

The territory is fortunate to have players with college experience, most of whom are fresh off playing together in Davis Cup competition in June. They should be prepared to compete in both doubles and singles at the CAC Games.

Men's players are Shane Dalton, Whitney McFarlane, Kris Elien and Terrance Highfield. Nicole Syms and Shelby Cruz will compete on the women's side.

"The guys are looking forward to going there and doing their best," V.I. team leader George Lewis said. "It's not going to be easy."