Seven Cayman track-and-field athletes are set to compete in the NACAC U23 and U18 Championships in San José, Costa Rica, from 21-23 July.
Fresh off a bronze-medal-winning performance at the 2023 Island Games, Ashantae Graham will join coach Kenrick Williams and the team of Mikayla Brown, YaNelli Dawkins, Brianna Smith, Anthony Chin, Michail Michelin and Andrew Stone in Costa Rica.
This year’s edition of the biennial championships, organised by World Athletics and the North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC), marks the 12th time the competition has been held for the under-23 age group, and the third time for the under-18 age group.
The team departs for Costa Rica on 19 July. With information courtesy of the team’s manager and head of delegation, Maxine Anglin, and the athletes themselves, get to know Cayman’s contingent for these championships:
Ashantae Graham – women’s U23 – long jump
An experienced athlete on the track-and-field scene for Cayman, with appearances at four consecutive CARIFTA Games, Graham most recently earned a bronze medal in the women’s long jump at the 2023 Island Games. Graham graduated from John Gray High School and is studying and training at the University of Birmingham. In Costa Rica, she will act as a team captain and contest the long jump in the women’s U23 division.
YaNelli Dawkins – women’s U23 – discus
Dawkins is a versatile athlete with experience in javelin, shot put and discus, and previous appearances for Cayman at the CARIFTA Games and the CAC Age Group Youth Championships. Currently a student at the University College of the Cayman Islands, her ultimate ambition is to represent Cayman at the 2027 World Championships and 2028 Olympic Games. At this year’s NACAC Championships, Dawkins will compete in the women’s U23 division in discus, for which she has a personal best of 40.45m.
Brianna Smith – women’s U23 – discus
Smith, Cayman’s 2023 national champion for the U20 shot put, is a three-time CARIFTA qualifier for the Cayman Islands with hopes to return to that regional stage next year. Despite being only 17 years old, she will compete in the U23 age group for the women’s discus event in Costa Rica, where she hopes to improve on her personal best of 40.05m.
Mikayla Brown – women’s U18 – shot put
Brown, a UCCI student and Cayman’s only athlete in the women’s U18 age category in Costa Rica, has competed for the Cayman Islands at the last two CARIFTA Games. Her current personal best in the shot put – the event which she will contest at NACAC – is 12.72m.
Anthony Chin – men’s U18 – long jump
After tallying his first medal for Cayman at the 2016 Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) Games, Chin achieved further success in the long jump, 100m and 200m races at the same competition the following year. Earlier this year, Chin earned a bronze medal in the men’s U17 long jump at the 2023 CARIFTA Games. With his personal best in the long jump standing at 6.75m from the 2023 National Championships, Chin will aim to improve on that mark in Costa Rica.
Michail Michelin – men’s U18 – 200m
In a team dominated by athletes in the jump and throw events, Michelin will be Cayman’s sole representative on the track in Costa Rica. The 2023 Cayman national champion in the 100m, 200m and 400m events for the U17 age group and a 2023 CARIFTA team member, Michelin is entered in the 200m event at NACAC with a personal best of 22.33 seconds.
Andrew Stone – men’s U18 – long jump, high jump
Stone, the male team captain, is a CARIFTA medal winner for Cayman in both the long jump (7.79m personal best) and high jump (2.07m personal best). He will compete in both events in Costa Rica.
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