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Senior team only at NACAC Championships

Jay Donawa has recovered from hamstring injury and is keen to represent Bermuda at March?s NACAC Cross - Country Championships in Trinidad.Photo by Mark Tatem

Bermuda will only be represented at the senior level during this year’s NACAC Cross -Country Championships in Trinidad.Bermuda Track and Field Association (BTFA) has confirmed that they only intend to send a senior foursome to the regional championships that will be held March 17 at Queen’s Park Savannah in Port of Spain.BTFA president Donna Watson said invitations have already been sent out to potential team members.“We have started to ask them if they are interested and so we are just waiting for them to reply,” she added.The former track runner declined to reveal the identity of those who have been invited to represent Bermuda at the upcoming cross-country championships. However, it is understood that elite runners Jay Donawa and Sean Trott are among those who have expressed an interest in flying the Island’s banner in Trinidad.Trott is fresh off a remarkable showing in last week’s Bermuda Marathon Weekend, which saw him place runner up in the Half Marathon (1:12.02) and fourth in the 10K after covering the course in 33.50.The affable athlete, who trains regularly with top female runner Deon Breary, also set new personal best (1:09.38) in last year’s Philadelphia Half Marathon.Donawa missed the last BTFA Cross -Country Championships at Botanical Gardens through hamstring injury but has since made a full recovery.Watson said the BTFA have opted not to send a junior to the NACAC Cross Country Championships this year simply because the Island’s youth runners are currently preparing for the upcoming Carifta Games, that will take place at the National Sports Centre (NSC) April 7-9.“Last year we sent juniors but this year it’s just too close to Carifta so our concentration right now is to get our athletes prepared for Carifta,” she added. “We will be represented only in the senior age group and not the juniors this year.”Watson said Bermuda’s NACAC squad is to be announced March 5.Last year saw the BTFA send a formidable senior foursome to the regional cross-country championships that included Darico Clarke, Chayce Smith, Donawa and Trott.Smith underlined his wealth of potential with a podium display in this year’s KPMG Men’s Elite Mile that will have done his chances of representing Bermuda at the upcoming NACAC Cross Country Championships no harm.The 24-year-old schoolteacher stopped the clock at 4:20.6 to shave over three tenths of a second of his previous fastest time in the Elite Mile.Representing in the junior category at last year’s NACAC Cross Country Championships were Trey Simons, Shawn Herman, Juma Mouchette and Dage Minors.Minors held off a strong challenge from Mouchette to win the senior school boys KPMG mile on Front Street during last week’s Bermuda Marathon Weekend.