The Bermuda National Athletics Association will send four of their top athletes to the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association Senior Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Aaron Evans, Tre Houston and Lamont Marshall all competed at last month’s Pan Am Games in Toronto, while Jah-Nhai Perinchief has represented Bermuda at the Youth Olympics and several Carifta Games.

Shaquille Dill, the 800-metres runner, has withdrawn from the Championships because of a death in the family.

Bermuda’s team leaves the Island tomorrow, with the competition running from Friday until Sunday.

The event is a qualifier for this month’s IAAF World Championships in Beijing, which will be held between August 22 and 30.

Houston has already qualified for the Championships in the 200 metres, as has Tyrone Smith in the long jump. Smith decided against travelling to Costa Rica as he is focusing on the World Championships.

Donna Watson, the BNAA president, believes it is important for Bermuda’s best athletes to compete at NACAC.

“We are trying to make this an event where we showcase our top athletes in our region,” Watson said.

Evans, 25, will look to improve upon his showing in Toronto, where he finished sixth in the 800 final in a 1min 49.07sec, as will Dill, 21, who failed to reach the final, finishing seventh in his heat in 1:52.25.

Houston, who has also qualified for next year’s Rio Olympics, placed fourth in his 200 heat in Toronto in 21.00, missing out on reaching the semi-finals. The 25-year-old will run both the 100 and 200 in Costa Rica.

The Toronto Games proved to a baptism of fire for Marshall, who finished last in the 1,500 final in 4min 0.28sec. It was the middle-distance runner’s first showing at a major international competition.

Perinchief is the least experienced member of the team, although he did win gold in the high jump at the 2013 NatWest Island Games in Bermuda, as well as claiming silver in the under-18 division at last year’s Carifta Games in Martinique.

He finished fifth at this year’s Games in St Kitts, recording a season’s best leap of 2.08 in the under-20 boys’ division.

Travelling with the athletes will be Freddie Evans, Aaron’s father, as the team manager, and Rohaan Simons as coach.

The NACAC congress will be held during the Championships, with Watson hoping to be re-elected as a council member.