The Caribbean’s premier junior athletics showcase, the CARIFTA Games, wrapped up its 2025 edition on the evening of April 6 at Grenada’s Kirani James Stadium, with Saint Lucia matching its 2024 medal haul to finish 10th on the overall regional medals table. For the second straight year, the island nation left the competition with four podium finishes, all earned by its standout field event competitors.
Saint Lucia’s medal count got off to a blazing start on the competition’s opening days, when 16-year-old Destinee Cenac claimed gold in the Under-17 girls’ high jump. Clearing a new personal best height of 1.72 meters, the St Joseph’s Convent student and Morne Stars Athletics Club member improved on her bronze medal finish from the 2024 Games, kicking off a dominant run for Saint Lucia’s field athletes. Cenac’s win marked the 16th high jump medal the island has earned in CARIFTA Games history, making it the nation’s most successful individual discipline – a legacy built by previous CARIFTA record holders and Olympic athletes Levern Spencer and Jeannelle Scheper.
Naya Jules added a silver medal to Saint Lucia’s tally in the Under-20 girls’ pole vault, recording a clearance of 2.95 meters. This marked Jules’ fourth consecutive CARIFTA medal in the event, and her second straight silver after taking home gold in the Open girls’ division in both 2023 and 2024. Beyond pole vault, Jules also delivered a strong personal best performance of 41.59 meters in the Under-20 girls’ javelin throw, finishing just outside the podium in fifth place.
Opening night of the Games saw Denzel Phillips claim his third career CARIFTA medal, taking bronze in the Under-20 boys’ discus throw with a best throw of 53.24 meters. The Saint Lucia athlete finished behind Jamaican pair Kamari Kennedy and Joseph Salmon on the podium, and narrowly missed a second medal after spending most of the competition in top-three position for the shot put, ultimately dropping to fifth in the final standings.
The final medal of the competition for Saint Lucia came on Easter Monday, the event’s closing day, from Under-17 long jumper Randall Monroe. Making his CARIFTA Games debut just hours after finishing a narrow fourth in the Under-17 boys’ high jump, Monroe fought through challenging stiff headwind conditions to record a jump of 6.60 meters, good enough for bronze. The young athlete will remain eligible to compete in the Under-17 division when the next CARIFTA Games are held.
The 12-member Saint Lucian delegation included a number of young athletes who are expected to build on their 2025 experience in future editions of the meet. Fifteen-year-old thrower Eavan Edgar placed 11th in the Under-17 shot put and fouled out of the discus competition, but will be eligible to return next year. Similarly, long jumpers Barbara-Marie Maximin and Syesha Rogers placed ninth in the Under-17 and Under-20 divisions respectively, with Maximin moving up to the Under-20 bracket in 2026.
For the nation’s Under-20 male athletes, the 2025 Games marked their final appearance in the junior regional competition, as all will age out of the division ahead of 2026. Middle-distance runner Evann John delivered an impressive improved performance from his 2024 showing, qualifying for the 800m final and clocking 1:53.44 to finish fifth. Sprinter Joaqwan Alexander ran a faster time than he did in 2024 in the 400m event, but once again just missed out on a spot in the final round. Benique Mann placed 13th in the 1500m, Ryan Simeon finished 24th in the 100m, and triple jumper Darvin Forde placed 11th in his first and final CARIFTA Games appearance.