On March 30,2023 via zoom BAA Gen Sec Harrison Pilgrim and PR officer Gregory Meyers attended the final meeting to confirm entries for the 50th Carifta Games. We are excited to announce our team for 2023:
U20 Boys
Andre Armstrong 1500m, 5000m
Daniel Meyers 800m, 1500m, 5000m
Joas Mejia Long Jump, Triple Jump
U17 Boys
Demetrie Meyers 800m, 1500m, 3000m
U17 Girls
Mallory Meyers 800m,1500m, 3000m
Also Selected But unable to compete due to conflicting circumstances:
Mia Sylvester of The Univ. of Idaho
Kali Magana of Louisiana
Our Athletes will Be Accompanied By:
General Secretary Harrison Pilgrim
Head Coach/PR Executive Officer Gregory Meyers
Coach/Executive Member Alvin Tillett
Daniel Demetrie, and Mallory Meyers all reside in Haverford Pennsylvania, PA with their father, Gregory Meyers. Greg has been their coach throughout their spectacular running careers. All three Meyers siblings competed in the 2022 Carifta games in Jamaica. The Meyers family team also participated in the May 2022 BAA National Championship at the Marion Jones Stadium in Belize City.
Demetri Meyers is a perennial Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) all American and multiple- time USA national champion. He currently is US #3 High School freshman at 3000m. He is the returning silver medalist in the 3000m at the 2022 Carifta Games in Jamaica and will be looking to better that performance and bring home Belize’s first Carifta Gold medal. His current personal record for 3000m is 9:07 and he is enviously eying the Carifta record at that distance (8:46.49) set by Kemoy Campbell of Jamaica. Demetri will also be competing in the 1500m and 800m.
Daniel Meyers is a perennial Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) all American and a Nike indoor high school all American. He will be competing in the 800m,1500m and 5000m. Daniel has run 1:59.00 for 800m, 4:06.50 for 1500m, and 15:45 for 5000m which latter will become the Carifta U18 record if he repeats it.
Mallory Meyers will be competing in the 800m, 1500m, and 3000m. Last year in Jamaica she was 4th at this distance. Since then, Mallory has improved all her PR’s this indoor season and is ranked in the top 10 in all three events for 8th graders in the USA. Currently her personal records (PR’s) are 2:24 for 800m 4:58.4 for 1500m and 10:53 for 3000m all which would have made the final or medaled at last year’s Carifta Games. Mallory in the years coming will be looking also to rewrite many of the Carifta Games records as they are all with in her reach.
Andre Armstrong of Belize City is currently on scholarship in Jamaica at world Renown St. Jago High School. This will be Andres’ first Carifta Games. At meets in Jamaica this year he has run 17:35 for 5000m and is looking to improve on that time at Carifta. He will compete in the 1500m and 5000m.
Joas Mejia of Punta Gorda born in Honduras was brought, a babe in arms to Punta Gorda where he has grown up and been educated. He recalls being athletic from Primary School days and blossomed while he attended Julian Cho High School in the South of Belize. During high school he ran all the sprints up to 800m. But it was the field events, where Joas dominated. Joas competed in the long, triple and high jumps. In 2019 he placed 2nd in high jump at the Regional Secondary Schools Championship held in El Salvador. Joas really burst onto the National and Regional track and field landscape in 2022, placing 2nd in the triple jump and first in long jump at the annual Central American Senior Champs in Nicaragua. His personal bests are 14.7m in triple and 6.81m in the long jump, both of which are records he hopes to better in this first appearance at the Carifta Games.
Kali Magana, a high school Junior of Louisiana, is a perennial Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) all American. She was just recently crowned Louisiana state indoor champion at 400m. Kali has PR’s of 24.35 200m, 55.55 400m, 2:12.23 800m. Unfortunately, due to constraints from her current athletic commitments Kali will not debut at this year’s Carifta games. It would have been the first time she would represent Belize internationally. She is currently ranked #29 in the US for 400m.
Mia Sylvester, a college Freshman at the University of Idaho, is the reigning Central American Champion at the Discus and Shot Put. She is currently the Big Sky’s Indoor Champion in the Shot Put @15.75m. Due to her college schedule she will not be able to make this trip. She would have competed in the Shot put and Discus. Mia’s performances to date would have put her in line to bring home two more gold medals for Belize.
