The 33rd Annual Sonia O’Neal Memorial ACI 2025 Invitational Swim Meet took place from May 22 to May 25, 2025, at the 50-meter Wildey Aquatic Centre in Barbados. A total of 19 teams from across the region participated in this prestigious event.
Representing St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Black Sands Swim Squad (BSSS) had 11 swimmers competing:
Girls Team:
• Kennice Greene
• Eltonique Leonard
• Ira Hadley
• Amelia Des Vignes
• Clarice Drakes
• Kylie Dunbar
Boys Team:
• Eltonte Leonard
• Seth Byron
• Benjamin Cyrus
• Kione Deshong
• Methuselah McLean
• Kione Deshong: A 2025 Carifta gold medalist, Kione dominated the boys’ 11–12 age group. Swimming in 11 events, he secured 9 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze medal. Notably, he broke the SVG National record in the 50-meter backstroke with a time of 32.70 seconds, surpassing the previous record of 32.8 seconds held by Alex Joachim. Kione was honored with the Overall Champion trophy for his age group.
• Kennice Greene: A 2025 Carifta bronze medalist, Kennice delivered a strong performance, winning 1 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals. She earned the second-place Overall Champion trophy in her age group.
• Eltonique Leonard: Competing in the girls’ 13–14 age group, Eltonique clinched 1 gold and 4 bronze medals, showcasing her prowess in the pool.
All 11 BSSS swimmers achieved personal best times in most of their events and demonstrated great sportsmanship throughout the competition.
Head Coach Kyle Dougan expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance, stating, “The results from the competition are very pleasing. For some of the swimmers, it was their very first time racing in a 50-meter pool, which is twice the size of the pool we have in SVG. The results are a great reflection of the hard work and dedication the swimmers have put in over the last year.”
Coach Dougan also extended congratulations to the hardworking BSSS coaching staff, Anwar Medjahed, Kathleen Bute and Chelsea Cordice, for their commitment and guidance.
BSSS extends heartfelt gratitude to St. Vincent and the Grenadines Swimming Federation for their continued support and also Tus-T water.
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