Westfield, Grazette eye WITCO award

KERRY WESTFIELD (basketball), Ivor Grazette (tennis) and Anisa Mohammed (cricket) are three of  the 39 male and female nominees vying for top honours at the 2003 WITCO Sports Awards. Award winners of 2002 were ace youth sprinter Darrel Brown and shot-putter Cleopatra Borel. This year’s 40th edition of the awards ceremony  hosted by the West Indian Tobacco Sports Foundation (WITCO) will be staged at the Hilton Trinidad Ballroom on Friday from 8 pm. Heading the list of dignitaries invited to attend are President George Maxwell Richards and wife Dr Jean Richards, Sports Minister Roger Boynes and Mayor of Port-of-Spain Murchison Brown.

Westfield was a key performer for National Flour Mills during the revived National Basketball Championships. The 33-year-old point guard averaged 12.2 points and four assists per game while, in a decisive Game 3 win over Maloney Pacers in the knockout final, he had 15 points to guide his team to an 81-74 triumph and earned the  Championships’ MVP award. Competiting in the North Zone league, Westfield led Flour Mills to both the championship and knockout titles, and was again adjudged tournament MVP. Perennial tennis champ Grazette triumphed in the men’s singles at both the National Championships and the Citibank Tranquillity Open.

Simeon Sealy felt the brunt of Grazette’s power in the final at the Nationals, as the 13-year-old was brushed aside 6-1, 6-1 at the Port-of-Spain Public Courts. And the 29-year-old Grazette retained his Tranquil crown after a 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 victory over Jonathan Gomez. While her twin sister is prolific with the bat, 15-year-old Anisa Mohammed used her skill with the ball as she led the national women’s cricket team to victory in the West Indies Women’s Senior Champion-ships and runners-up spot in the Under-23 series. The Sangre Grande lass topped the bowling averages as the TT women claimed both the league and knockout crowns at the seniors in Grenada as well as 14 wickets at the Under-23s in St Lucia, when her team finished runner-up to St Vincent.