_{Front row (l to r): Zuleyka Matute; Delanie Carr; Liam Marin; Kasyah Dunn; Julie Cruz; Mary Carrillo. Middle row (l to r): Xavier Rivas; Othoniel Vasquez; Santo McCulloch; Blake Welch; Keenan Thimbrel. Back row (l to r): Jabin Ramos; Artie Rawlings; Jarif Castro; Edgar Johnson, Jr.; Andre Manzanero; Jace Sabido.}

by William Ysaguirre (freelance reporter)

BELIZE CITY, Wed. Feb. 19, 2025

Seventeen young karatekas, who will represent the Belize Karate Federation at the Central American junior karate championships, introduced themselves at a Belizean media briefing at Olympic House – the Ned Pitts Building at the Marion Jones Sports Complex in Belize City on Wednesday morning, February 19.

Among the five female karatekas are Delanie Carr, 10, of Belize City, who will compete in the Under-12, under-42 kilos category; and Kasyah Dunn, 11, who will compete in the under-37-kilos category. Three girls compete in the Under 14-15 Cadet category: Julie Cruz of Teakettle Village, Cayo, in the under-61-kilos category kumite; Zuleyka Matute of Belmopan, competing in the under-54-kilos kumite; and Mary Carrillo of Orange Walk, who will compete only in kata.

Among the 12 boys are Liam Marin, 10, of Caye Caulker competing in the Under-12 kumite and Xavier Vivas, of Belize City, 10, in the under-35-kilos kumite; and Santo McCulloch, 12, of Belize City and Blake Welch, 13, of Caye Caulker who will both compete in kumite, McCulloch in the under-50-kilos category. Jace Sabido, 12, and Othoniel Vasquez, 12, both of Belmopan, will compete in the Under-14 kata and Under-13 kumite – Vasquez in the under-40-kilos class, and Sabido in the under-45-kilos class. Keenan Thimbrel of Camalote Village will compete in Under-14 kata and kumite in the under-45-kilos class.

Artie Rawlings, 15, of Bullet Tree Village, Cayo, will compete in the Under 14-15 cadets’ kata and kumite in the under-63-kilos class. Jabin Ramos, 16, of Belmopan, and Andres Manzanero, 16, of San Ignacio, will both compete in kata for Under 16-17-year-olds, with Ramos competing in the under-76-kilos kumite, and Manzanero in the over-76-kilos kumite. Jariff Castro, 17, of Belmopan, will compete in kata for 16-17-year-olds and in the junior under-68-kilos kumite.

Edgar Johnson, 15 years, 6’1″ of Belmopan, will compete in the para-karate kata.

They will all spend the next two weeks training under their Nicaraguan coach – sensei Jadder Leoxbell Montalvan Acevedo, whom they welcomed at the Philip Goldson International Airport on Wednesday afternoon. Sensei Montalvan will accompany the team to act as their coach at the Central American championships, along with coach, Steve Mossiah, who will serve as a judge official at the tournament.

Sensei Herman Pastor of the Cayo Shotokan Karate Club will head the delegation, and he said this competition will be preparation for Belize to send a team to the upcoming Central American Games in Guatemala in October. He thanked the Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Committee, Belize Electricity Ltd., the Social Security Board, and the Department of Youth Services for their support to make this participation possible. The team departs on March 3 for the championships to be held at the Municipal Gymnasium in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, from March 4-10.