JAMAICAN JUMPER MCBEAM IS MOUNTAINEERS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

By Leighton Levy

Former Vere Tech athlete Marsielle McBeam, who now represents West Virginia University, has been named the Varsity Sports Report Athlete of the Week at the university. The honour came as the result of the athlete jumping 1.72m to win the high jump at the SPIRE Invitational recently held in Geneva, Ohio.

The height attained eclipsed McBeam’s previous collegiate best of 1.70m set last year when she competed for Central Michigan. The St. Ann native was very proud of her achievements. “Jumping indoors was not the best for me but despite that I am pleased with my performance,” she told the Star. “Since transferring my jumping has improved a lot, especially my technique.”

McBeam, a multi-talented athlete thrived at Vere as a student athlete. Back in 2008 she won the Class 3 discus throw for girls winning with a throw of 32.55m ahead of her teammate Tamika Frater. She would later turn her focus to the high jump and continued to find success. In her final year at Champs, McBeam finished third with a leap of 1.70m behind Peta-Gaye Reid of St. Elizabeth Technical (1.75m) and Israel Ramsay of Wolmers (1.75m). The winning height was a height McBeam had cleared several times during the season prior to the championships.

She missed out on competition for a year while awaiting paperwork for her to attend Central Michigan where she spent her first season abroad. Now in her second year of college and at a school where she feels she can be at her best, McBeam plans on getting back to her very best and beyond. “During the last couple of months I have been working hard, so this performance has built my confidence even more knowing that I have so much more to execute,” she said. “I am grateful that I was named ‘athlete of the week’. I have never been in such a position before so that’s a start.”

McBeam has the Big 12 Championships coming up from February 28 to March 1 in Ames, Iowa and she is looking forward to even higher heights by the time she gets there. “I am hoping that before the season ends I will be jumping over 1.80m,” she said. “In order for me to reach this goal I have to work not only on my approach speed but also being consistent. It takes a lot of hard work and time but working with such a great coach (assistant coach Shelly-Anne Gallimore) I know I will be able to make the necessary changes in order to be successful.”