27 Cross Country Cycling champions honored at CFB gala

_{Photo: (l-r) CFB president Glen Flowers, John Miguel, Rudy Miguel, Anthony Hutchinson, Kenrick Halliday, Kenneth Sutherland and Stansmore Bowman}

by William Ysaguirre

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Jan. 6, 2025

Twenty-six Holy Saturday Cross Country cycling champions and 6-time Women Cross Country champion Camille Solis received accolades for their legendary achievements when sports talk-show host Oswald Bowman collaborated with the Cycling Federation of Belize (CFB) to host a “Nite of Cycling Legends” honors and awards gala at the Princess Hotel and Casino in Belize City on Saturday night, January 4.

The awardees included 1953 champion Clinton Castillo, who was only 16 years old when he became the youngest rider to ever win a Cross Country. He placed 2nd behind Kenneth “Powder” Sutherland, who won in 1966 and returned as champion in 1967. Sutherland went on to represent Belize in the sprint race at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and helped found the Rogers Stadium Physical Sporting Club.

John “Johnito” Miguel joined the elite club of 4-time champions when he won his first Cross Country in a heated sprint in 1960, and repeated as champion in 1965, ‘65’ and ‘68. Edward Miguel had previously won the Cross Country thrice: in 1956, ‘58 and ‘59. Rudy Miguel, the youngest of the Miguel brothers, finished 2nd behind his brother John in 1968, and continued the family tradition by winning the Cross Country in 1969 and 1970.

Anthony “Tank” Hutchinson had finished 3rd behind Mexican champion Pablo Calderon in 1971, but he set a new record of 8:43:00 and brought home the garland when he forced Calderon to take 2nd place in 1972, and he repeated as champion in 1973.

Kenrick “Doc” Halliday placed 2nd behind Hutchinson in 1973, but he dominated the Cross Country in 1974, and set a new record of 8:28:00 in 1975, and broke his own record in 1977 in 7:33:00. He joined the 4-time champions club when he won again in 1978!

Six-time women’s champion Camille Solis was honored as Belize’s greatest female cyclist of all time, winning the first ever Women’s Cross Country race in 1990 when she was only 18 years old. At the time, the Women’s Cross Country began at Mile 25 on the Western Highway, proceeded to San Ignacio and finished at the National Stadium (Marion Jones) in Belize City—115 miles. She won again in 1991, ‘92, ‘93, ‘94’, and ‘97, and placed second behind an American rider in 1998. She became a 2-time Olympian, representing Belize at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, and at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. She also represented Belize at the 1994 Commonwealth Games and the 1995 Pan American Games, placing 16th in the Women’s Road Race. Today, she continues to serve the Belizean athletic community as a massage therapist. Cycling pioneers Letica Westby and Hazel Morrison Spencer, who rode the first Women’s Cross Country, were also honored as trailblazers. Westby continues to serve as the CFB secretary.

Minister of Sports Hon. Rodwell Ferguson was on hand to present the awards, and he invited Belizeans in the diaspora to continue to support sports development here at home. CFB president Glen Flowers also cited Belizean cyclists’ many regional championship successes and gold medal victories in recent years, as he pledged to continue promoting the development of cycling in Belize, with the aim for Belize to rank among the top 50 nations in the world in the sport, whereby Belize would automatically qualify for international events like the Pan American Games and the Olympics.

The hosts also honored cycling pioneer Elston Kerr, the 1928 and 1929 champion. There were no paved roads to San Ignacio in 1928, when Elston Kerr, Norris Wade and Bertie Cleland first proposed a 2-day bicycle race to Cayo and back, but the British governor supported their initiative. These pioneers set out along a “road” that was little more than a mule trail beside the river to haul rafts of logs to the sawmills in Belize City. Elston Kerr completed the 188-mile course in 21 hours 28 minutes, and won again in 1929. Norris Wade won the 1930 race, relegating Kerr to 2nd place.

The race was still a 2-day event when Aston Gill became the first rider to ever win the race 4 times, in 1945, ‘46, ‘47 and again in 1950, after it became a one-day race in 1948. Jeffrey O’Brien joined the 4-time champions club when he won in 1951, ‘52, ‘54, and ‘55.

Special recognition was given to 3-time Cross Country champions: Donald Lightburn: 1931, ‘35, and ‘36; Robert Ferguson: 1933, ‘34, and ‘44; and Duncan Vernon: 1957, ‘60, and ‘61. Two-time champions: Goldburn Ferguson: 1941 and ‘42, Jose Sosa: 1937 and ‘38, and Alfred Parks: 1976 and ‘79 were similarly recognized. Special mention was also given to former champions Ben Sanchez — 1939, Handicott Croft – 1940, James Robateau – 1943, Altreith Smith – 1948, Alvin Joseph – 1949, Arthur Miguel – 1962, Lindsford Sutherland – 1963, Pablo Calderon – 1971, and Alexander Vasquez – 1980. 

Conspicuously absent from this list were 3-time Cross Country champion Alpheus Williams: 1981, ‘82 and ’84; 3-time Cross Country champion Charles Lewis: 1990, ‘91 and 94; and 1992 champion Michael Lewis. However, the organizers explained that this awards night covered the Holy Saturday Cross Country from its inception in 1928 up to 1980; they plan annual events to cover the more recent years.

Media houses were also awarded for their dedicated coverage of cycling. These included Radio Belize – represented by Rene Villanueva, Sr., and the Amandala newspaper. The gala also honored cycling sponsors: ”Santino” Castillo, Busman Arnold and Sydney Sikaffy. Barrington Young, Eddie Smith, Joslyn Chavarria, Sr., Eugene King, Anthony Morris, Raymond Shepherd, Glenn Gordon and Shamba Dominguez were awarded as catalysts of cycling development in Belize.

Special mention was also given to former CFB president Stansmore Bowman, who founded the first Women’s Cross Country, former CFB secretary Yvonne Robinson, and CFB members John Aguet and Jose Coye, who have supported the development of the sport in Belize.