Guyanese made member of All America Track and Field team
By Michael DaSilva
Stabroek News
June 6, 2002
After being voted Most Valued Player for three consecutive years at York College, New York, Guyanese Candace Mussenden has been made a member of the All America Track and Field team.
According to Mussenden's father, Oswald Mussenden, who resides in New York, Candace, a Buxtonian by birth, migrated to New York in 1997 at the age of 17 and entered the York College where she continued her athletic career. She has performed so outstandingly at outdoor meets, that she was voted MVP in 2000 and 2001.
This year, she was given the award for her performance indoor. She received the later award on Monday night.
During her years in Guyana, Candace who attended the Bladen Hall Secondary School, took up track and field and, after writing her CXC examinations, securing passes in four subjects, Candace migrated to New York and entered York College as a `C' student, but according to her father, she is now an `A' student, having graduated with a bachelors degree in Business Administration.
"During the summer of 1998, Candace won the most medals - one gold and three silvers - by any York College student at one meet," the father told Stabroek Sport in an exclusive interview. The Colgate Games meet was held at the world famous Madison Square Garden.
He said for the past three years his daughter has won one gold and two silver medals while competing in the 400-metre individual event, but she also competes in the 200-metre, 4x400-metre relay, triple jump, long jump, javelin and shot-putt events. He told Stabroek Sport that Candace participated at the CUNY Athletic Conference meet last year and won several medals in both track and field events.
At the CUNY meet, she won gold medals in the 400-metre (58.79 seconds) and triple jump (10.46 metres) and silver medals in the 200-metre (26:00 seconds), 4x400-metre relay (4:07.83), long jump (5:12) metres and javelin (26.70 metres).
At the Penn Relay (inter-college championships), the York team which included Candace, placed 5th.
The Father said his daughter did well enough this year to qualify for US national 400-metre and women's 4x400 relay team.
Having secured her bachelors degree, Candace plans to pursue her masters in business administration, but wants to take some time off from academics and concentrate on track and field, while at the same time getting some work experience.
"Right now she's not committed to any college, she wants to join a private club for one year, before pursuing her masters," Oswald Mussenden said.
The 22-year-old who celebrated her birthday on May 22, the same date as her mother's birthday, is fond of Guyana and would love to represent her country of birth.
Oswald is a former member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) who set a GDF record of 15 minutes, 16 seconds for the three-mile run in 1982.