Athletes Honoured At Denton Hurdle Awards
Fifty-one student-athletes were honoured at the 40th annual Denton Hurdle Memorial Awards, which celebrate Bermuda’s top graduating student-athletes for excellence in sports, academics, leadership, and character.
A spokesperson said, “Fifty-one student-athletes were honored last night at the 40th annual Denton Hurdle Memorial Awards, held at the Phoebe Purvis Memorial Hall at Warwick Academy. These awards, honoring the late Denton Hurdle, recognize and celebrate the finest primary, middle, and senior school student-athletes.
“Denton Hurdle was a dedicated sportsman who attended Warwick Academy, Bermuda College, and Dalhousie University. After completing his degree in physical education, he returned to teach at Warwick Academy. He excelled in soccer, cricket, and volleyball; however, his greatest passion was rugby. He went on to captain the Teachers Rugby Football Club and was a regular member of the Bermuda National Team.
“Each school is invited to nominate one boy and one girl for the award. All nominees receive a certificate of recognition and are expected to attend the ceremony.
“To be eligible, students must demonstrate active participation, leadership, sportsmanship, self-discipline, dedication, and cooperation. They must also exhibit positive attitudes within the school community. Nominees are expected to be strong scholar-athletes and serve as positive role models. Only students in the final year of primary, middle, or senior school are eligible for this award.
“Warwick Academy and Saltus Grammar School won all six categories, with Warwick sweeping the girls categories and Saltus claiming all three boys’ divisions.
- Primary School Girls Winner – Freya Dunkle – Warwick Academy
- Honorable Mention – Celestine Fampulme – Purvis Parish School
- Naomi Nusum – Saltus Grammar School
“Freya Dunkle serves as captain, prefect and mentor at Warwick Academy. She was a football all star and excelled in running in 2026. She won the Front Street Mile, interschool cross country, Randy Benjamin Mile and multiple other road and track races. She earned grade 3 in piano and won the Warwick Academy Easter poster competition.
- Primary School Boys Winner – Declan O’Sullivan – Saltus Grammar School
- Honorable Mention – Trevor Mills – Somerfield Academy
- Shamaah Darko – Warwick Academy
“O’Sullivan led Saltus to victory in the knockout cup final earning MVP honors after scoring a hattrick in his teams 3-1 winner. He also led Saltus to the six a side tournament scoring six goals in the semi final alone. He was a football all star and was a part of Saltus’ cross country winning team.
- Middle School Girls Winner – Devi Samuels – Warwick Academy
- Honorable Mention – Zara Bule – Saltus Grammar School
- Kse Jennings – Dellwood Middle School
“Devi is a member of the under 15 National football academy and could be seen playing in both the under 13 girls and boys leagues in the BFA leagues where she was MVP and Top Scorer for the Warwick Football Academy girls’ team. Devi is a house captain and honor roll student.
- Middle School Boys Winner – Spencer Halderman – Saltus Grammar School
- Honorable Mention – Jaylon Glasford – Somersfield Academy
- Caleb Mello – Warwick Academy
“Earlier this year Spencer broke the Front Street mile record with a time of 5 minutes and 1.2 seconds. He also broke the Magic Mile record in 5 minutes and 15 seconds. He was the 2026 middle school 1500-meter champion and won various races throughout 2026. He was a member of Bermuda’s 2025 CARIFTA triathlon team and Bermuda long tails baseball team.
- Senior School Girls Winner – Jorgia White – Warwick Academy
- Honorable Mention – Hailey Trott – The Berkeley Institute
“White is the current National Record holder in the girls 15-16 long course 1500 meters and the girls 17-18 short course 1500 meters. She was a finalist at the 2026 CARIFTA games in the 1500 meters. She was a member of Warwick Academy’s Senior Girls Basketball championship team and was Warwick Academy’s over 16 track and field champion. She won the 2025 open water Bermuda National 5k Championships. The Principals Academic honors student also has an impressive 43 predicted IB points out of 45 which has led to numerous universities offers.
- Senior Boys Winner – Zachary Mcguire – Saltus Grammar School
- Honorable Mention –Jahir Smith Mora – The Berkeley Institute
“Zachary, an honor role student was a member of Bermuda’s successful Davis Cup tennis team and is ranked number 1 in Bermuda’s junior tennis rankings. He is also a regular for St. George’s senior men’s football team as well as FC Bascome’s under 18 team. He was named defender of the year in the under 128 leagues at the BFA annual youth awards and was named MVP for Saltus after winning the over 16 boys knockout football cup. Zachary has also been recruited to play division 1 tennis at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
Primary School Girls
“Cella Cobon – Bermuda High School, Myla Desjardins – Somersfield Academy, Freya Dunkle – Warwick Academy, Celestine Fampulme – Purvis Parish School, Alexa McCook – West End Primary, Ryan Millett – St, George’s Preparatory, Kelly Nunez-Johnson – Francis Patton School, Naomi Nusum – Saltus Grammar School, Aolani Roberts – Somerset Primary, Amira Simmons – Northlands Primary, Capree Smith – Dalton E Tucker, Tamera Smith – Mount Saint Agnes Academy, A’Nylah Tucker – West Pembroke Primary, Tavia Smith – Paget Primary
Primary School Boys
“Jacob Butterfield – Port Royal Primary, Rylen Bean – Somerset Primary, Shamaah Darko – Warwick Academy, Trevor Mills – Somersfield Academy, Declan O’Sullivan – Saltus Grammar School, Dennai Outerbridge – West End Primary, Karter Riley – West Pembroke Primary, Emilio Roberts-Pitcher – St. George’s Preparatory, Royce Tyrrell – Mount Saint Agnes Academy, Trevor Smith – Paget Primary
Middle School Girls
“Zara Bule – Saltus Grammar School, Kse Jennings – Dellwood Middle School, Amia McCook – Bermuda High School, Cataliah Pitcher-Place – The Whitney Institute Middle School, Kate Purcell – Somersfield Academy, Devi Samuels – Warwick Academy, Kyra Simmons – Mount Saint Agnes Academy
Middle School Boys
“Jaylon Glasford – Somersfield Academy, Nicolas Gomez Caines – Sandys Middle School, Spencer Halderman – Saltus Grammar School, Caleb Mello – Warwick Academy, George Morris – Dellwood Middle School, Adaj O’Brien – The Whitney Institute Middle School, Xander Romeo – Mount Saint Agnes Academy
Senior School Girls
“Jaya Dillas – Saltus Grammar School, Aaliyah Haffar – Somersfield Academy, Robin Selley – Bermuda High School, Hailey Trott – The Berkeley Institute, Ja’Shay Trott – CedarBridge Academy, Jorgia White – Warwick Academy
Senior School Boys
“Roydon Grant – CedarBridge Academy, Quinton Husband – Warwick Academy, Roman Jones – Somersfield Academy, Zachary McGuire – Saltus Grammar School, Jahir Smith Mora – The Berkeley Institute, D’Angelo Williams – Mount Saint Agnes Academy”
