College athletics is very competitive, especially in the United States, as schools look to gain an edge in every way.

Thus it is no surprise those schools are ultra-aggressive in recruiting. That zeal resulted in many US universities having scouts present at the CARIFTA Games in Cayman over the weekend.

Among them was Stan Rosenthal, who represents the University of South Carolina Gamecocks.

Rosenthal, 58, said he had a great time here. “It has been great. The plane ticket wasn’t expensive but the hotel sure was.

“I didn’t see much of Cayman aside from going to East End and having lunch at the Blow Holes and getting lunch at Liberty’s in West Bay.

“The people here have done a great job putting on such a world-class local and regional event. The atmosphere was great, the athletes were great, the announcers were very entertaining and it was a great turnout in the stands.”

A nine-year member of the Gamecocks athletics department, Rosenthal was present for all three days of the Games at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex.

In that time he saw many athletes post remarkable showings. In fact he was impressed with a couple of Cayman kids.

“Kirani James of Grenada was phenomenal,” Rosenthal said. “It’s a pity he’s already at the University of Alabama. We certainly want more Caribbean athletes on our track team, just like everyone else in the country.

“It’s hard to say anyone else stood out simply because NCAA and school rules state we (as scouts) can’t talk to the athletes at this age; only the coaches.

“As far as the Cayman coaches go I haven’t had a chance to talk to any of them because I haven’t seen them. However I do intend to talk to them about some of the athletes.

“In every sprint the Cayman athletes looked good. Obviously there are lots of good athletes here. To be honest Cayman wasn’t on our radar up until now though it’s clear from being here that all of the Caribbean is capable of producing sprint and hurdle medallists.”

Rosenthal is well aware of the Caribbean’s potency in track and field. Before Usain Bolt and Veronica Campbell-Brown hit the scene he had experience with world-class Jamaican sprinter Aleen Bailey.

Bailey, 30, not only boasts two Olympic gold medals in the 4x100m relay. She also can claim to be an alumnus of South Carolina and still trains there with Gamecocks head athletics coach Curtis Frye.

As Rosenthal says many US schools are in the business of producing similar success stories.

“In addition to Aleen we’ve had people from Trinidad and Tobago and other athletes from around the Caribbean.

“Athletes from the Caribbean have been good in US schools across a number of events. That is why at these games I’ve already seen six division one US schools (Florida State, Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Arkansas, Middle Tennessee State and Alabama) represented here.

“I think a lot of the scouts here are thinking the same thing. If an athlete is good in say long jump then there’s a good chance he or she will excel in high jump. The idea is to see who fits your needs.”

Ultimately whether or not Rosenthal tries to recruit Cayman gold medallist Chantelle Morrison or any other local athlete one thing is clear: he’s bound to be at the next Games searching for talent.

“I’ve been in coaching since 1976. Clean living has kept me going to this point. I’ve been to five other universities, all division one schools.

“Basically for me it’s about getting paid to do my hobby. I don’t get too many bad days out here. I might get tired and be out here for days but that’s okay. It’s all about spotting the next great talent.”