Bahamian collegiate coach at the University of Mississippi Yolett McPhee-McCuin is one of a handful of coaches from that institution who will take a pay cut during the 2020-2021 fiscal period. FILEAugust 5, 2020Sheldon Longley0158Views

Bahamian coach at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Yolett McPhee-McCuin was one of a handful of coaches from that institution who will take a pay cut during the 2020-2021 fiscal period.

According to the Clarion-Ledger, an American daily newspaper out of Jackson, Mississippi, all Ole Miss athletics employees who make in excess of $100,000 annually have agreed to take pay cuts due to setbacks and restrictions suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The cuts affect football Head Coach Lane Kiffin and all 10 of his on-field assistants; women’s basketball Head Coach McPhee-McCuin; men’s basketball Head Coach Kermit Davis; baseball Head Coach Mike Bianco; and softball Head Coach Jamie Trachsel, as confirmed by Athletics Director Keith Carter.

According to Carter, some of the pay cuts will last for three months while others could cover as long as a six-month period. McPhee-McCuin was unavailable for comment up to press time, and at the moment, it is uncertain how significant her pay cut will be. The Ole Miss Rebels compete out of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I women’s basketball.

After battling through an injury-plagued season a year ago, in which her squad experienced a number of setbacks, the Bahamian collegiate coach is looking for a resurgent effort in 2021. She returns for her third season at the helm, armed with the SEC’s top-ranked recruiting class and number 13 in the nation. In addition, they welcome back dynamic point guard Valerie Nesbitt, another Bahamian, who was dismissed for disciplinary reasons last year.

McPhee-McCuin and the Rebels have high aspirations for the upcoming season, certainly looking to improve on the 7-23 overall record from a year ago. They finished at the bottom of the SEC with a winless 0-16 conference record.

Highlighting the incoming freshman class are five-star signees Madison Scott (No. 13 overall) and Jacorriah Bracey (No. 48 overall). Scott was named a McDonald’s All-American, the first in program history, while Bracey won Gatorade Player of the Year accolades for the state of Mississippi. Fellow freshmen Silentianna “Snudda” Collins and Caitlin McGee will also suit up for the Rebels after stellar high school careers.

Ole Miss also added two new transfers to the roster this spring, signing ESPN’s No. 1 rated transfer in Maryland addition Shakira Austin, as well as junior college sharpshooter Tiya Douglas of Trinity Valley Community College.

No schedule has been announced as yet, but the Rebels are expected to get their season underway in November, barring any further setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SEC has announced that it will implement a conference-only football schedule, and it is anticipated that women’s basketball could follow the same pattern although McPhee-McCuin earlier said they are preparing for a full schedule.

As for the pay cuts, Ole Miss is just the third SEC school to announce a reduction in pay to the athletics department during the COVID-19 pandemic, joining the University of South Carolina and the University of Missouri. Early on in the pandemic, Ole Miss refunded $900,000 in donations and ticket sales for spring sporting events.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc in the United States, creating uncertainty among a number of collegiate and professional sporting events and seasons. The US is the most impacted nation in the world with five million total cases and over 160,000 deaths. There are over 18.6 million cases worldwide with over 700,000 deaths.

Friday, July 31, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#HEAD coaches Rolando “Lonnie” Greene and Norbert Elliott indicated how pleased they are that their Bahamian athletes have made it to the United States and can now get ready for the upcoming track and field season at the University of Kentucky and Purdue University.

#Greene, the head coach of the track team that includes ‘Golden Girl’ Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie as an assistant, will have the return services of quarter-miler Megan Moss for her sophomore year and will welcome freshman sprinter Jaida Knowles.

#Elliott, who moved up from being assistant to the head coach at Purdue after the departure of Greene, will see sprinter Samson Colebrooke return for his senior year that got washed away due to the coronavirus, while triple jumper Tamar Greene will be in his junior year and sprinter VinAjah Adderley will be making her freshman appearance.

#There were some concerns with the border being closed, reopened and then closed again to international travel in the Bahamas because of the spike in the coronavirus, whether or not any of the student-athletes would have been affected.

#Greene, who took over the Wildcats’ programme at Kentucky in 2018, said one of the first things they tried to do was to ensure that the Bahamian or foreign athletes coming into the United States were taken care off and will be able to make it to Lexington, Kentucky.

#“Fortunately, Jaida holds dual citizenship as an American and a Bahamian, so it didn’t affect her at all. The only thing she had to do was to get out of Nassau before they locked the country down,” he said.

#“She was already cleared by the NCAA because she was an excellent student, so she had already met all of the requirements. So the only thing was to get her out of the country. She did that a week before the lockdown and is staying with a relative in Atlanta.”

#As for Moss, Greene said she had her student visa so she was set. “Her parents were very aggressive and they got her back to school before the lockdown as well. So she’s already here at school. She’s living off campus, but she’s alright.”

#Greene said they wanted to make sure that they were not putting any of their student-athletes in harm’s way by not doing everything the right way and it worked in their favour.

#Students at the University of Kentucky will report to school for the new term on August 17. The dorms open on August 9, but there is a requirement for those staying on campus to be quarantined before they begin classes.

#With the sporting programmes in the United States, which have been affected by the shutdown since March when the coronavirus had an outburst in cases, there’s still no word on what will happen when schools reopen. The good thing is the track and field programme won’t begin until December with indoors so, by then, there should be some indication as to what will take place.

#Prior to the halting of the sporting activities, Kentucky had qualified 14 athletes, including Moss, for the NCAA Indoor Championships. That meet, along with the entire outdoor season, was called off.

#At Purdue, Elliott said Colebrooke remained in West Lafayette, Indiana where he attended summer classes before school was closed and he went to spend time with his relatives in Atlanta.

#“He wanted to go home, but he didn’t,” Elliott said. “That was a smart decision on his path not to go because he may have had problems getting out because of the lockdown, if he had to be quarantined when he got there.”

#Both Greene and Adderley were in Nassau, but Elliott said they hastily got out before the lockdown. They were then put into a two-week quarantine to get ready for their classes.

#“We have one of our recruits from Trinidad & Tobago, who can’t get in until January because she didn’t have her student visa,” Elliott stated. “But none of the Bahamian student-athletes are affected.

#“Right now, the Athletic Department at Purdue is focusing on the fall sports like volleyball, football and cross country. They are trying to find out how they can reschedule them because our Big Ten Conference has eliminated them.”

#Elliott said at Purdue, they are just watching to see how things will unfold with Covid-19 before they can start to prepare for the Boilermakers’ indoor track and field season that normally start in December.

#With the team they have on paper, Elliott said he’s looking forward to Colebrooke and Greene to compete very well next year and eventually making the Bahamas’ team for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

#The games would have been taking place at this time, but was rescheduled for next year due to the spread of the coronavirus. Moss had been billed by Greene as a contender to make the women’s team for the Bahamas.

#Only time will tell what will happen once schools open up and NCAA make a ruling on how they will proceed with their sporting programmes

Deandre Ayton.

August 4, 2020

Simba French

086 Views

Bahamian professional basketball player DeAndre Ayton and the Phoenix Suns got off to a strong restart in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as they picked up two key wins at the NBA Campus at the Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, over the weekend.

The Suns dropped the Dallas Mavericks, 117-115, in a game that went right down to the wire on Sunday. On Friday night in their opener, they defeated the Washington Wizards, 125-112.

With a 28-39 win/loss record, they are four games behind the eighth place Memphis Grizzlies (32-35) in the Western Conference of the NBA.

Ayton had a tough match-up Sunday night, defending the Mavericks’ Kristaps Porzingis. The Bahamian only managed to finish with seven points and eight rebounds after playing in foul trouble for most of the game. He logged just over 21 minutes in the game.

Ayton was going for an alley-oop dunk with 3:44 remaining in the game when he was pushed by Dorian Finney-Smith on the attempt. Finney-Smith was called for a Flagrant 1 foul. Ayton scored his seventh point of the night when he split a pair of free throws to put his team up 112-109.

From there, the Suns held on to the lead as they thwarted a comeback attempt by Porzingis and the Mavericks.

The 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick in the NBA committed his third foul of the game with 8:13 remaining in the second quarter. That forced Head Coach Monty Williams to sit him for the remainder of the first half. Ayton checked out of the game at that point with just four points and six rebounds.

Ayton scored his sixth point of the game, on a turnaround hook shot, with 11:18 remaining in the third quarter. The Mavericks led 73-62 at that point. With six points and seven rebounds, Ayton committed his fifth foul of the game with 8:25 remaining in the third quarter.

The Suns’ reserves along with guard Ricky Rubio staged a comeback for them. Rubio’s putback shot with 5:33 remaining in the third quarter gave the Suns an 81-80 lead. They went into the fourth quarter with a 96-92 lead.

Ayton finished with the least touches of the starting five with just 32 touches. He also went 3-for-8 from the field and hit just two free shots.

The Suns’ 12 three-pointers in the game made a difference as the Mavericks made just six on 19.4 percent shooting from long range.

Leading the way for the Suns in scoring was Devin Booker with 30 points. Luka Dončić led the way with a game-high 40 points for the Mavericks.

After only scoring just six points and pulling down a whopping 10 rebounds in the first half on Friday afternoon against the Wizards, the big man went off in the second half. He scored seven points in the third quarter and poured in 11 more points in the fourth quarter to finish with 24 points in the opening victory for the Suns. Ayton added 12 rebounds to open the restart with a double-double. He also had two blocks.

Ayton’s 24 points included him going 2-for-3 from three-point land – one of which was the final points of the game. He was on a mission in that game, making 11 of his 18 shot attempts from the field to finish with a 78.6 percent clip in the game. He had a team-high 72 touches in that game.

After they took a lead midway through the second quarter, the Suns never trailed the rest of the way. They had a 15-point cushion at one point. They shot a blistering 52.5 percent from the field and the Wizards shot 46.2 percent. The Suns also showed good ball movement with 29 assists.

There are six games remaining on the Suns’ schedule in the regular season. They will be back on the court today when they face a tough Los Angeles Clippers team at 4 p.m. on NBATV.

Steven Gardiner. FILE

August 4, 2020

Sheldon Longley

0119 Views

Running into a headwind on Saturday, Steven Gardiner recorded another comfortable victory, taking the men’s 200 meters (m) at the American Track League Meet #4 on the campus of Life University in Marietta, Georgia.

The 24-year-old Bahamian World Champion picked up yet another victory this shortened season, crossing the finish line in 20.19 seconds on Saturday. He was almost a full second faster than second-place finisher Chris Belcher of the United States. Belcher was second in 21.12 seconds, and Aurel Tchunbi rounded out the top three in 21.57 seconds. Another Bahamian, Cameron Parker, was fourth overall, in 21.79 seconds. Parker also ran in the men’s 100m and was seventh overall in 10.83 seconds. That event was won by American Kendall Williams in 10.29 seconds.

After running a couple of 300m races, setting a new Bahamian national record, and a couple more 200m races, Gardiner said he is bringing this COVID-19 shortened season to a close. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted sports globally this year, and Gardiner is not taking any chances, opting out of the Diamond League season in Europe and Asia.

“I feel comfortable with where I am at,” said Gardiner on Monday. “I felt good about the season. I had some strong performances and I’m grateful to God for that. This was a short season, but the important thing was to come out of it without any injuries and I was able to do that. I’m thankful for that.”

The world champion didn’t compete in any races over 400m this year, but based on the runs he had in the shorter events, he said feels comfortable going into an Olympic year. He has proven to be world-class over 200m as well, and said he is leaving the door open as to what event he will compete in. The postponed Olympics is set for July 23 to August 8, 2021, still in Tokyo, Japan.

Unlike the women’s sprints, there is no major conflict over 200 and 400m for men based on the original Olympic schedule. Gardiner could comfortably compete in both events in Tokyo – an option that is much more difficult for his compatriot Shaunae Miller-Uibo to consider based on how the women’s sprints are scheduled.

According to the original Olympic schedule, the men’s 200m and 400m don’t cross each other on any day of the track segment of the games. As for the women, the first round of the 400m and the final of the 200m are on the same day.

“I can’t say for now what will happen, but I just want to be in shape just in case the possibility of the double does come up,” said Gardiner. “I feel like I’m in good shape. There were some good guys in the race with me this past weekend and I managed to go out there and run well and finish the season healthy and strong. Thanks to everyone who supported me. Even though we are going through a health crisis, I could still feel the support and I thank everyone for that. I just want everyone to stay safe and secured during this time – always wear your mask and practice social distancing. Sanitize at all times and avoid large gatherings.”

Gardiner wasn’t sub-20 again, like he was a week ago in Clermont, Florida, but this time he ran into a slight headwind on the straight.

The Bahamian national record holder in the 200m, 300m and 400m said he is looking forward to another healthy season in 2021, looking to break new barriers. The 2021 season will culminate with the postponed Summer Olympics which will be held in an odd year for the first time.

World Champion Gardiner is yet to make an individual final at the Olympics but is one of the favorites in the men’s 400m, along with world record holder Wayde Van Niekerk of South Africa, who is making a return after a three-year absence due to injury, and American phenom Michael Norman.

Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield.

August 4, 2020

Simba French

092 Views

It wasn’t the restart that Bahamian professional basketball player Chavano ‘Buddy’ Hield and the Sacramento Kings envisioned when they stepped on the court, as they lost their first two games at the NBA Campus at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, over the weekend. The 2019-2020 National Basketball Association (NBA) season was restarted last Thursday, and Hield and the Kings played Friday and Sunday.

In their latest game, on Sunday, the Orlando Magic was too much for the Kings, as they fell 132-116. In their opening game on Friday, they fell to the San Antonio Spurs, 129-120.

With those two losses, the Kings are now tied for 11th with the New Orleans Pelicans in the Western Conference of the NBA. They have a 28-38 win/loss record on the season and sit a half of a game above the Phoenix Suns. They are three and a half games behind eighth seeded Memphis Grizzlies (32-35).

Against the Magic, Hield finished with 12 points, five assists and two rebounds as a reserve. He played just over 20 minutes in this match-up. Unfortunately, he finished with three turnovers.

The shooting guard checked into the game with 6:44 remaining in the first quarter with the Kings down 21-12. His first shot attempt was a three-pointer that missed. He missed his next three shots before finally hitting a three-pointer at the 1:44 mark of the opening quarter.

The Magic shot 68.2 percent from the field, building a 44-26 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Kings shot 43.5 percent from the field in that quarter.

Hield played just over eight minutes in the second half and shot 3-for-5 from the field. The Grand Bahamian finished the game shooting 5-for-13 including 2-for-7 from three-point territory.

Henry Giles III led the way for the Kings with 23 points and the Magic’s Terrence Ross finished with a game-high 25 points.

Hield shot better on Sunday than he did in his opening game against the Spurs. On Friday, he was held to just 2-for-13 from the field and finished with six points. Additionally, he went 1-for-8 from three-point land. That was his lowest point total since a three-point game on October 26, 2019, against the Utah Jazz.

The guard was only able to get off two shot attempts in the first quarter against the Spurs. His first points came in the second quarter when he hit a 26-foot three-point jumper with 11:44 remaining in that quarter to cut the Spurs lead to 43-33.

The fourth-year player second and final field goal of the night came in the fourth quarter when he made a lay-up to bring his team to within four points, 100-96, with 10:17 remaining in the game. That was his only made shot in seven attempts in that quarter as his woeful shooting night continued in the fourth quarter. He also came up empty in that quarter from the charity stripe as he went 0-for-3.

Hield had four rebounds, one assist and a steal to go with his six points.

Having a slump at this point in the season when the Kings are trying to make a playoff run is not the best case scenario for the Kings right now. The sharp shooter will get a chance to break out of the slump today when they play the Dallas Mavericks at 2:30 p.m.

Jump Line – The Kings hope to rebound when they play the Mavericks today

Bahamian professional athlete Shaunae Miller-Uibo is featured in a 128-second short video from Adidas detailing a newfound focus for athletes after the postponement of the Olympic Games

.August 4, 2020

The Nassau Guardian

0102 Views

Bahamian Olympic Champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo continues to reach new heights, now as a part of Adidas’ latest athletic commercial, detailing a newfound focus after the postponement of the Olympic Games, and looking ahead to 2021.

In a two-minute advertisement that featured a cross section of athletes from different sports, and different ethnic groups, multi-national corporation giant Adidas focused on the toil and dedication of athletes during this time of COVID-19, and showed a shift in focus toward 2021. The Olympics, which were originally scheduled for this summer, was postponed to July 23 to August 8, 2021, and the commercial is entitled, ‘What’s One More – READY FOR SPORT’, referencing the one-year postponement of the games.

Miller-Uibo made an appearance with her husband Maicel Uibo, of Estonia. The couple live and train out of Clermont, Florida.

In the short video regarding the postponement, she could be heard talking about a slight disappointment at first and then staying focused on the goal at hand despite the presence of the coronavirus pandemic.

“You have to talk yourself into it,” she said. “When I first got the news, it was a lil devastating to hear. It’s that moment when you get to show the world exactly what type of talent you have. There was never a moment when I told myself ‘let’s quit’.”

Donning a variety of hair styles and colors, Miller-Uibo and husband Maicel are shown running together on the track, working out inside a gym, and even exercising at home. Miller-Uibo is the Olympic Champion in the women’s 400 meters (m), but the highlight of their athletic career together as a couple was probably at the Doha World Championships last year when they each won silver in their respective events on the same night.

In the 128-second video clip, husband Maicel could be heard talking about a renewed focus toward next year.

“One more is just what we do. Competing is like the fun part and that is what we’re missing right now. We’ve had to adjust and adapt and make sure that we stay ready,” he said.

Also making an appearance on the short video are Japanese professional climber Miho Nonaka, American Paralympic swimmer McKenzie Coan, Greek professional tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas, American multi Olympic and World Champion in swimming Katie Ledecky, British teenager Caroline Dubois who competes in boxing, and Japanese Paralympic athlete in taekwondo Shoko Ota.

Miller-Uibo said: “I’ve been dreaming of Tokyo for as long as I can remember. Coming into 2020, it was all I could think of, and I was ready to give it my all. I was running on the adrenaline you get before a big meet. There is no doubt, the pause has been a challenge. Even if we can’t be together, knowing that the world is working through this together gives me so much comfort. I want athletes around the world to know that if you’re part of sport, you’re never alone. We can achieve beautiful things when we’re together.”

Lately, she made headlines for stating that she will likely forego the women’s 400m at the Olympics in favor of the 200m, due to a complex schedule in which the two events intersect each other during the middle of the track segment of the games. Be that as it may, she said she will be ready to compete and assured track enthusiasts everywhere that she will turn in her best effort.

Miller-Uibo said it has been a challenge, continuing to train and maintaining fitness during this time of COVID-19, but it is one that she embraced and met head on.   

“While my discipline is individual, I have never felt alone in this because of the community of sport, and it is this sense of togetherness that we need to focus on at the moment,” she said.

Miller-Uibo has represented the Adidas brand ever since she became a professional athlete in 2013.

German company Adidas, which produces and sells sports shoes, clothes, apparel and accessories, is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world, after Nike.

Jump Line – Miller-Uibo has represented the Adidas brand ever since she turned pro in 2013

The name Sterling Cooke is probably not one that is familiar to the vast majority of the new generations of tennis players.

Only the older members of the national sporting fraternity would have some vivid memory of his participating role.

He was, though, one of the all-time Bahamian tennis greats. There was a time, during the early/mid 1980s when he was almost unbeatable. Cooke was the local tennis rage before Roger Smith and Mark Knowles.

He was national champion multiple times and his third consecutive title came against an up-and-coming Mark Knowles.  The two engaged in a thrilling first set tie-breaker, won 7-6 (7-4) by Cooke, who went on to clinch the match 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

The contest marked a pivotal point in Bahamian tennis. Cooke was to soon leave the game to concentrate on law studies, and Knowles was on the rise, headed towards an elite circle of world doubles players.

 But on that day back in June, 1986, Cooke demonstrated superb court skills and gave a clear indication of a lasting career, at a high level. But, he opted to move away from the game. It was a huge loss for tennis and Bahamian sports generally.

He will forever be considered by some as the player who never really stayed around long enough to maximize his potential, but his contributions while he reigned supreme over local tennis, enhanced the national sports brand.

Cooke was one of the true gentlemen of sports. He went about his on-court business sort of nonchalant at times, and, did have matches, it was expected, he would have closed out earlier.  

His success rate though, compared favorably with the best of the best in Bahamian tennis, through the years.

During his years at the top, he was as dominant as George Carey in a much earlier era; as consistent as the one who spawned three decades of greatness, Leo Rolle; as tough as the mercurial Ed Archer who preceded Rolle; tenacious like John Antonas who overlapped Rolle’s glittering career; stylish as Smith who represented the Bahamas superbly and later became a noted trainer/mentor in the world of tennis; and fundamental as Knowles, the grand slam doubles winner.

Yes indeed, Sterling Cooke is cemented among the great tennis players in Bahamian history. Despite his star status three decades ago, he was humble and not a big fanfare item, other that when he was making shots down the line or nifty returns.

At the very least, now, having taken a trip down memory lane with me to focus on Cooke, many will recall his exploits, and still many more will now become knowledgeable of yet another Bahamian sporting icon, in the forgotten category.

• To respond to this column, kindly contact Fred Sturrup at sturrup1504@gmail.com or on WhatsApp at 727-6363 

Monday, December 10, 2018

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#ROLANDO ‘Lonnie’ Greene, in his first year as head coach of the University of Kentucky Wildcats’ track and field team, liked what he saw from freshman sprinter Devine Parker in her collegiate debut at the Hoosier open indoor meet in Lexington, Kentucky, on Friday.

#The St Anne’s High School graduate posted one of the nine victories and was also third in the 60 metres as she helped to mark the official welcome meet for Greene from Purdue University and his new coaching staff that includes fellow Bahamian “Golden Girl” Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie.

#At the same time, it was a reunion of sorts as Greene and Ferguson-McKenzie re-connected with Norbert Elliott, now the new head coach at Purdue University. Elliott, likewise, got some sterling performances from sprinter Samson Colebrooke and jumper Tamar Greene.

#But if that wasn’t enough for the Bahamian connection, high jumper Etienne Jyles soared to victory for Indiana University.

#Parker was impressive

#After placing second in her heat of the 60 metres in 7.53 seconds to advance to the final with the third fastest time, the clock malfunctioned in the final and her time was not recorded for her third place. Greene said if the clock was working properly, he felt Parker would have punched her ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships, scheduled for March 8-9 in Birmingham, Alabama.

#But Parker came back in the 200m and easily won in 24.20 in her introduction to the 200m one-lap bank track.

#“She had a very good performance. I thought her 60m was a very good race in the final as the race timed in 7.1. In my mind, it looked like that as she was a very close third,” Greene said.

#The 200m, she won, but I thought she was a little bit conservative being her first time running on a bank track. But for the most part, she did a very good job. For her inaugural freshman campaign, I was very pleased with it. There’s a whole lot more to come from her.”

#With her next meet scheduled for January 11 in a home meet in Kentucky, Greene said he has his money on Parker qualifying for NCAAs in the 60m, but the 200m is a long shot.

#Colebrooke has

#surprising performances

#Queen’s College graduate Samson Colebrooke, making his junior debut for Purdue University after he completed his two-year tenure at Barton Community College, won his heat of the men’s 60m in 6.72 for the fastest qualifying time in the final. However, he had to settle for second in the final with identical times of 6.68 with Indiana University’s Rikko Brathwaite.

#The 21-year-old Colebrooke, taking advantage of an increase in his size, came back and pulled off the victory in the men’s 300m in 33.87.

#“What we did with him was to increase his size in the weight room and so that was a surprised opener,” Elliott reflected. “He’s been working out really well. We knew that he would run fast, but he surpassed our expectations. He trains with our Big Ten champion Was Williams, a CARIFTA champion from Jamaica. So he’s literally training to run well, but I didn’t think he would run that fast.”

#Greene double

#dips in top five

#In his double duties on the field for Purdue University, Greene soared to a fifth place finish in the men’s long jump with a leap of 6.84 metres or 22-feet, 5 1/4-inches. His team-mate Jah Strange won with a distance of 7.15m (23-5 1/2).

#Greene bounced back in the triple jump, clearing 15.76m (51-8 1/2) for third place. The winner was Indiana University’s Eric Bethea with a best of 15.82m (51-11).

#“This is Tamar’s completion of year one because he came to us last spring and we didn’t have a whole lot of time to train and prepare him,” Elliott said. “He sort of jumped right into it without a whole lot of preparation because he had some visa issues and he was working on those things to get over here.

#“So this is really the end of year one, but he’s had the fall to train and now Tamar is showing the kind of fitness that we know he could have shown, had he had time to train when he first came to us. So we look at Tamar to have a really great year.”

#Elliott projected that both Samson and Greene are potential Big Ten Conference champions. “Both of them are capable of qualifying for the National Championships and anybody who qualifies for the National Championships is an elite athlete,” said Elliott, a former elite athlete himself in the men’s triple jump at the University of Texas-El Paso.

#“Both of those two guys were among the Bahamas’ top junior athletes, so they are definitely two athletes we look forward to seeing compete in the future. Our goal is to just make sure they stay healthy.”

#Etienne wins

#In the men’s high jump, Etienne took the title with a leap of 2.15m (7-0 1/2). He passed his first three attempts at 1.92m (6-3 1/2), 1.97m (6-5 1/2) and 2.01m (6-7) on his first attempt and cleared his opening height at 2.05m (6-8 3/4) on his first attempt. He passed again at 2.09m (6-10 1/4) and 2.12m (6-11 1/2) before he returned to action to clear 2.15m (7-0 1/2) on his second attempt.

#With only two misses left, he couldn’t clear 2.22m (7-3 1/4), but it was good enough for the 2016 New York State champion for Stony Brook School to hold onto the win. His nearest rival was Rahman Minor of Kentucky with his best of 2.09m (6-10 1/4).

#Happy Reunion

#The meet turned out to be a true Bahamian connection with coaches Greene and Elliott, who a year ago were the head and assistant coaches at Purdue, while Ferguson-McKenzie was an assistant at the University of Houston. Now Greene is the head coach at Kentucky with Ferguson-McKenzie as his assistant and Elliott moved up to take over as the head coach at Purdue.

#“It was a really special moment to be back with them,” said Elliott, who was also a coach of Ferguson-McKenzie when she competed at the University of Georgia. “It came down to the 4 x 400m relay and for a minute there, I thought we would have won. But we finished second behind Kentucky. That would have been some serious bragging rights that I would have had on Lonnie. But his kids came out on top.”

#For Greene, the feeling was more reminiscent of his time at Purdue. “It was great. It was great. We normally win that meet in December and to be in that facility in another school, it was weird,” Greene pointed out.

#“Every time they would mention someone from Purdue, I would say ‘oh that’s my kid.’ But I had to catch myself. Norbert is doing a great job as the athletic director in track and field. It was good to see my friend at the end of the day and compete competitively against him.

#“In my humble opinion, it was good. Everybody at the meet was asking about the colours I was wearing. They were so used to me being in black and gold and now I’m in blue and white. They say those colours don’t even look normal on me. But it was a good meet and it was good to go up against one hell of a coach in Norbert Elliott.”

#The two schools will be at the Razorback Invitational January 25-26 in Fayetteville, Arkansas and again at the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, South Carolina February 8-9.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter​

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net​

#A week before the United States of America shut down the country because of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Bahamian coach Fritz Spence had his second successful bone marrow transplant surgery to help him overcome his battle with leukemia (AML).​

#The former triple jumper who was originally coached by Fritz Grant in South Andros before he came to Nassau where he was then coached by Minister of Works Desmond Bannister, Mark Hall and Sterling Moss, was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, Spence had a relapse in 2013 and again last year. ​

#Spence, now in his 14th year as an assistant coach at Penn State, said he’s coping day by day with the support from his family and the administration and staff at school.​

#“My wife has been my rock. She has gotten me through the tough times, so I rely on her for a lot of things,” said Spence, who is married to Teri and the proud father of four children and a granddaughter. ​

#“I try to work my way back each time. So I’m on the upside. Penn State has been there with you throughout the lapses and I am grateful to be a part of a programme that takes care of its people.”​

#The latest surgery was done on March 11 at the Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a week before President Donald Trump shut down the American economy to deal with the coronavirus. Had he not done it then through an unrelated donor, Spence said he would have been on a waiting list as he dealt with the current lockdown.​

#“I’m feeling pretty good. I’m on the upside,” Spence said. “I am ready to get back to work. I’m working from home, still recruiting and doing stuff. I’m feeling good.​

#“Some days are better than others, but I just have to continue to push through. I’ve been through it before, two times already. So I know what it takes to get back to where I need to be. It’s a good and a bad thing, but it’s good that I have that experience to fall back on.”​

#Spence, now 47, was first diagnosed at 35, but that has not kept him from fulfilling his long-time dream of being a coach and giving back to his country and the community.​

#“Having an opportunity to coach at Penn State is just my second school. I’ve only been coaching at two schools, so I’m very fortunate, not to have been all over the place,” he said.​

#“I started at Missouri State and now I’m at Penn State. But having the opportunity that I have here at Penn State, it’s unbelievable and I’m thankful to my mentors like Mark Hall, Desmond Bannister and Fritz Grant. They are responsible for where I am today.”​

#One day, Spence said he would like to come back home and make a contribution to the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations, who gave him a head start as a triple jumper on the CARIFTA Games’ team back in the late 1980s before he headed off. ​

#“I will continue to work and to improve myself and let everything take care of itself,” Spence said. ​

#At present, Spence said he’s abiding to the lockdown measures, considering the fact that they are so close to the hot spot in New York where the majority of the coronavirus cases in the United States have occurred.​

#“I’m working remotely at home with our student-athletes on a daily and weekly basis,” he said. “I’m still dealing with them. We’re finally done with school because we are on the summer break. But I’m still recruiting, so we’re still functioning as if we are preparing for the fall semester in August.”​

#Spence, however, said Penn State unfortunately doesn’t have any student-athletes on their roster, following the departure of Eleuthera native and St Augustine’s College sprinter Keianna Albury, who graduated last year.​

#Albury followed on the footsteps of another SAC graduate, triple jumper Danielle Gibson, who left Penn State a few years ahead of her. Penn State is also the alma mater of quarter-miler Mike Sands, the new president of the North American, Central American and Caribbean region of World Athletics, the global governing body for track and field.​

#“I would say to Bahamian student-athletes, give Penn State a choice to consider,” Spence said. “You can go online and take a virtual tour and check out our top-notch facilities indoors and outdoors.​

#“We have a great educational system. We’re known for producing great student-athletes because we push our students and our athletes. So we just don’t focus on student-athletes coming in and just being successful on the track. We also want to be successful in the classroom.”​

#At the end of the day, Spence said that is what will sustain the student-athletes when they depart and will have to support their own families one day.​

#As one of the Bahamians in the coaching fraternity in track and field in the United States, Spence said he’s very fortunate to be able to do something that he enjoys doing.​

#During his tenure, he has been named five times as the USTFCCCA Assistant Coach of the Year. He has also produced 30 All-Americans, including 21 individual conference champions.​

#At Penn State, Spence has also had the opportunity to rub shoulders with Bahamian coaches Rolando ‘Lonnie’ Greene and Norbert Elliott. As arch-rivals in the Big Ten Conference, Greene served previously as the head coach for the Purdue Boilermakers while Elliott was an assistant coach. ​

#Greene has since left Purdue to take up the head coaching job with the University of Kentucky where Bahamian “Golden Girl” Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie is now his assistant. In his departure, Elliott has been promoted to take over the head coaching chores at Purdue.​

#For now, Spence said he’s quite content making his contribution at Penn State, coaching the Nittany Lion wom­en’s jumpers and multi-event athletes. He has had outstanding results in his time with the Nittany Lions, overseeing 22 All-America efforts, nine top-5 NCAA finishers, six Big Ten champions, also contributed to two top-four finishes at the NCAA Championships (2008 and 10) a Big Ten triple crown (2009 and10), USTFCCCA Scholar Team of the Year (2010) and nine Big Ten titles.

#Prior to coming to Penn State, Spence coached 14 conference champions, 10 NCAA qualifiers, and eight All-Americans at Missouri State University. He was a part of a coaching staff that won four Missouri Valley Conference Team Championships in both the indoor (2003 and 04) and outdoor (2002 and03) seasons.

#In December of 2015, Spence graduated from Missouri State University with a Mas­ter of Science in Administrative Studies (MSAS)/Applied Communication. He is also certified in CPR, First Aid and as a Fitness Trainer through the International Sports Sciences Association.

#Spence and his wife, Teri, reside in State College. They have three daughters, Ashlie, Keiva and Ale’ka one son, Ashton and a granddaughter, Aria.

Coach Norbert Elliot embraces a student athlete at Purdue University, where he will head the Boilermakers’ track and field programme.

Friday, July 6, 2018r

#By BRENT STUBBS

#Senior Sports Reporter

#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

#TWO days after they lost Bahamian head coach Rolando ‘Lonnie’ Greene to the University of Kentucky, Purdue University stayed at home in selecting his replacement as Bahamian assistant Norbert Elliott moved up the ladder to continue to develop the Boilermakers’ track and field programme.

#Purdue vice president and athletics director Mike Bobinski announced yesterday that Elliott will become the second consecutive Bahamian head coach after it was announced on Tuesday that Greene had moved to Kentucky for his head coaching job.

#“Based on the dramatic improvement and recent success of our programme, it made great sense to look first within our own staff for our next head coach,” Bobinski said. “In Norbert Elliott, we have a proven and talented coach who has been instrumental in the recruitment and development of many of our most successful student-athletes.

#“Norbert is a quality person with tremendous character, and he brings experience as a former head coach, a top-level assistant at nationally successful programmes, and as an Olympic and World Championships coach. I am excited for him to lead our programme.”

#Elliott, married to assistant track and field coach and former Boilermaker standout Angela (Goodman) Elliott, has been at Purdue for six years, most recently serving as associate head coach since July of 2015, working with the sprinters, hurdlers, horizontal jumpers and relay teams.

#“I am truly honoured to be named the head track and field/cross country coach at Purdue University,” Elliott said. “I would like to thank Mike Bobinski and Calvin Williams for having the confidence in me to lead one of the best track and field programmes in the country. We will continue to build on all our successes. I am excited and can’t wait to hit the ground running in this new adventure.”

#Elliott, a former Bahamian national triple and long jumper who hailed from St Augustine’s College, helped the Boilermakers’ women finished eighth at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships and were 2017 Big Ten outdoor champions. They placed 14th at the last two NCAA Indoor Championships. At the same time, the men finished 13th and 15th at the 2016 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, respectively.

#Williams, Purdue’s assistant athletics director, said it was good to recognise Elliott for his accomplishments.

#“Coach Elliott has a history of developing talent and is a proven leader,” said Williams, who oversees the track and field programme. “I have every confidence he will continue the momentum he has helped establish at Purdue over the last six years.”

#During Elliott’s tenure, the women’s sprinters and hurdlers have experienced tremendous success, headlined by eight-time All-American, including Bahamians Devynne Charlton, another SAC graduate who recently signed a pro contract to run for Puma, and sprinter Carmiesha Cox, a graduate of Aquinas College, who both earned All-America honours as a member of 4×100-metre relay teams, running some of the top 60-, 100- and 200-metre dashes in programme history.

#On the men’s side, where Bahamian sprinter Keanu Pennerman from St Anne’s High, quarter-miler Kinard Rolle from SAC and Tamar Greene are still on the roster, Elliott’s first men’s sprint superstar with the Boilermakers was Raheem Mostert, who took home four gold medals at the conference meets in 2014 and was named the Big Ten Indoor Athlete of the Championships.

#Mostert topped the field in both the 60 metres and 200 metres indoors and followed up with outdoor 100-metre and 200-metre titles, setting Purdue’s 60-metre record and posting top-five school marks in all four races.

#Throughout his coaching career, Elliott has now coached more than 50 All-Americans and eight individual NCAA champions.

#Elliott came to Purdue from Campbell University, where he was the head track and field and cross country coach in 2011-12. Prior to his stint with the Camels, he was an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee for seven years. He previously served as head coach at Murray State University for two years, assistant coach at the University of Georgia for nine years and assistant coach at the University of Texas-El Paso for three years.

#While with Tennessee, Elliott was the recruiting coordinator for Caribbean student-athletes. He also helped coach his student-athletes to 29 All-America certificates, two NCAA Championships, eight SEC individual championships and five school records. Among his standouts was Aries Merritt, NCAA champion and current world record-holder in the 110-metre hurdles. His excellence with the sprints led Elliott to be honoured as the 2007 Mideast Assistant Sprints Coach of the Year.

#Elliott boasts an impressive international coaching résumé, as well.

#In 2001, Elliott was selected as the head men’s team coach of the Bahamas at the World Championships in Canada. There, he coached the men’s 400-metre world champion, women’s 200-metre world champion and bronze medallist, and men’s 4×400-metre silver medal team.

#At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Elliott coached Debbie Ferguson, a finalist in the 100 metres and 200 metres and a member of the gold-medal winning 4×100-metre relay team. Elliott coached jumps for the World Junior Champions Team for the Bahamas in 2000 and the Bahamian World Championships women’s finalists in the 100m and 200m in 1999. He has also coached numerous World Championships medallists from the Bahamas and Iceland, including a stint as head coach of the Bahamas national team at the Central America and Caribbean Meet in Guatemala in 1995.

#Elliott, 55, was a two-time Olympian, representing the Bahamas in the 1988 and 2992 games in the triple jump. He has also competed on every other level of competition, including the Commonwealth Games, Pan American, Central American and Caribbean Games as well as the CARIFTA Games, winning numerous medals of every colour.