SPORTS SECTION E
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2018
WORLD RECORD, PAGE 8
Astwood to represent Bahamas in CARIFTA Games TOP TEAMS By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net t Anne’s High School’s Acacia Astwood has been one of the most consistent local field competitors as she prepares to represent the Bahamas in the CARIFTA Games here over the Easter holiday weekend. And if she is successful in making the team, the Blue Chip Athletics Throwers Club thrower said her goal is to improve on the bronze medal she won in the under-20 girls’ discus at the games last year in Willemstad, Curacao. Over the weekend at the 15th Star Performers Track
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Classic at the Thomas A Robinson Track and Field Stadium, hosted by the Star Trackers and held under the patronage of sponsors JR and Karen McDonald, Astwood surpassed the qualifying standard of 41 metres for the second consecutive meet. The 17-year-old 12th grader was one of two throwers who would have done the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ qualifying standards on the field with four attaining it on the track, but it’s not official as there was no wind-reading system in place. Additionally, there was a power failure that forced officials to post the hand times for some of the events.
ACACIA ASTWOOD “I feel pretty good about it because I’m becoming more consistent with it,” Astwood said. “Last week I threw 45 (metres) and this week I threw 45 (metres), so it’s basically
telling me that I have a lot more to achieve. I can only get better with my meets.” Looking at her performances, Astwood said it’s all about improving on her accomplishments last year and her goal is to throw at least 53-55 metres before she heads off to college where she’s had a few offers, but yet to decide on where she would like to go. “With the support from my family, my friends and my coach (Corrington Maycock), I know that I can only get better,” Astwood stated. “So as the season progresses and we get ready for CARIFTA, I know that I will improve my performances. “I want to be on top of the podium this year. Last
year, I got a bronze and this year, I want the gold. We have been correcting some stuff in practice, but every meet we realise that we have things that we need to perfect and that is what we are doing.” Maycock, the head coach of the Blue Chip Athletics Throwers, said Astwood is right on target for a great season. “Coming from one year of throwing, she has done a wonderful job, picking up the technique in throwing the discus,” Maycock said. “We’re also trying to get her to build up her performance in the shot put because she will also need that when she goes to
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Wrestlers ready for Commonwealth Games By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
THE Bahamas Amateur Wrestling Federation has confirmed that Sean Wrinkle and Rashji Mackey will represent the Bahamas at the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia. The games are scheduled for April 4-15 and wrestling will be among the list of disciplines that will represent the Bahamas ‘Down Under’ in Queensland. Wrestling and triathlon are the first two local sporting bodies to name their team. Mackey, who has formerly trained at the US Olympic Training facility in Colorado Springs through Olympic Solidarity, will compete in the 84-kilometre class, while collegian Wrinkle will wrestle in the 74K. “We are excited about our chances as Rashji is a very experienced wrestler, having represented the Bahamas at CAC Games, Pan Am Championships and in Glasgow,” said Clarence Rolle, the president of the federation. “Sean is a former state wrestling champion in the 152-pound category for North Carolina. He accomplished this while he was a senior at Asheville School in 2015. Last year, Sean trained for four months in Denmark. He is now training in North Carolina, where he also attends university.” Rolle, who will also travel as the coach of the team, said they are elated that the federation has been given the opportunity to take the two competitors to the games. “I think what the Bahamas Olympic Committee is doing with the smaller federations is something that is good for our country,” said Rolle, who also serves as a vice president of the BOC. “The BOC is expanding by giving a lot of the other sports the opportunity to develop their
IT was a weekend on the wrong
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By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net THE Government Secondary Schools Sports Association saw several teams advance to the championship round while others forced a third and deciding game. In the Junior Boys’ division, the CH Reeves Raptors completed a twogame sweep over the SC McPherson Sharks, while in the Junior Girls the Sharks suffered another loss and were unable to close out the TA Thompson Scorpions yesterday at the AF Adderley Gymnasium. The Scorpions evened the series and forced a third and deciding game with a 30-21 win over the SC McPherson Sharks. The Scorpions raced out to an early 12-2 lead to take a 20-8 advantage into the half. In the second half the Scorpions never led by less than eight in the second half. The TA Thompson offence recovered from a lacklustre performance in game one where they managed just four of five field goals in a 25-14 loss. The winner will advance to take on the perennial champions HO Nash Lions who defeated the Raptors in a two-game sweep. In Junior Boys’ play, the Raptors pulled away late to close out the series. Marley Major led the Raptors with nine points and Glenroy Howard
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SEAN WRINKLE, one of two Bahamian wrestlers expected to represent the Bahamas at the Commonwealth Games. young athletes. They are getting exposed to the best talent in the world and it will only get them sharper. Whether it’s for wrestling or triathlon, or handball, I think we are going to see an exposure of talent in this country.” Rolle said Mackey brings a wealth of experience to the team and he possesses the best chance of the two competitors to medal at the games. “He’s a mature wrestler and he’s now into the final cycle for the Olympic Games and so we’re hoping that he can actually qualify,” Rolle projected. “He still has a career in wrestling and he’s hoping to get into coaching, so we hope to utilise him in that area in
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RASHJI MACKEY (red shirt) works out with coach Tyson Isaacs.
Bahamian players on wrong side of upsets in NCAA By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
ADVANCE TO FINAL ROUND IN GSSSA BASKETBALL
side of upsets for several high profile Bahamian basketball players in NCAA Division I conference play. Charles Bain had one of his best shooting performances of the season, but it was not enough to prevent his Robert Morris Colonials from suffering a third consecutive loss. Bain scored 15 points on 6-8 shooting and 3-4 from three point range in the Colonials’ 73-67 loss to the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights men’s basketball team, concluding a four-game homestand at PPG Paints Arena Saturday by dropping its third consecutive game, 73-64 to the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on Sunday. He also added four rebounds in 24 minutes. It was Bain’s fourth game in double figures thus far in his
freshman season as he continues to be a contributor off the bench for the Colonials who fell to 12-13 on the season. “We didn’t come out with good urgency offensively in the first half, and that really hurt us,” head coach Colonials head coach Andrew Toole said on the Colonials’ athletic website. “The inability to rebound the ball really was key. There were a number of balls that we didn’t give the right effort on or had in our hand and lost. They scored on almost all of those possessions.” The Colonials began a fourgame homestand with a win over Sacred Heart, but dropped other Northeast Conference standings to Wagner, Mount St Mary’s and most recently to the Knights.
“We really have to do some selfevaluation on where we’re at,” Toole said. “Some of our guys we need to perform better than they are. That doesn’t mean get 10 points or get 10 rebounds. That means just don’t turn the ball over or follow your slides properly.” In Conference USA, Dwight Coleby and the Western Kentuky Hilltoppers were upset by the streaking UT San Antonio Roadrunners for just their second loss in 10 conference matchups this season. Coleby finished with seven points and 10 rebounds in Sunday’s 74-63 loss. The Roadrunners (13-11, 6-5 Conference USA) knocked down 8 of 23 shots from 3-point range
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MINISTRY CONGRATS TO SHAUNAE FOR WORLD RECORD FEAT
THE Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture extends congratulations to Mrs Shaunae Miller-Uibo for her outstanding, recordbreaking, gold-medal performance at the 2018 NYRR Millrose Games. “Shaunae has cemented her status as one the Bahamas’ greatest track and field athletes of all time and is currently ranked at No.1 in the world in the indoor 300m and outdoor 400m,” said Michael Pintard, the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture. “Shaunae won the event of last year and she established a personal best and world-leading time of 35.71. Last evening, her time of 35.45 equalled the current world record, which was established in 1993. It should also be noted that she is “peaking,” very timely with the IAAF World Indoor Championships less than a month away in Birmingham, UK, March 1-4. “The Government and the people of the Bahamas applaud Mrs Miller-Uibo for her unselfishness and dedication to representing The Bahamas in a superlative manner at the Millrose Games,” Pintard said. “It is my esteemed pleasure to convey congratulations on her stellar performance. She continues to make our country proud. “We wish her continued success on the road ahead to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.”