SPORTS SECTION E
SWIMMING RESULTS
TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2018
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Thomas wins high jump in Guadeloupe By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net HIGH jumper Donald Thomas, picking up a victory, led another list of Bahamian elite athletes competing in a number of track and field meets over the weekend. Their performances came as quarter-milers Steven Gardiner and Shaunae Miller-Uibo won the men’s 400m and the women’s 200m respectively at the Shanghai Diamond League in Shanghai, China. As the lone Bahamian competing
at the Bale Mahault Meeting in Guadeloupe, Thomas soared 2.25 metres or 7-feet, 4 1/2-inches for his triumph in his specialty. He retained his title that he held in 2016 with 2.31m (7-7). The men’s high jump was not on the schedule last year. Gaither fourth Tynia Gaither, the lone Bahamian at the Bermuda Invitational Permit Meet at the National Sports Centre in Devonshire, Bermuda, was fourth in the women’s 200m. Her time of 23.86 trailed American
champion Jessica Beard, who won in 23.378. Trinidad & Tobago’s Semoy Hackett got second in 23.50 and American Candyce McGrone was third in 23.64. Smith leads in Clermont Teray Smith had the fastest qualifying time of the Bahamian male sprinters in the preliminaries of the 100m at the Pure Athletics/NTC Sprint Elite Meet in Clermont, Florida. Smith, competing for Empire Athletics, won his heat in 10.40
while Shavez Hart, competing for Puma, was second in his heat in 10.45 and Blake Bartlett Jr, unattached, was fourth in his heat in 10.71. Smith also doubled up in the 200m where he finished second in his heat for fifth overall in 20.46 with former national record holder Michael Mathieu who was fifth in his heat in 20.81 for 10th overall. Cameron Parker, unattached, won his heat in 21.44 for 19th place. In the men’s 400m, Alonzo Russell, competing unattached, was second in his heat in 45.93.
Warriors stop Rockets 119-106 to take Game 1 By KRISTIE RIEKEN AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 37 points and Klay Thompson added 28 to lead Golden State to a 119-106 win in the long-awaited showdown with the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals last night. Starting a playoff series on the road for the first time since 2014, the Warriors trailed by as many as 9 early, but had evened it up by halftime and used a big run at the beginning of the fourth quarter to pull away. Eric Gordon opened the final period with a 3-pointer to get the topseeded Rockets within 4, but Thompson scored the first eight points of a 13-4 run to make it 100-87 with about eight minutes left. Houston used a 9-3 spurt, where James Harden scored five, to cut the lead to 103-96 with less than five minutes to go. But Thompson struck again, hitting a wide open 3 to leave the Warriors ahead by 10 with four minutes left. Harden scored 41 to lead the Rockets, who lost at home for the second time this postseason. Steph Curry added 18 for the Warriors, who are in the conference finals for a franchise-record fourth straight time. It’s Houston’s first trip since 2015 when Golden State won the series in five games.
GOLDEN State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) pulls down a rebound against the Houston Rockets during the second half of Game 1 of their NBA Western Conference Finals last night. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
SWABY COMMITS TO THE SOONERS By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
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he recruitment process for Bahamian football player David Swaby has come to an end after the highly touted junior college transfer announced his decision on the next stop of his athletic career. Swaby committed to the Oklahoma Sooners and will join the incoming 2018 class in Norman, Oklahoma, this fall. The 6’9” 290-pound lineman for the Navarro Junior College Bulldogs had his choice of several elite Division I programmes. “I would like to officially announce that I am shutting down my recruitment. I would not be where I am today without the support and guidance of my mother and siblings who have been by my side showing me unconditional love,” he said. “I would like to give a special thanks to the coaching staff at Navarro College, especially my great offensive line coach Jens Danielsen for encouraging and supporting me every step of the way and always believing in me. This decision was not made lightly, after praying and talking with my family I have chosen to commit to the University of Oklahoma.” Swaby had an official visit with the University of Tennessee Volunteers, but has garnered the attention of many elite programmes across the US including offers from fellow SEC powerhouse Ole Miss, Baylor, Houston, Arkansas State, New Mexico, SMU, North Texas, Texas State and Southern Mississippi. Swaby will enrol for the summer session in preparation for the upcoming season. The Bahamian gridiron connection at Navarro College has also included former offensive lineman Rico Forbes. Coming out of Christian Life Center Academy in Houston, Texas, Forbes signed with Baylor but was not cleared by the NCAA Clearing House and played two seasons at Navarro. As a sophomore, he helped Navarro to an 11-1 record and the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship. He found his way back to NCAA Division I when he enrolled at Washington State in 2011.
Bahamians burn up track in weekend meets across US By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net SPRINTER Brianna Bethel, one half of the twin sisters combo from Grand Bahama, had a spectacular showing at the American Athletic Conference Championships to lead the list of Bahamians in action around the United States over the weekend.
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Competing for the University of Houston where ‘Golden Girl’ Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie is an assistant coach, Bethel was named the most outstanding athlete after posting two personal best and championship records in the process. She was joined on top of the podium by hurdler Devynne Charlton and triple jumper Kaiwan Culmer at the Big Ten Conference Championships. Bethel triple threat With Houston winning the women’s title at the AACC at the University of Cincinnati, Bethel blazed to individual glory in the 100 and 200m and helped the Cougars in the relay. Having qualified in the top spot in the preliminaries of the 100m in 11.31 seconds, Bethel clocked 11.20 to shatter the old AAC and championship records of 11.34 set by Chelsea Francis from SMU and the Gettler Stadium mark was 11.44 by Trisha-Ann Hawrthorne from UConn in 2010. In the 200m, Bethel had the second fastest qualifying time of 23.36 before she added the halflap victory to her tally in 22.74.
Bethel again erased the championship record of 25.85, ran by Anna Novosadova from SMU in 2017, the AAC meet record of 23.00 set by Lilla McMillan of Tulane in 2016 and the stadium mark of 23.40 that was done by Hawthorne in 2010. Bethel, in her sophomore year, ran the second leg of the Cougars’ 4 x 100m relay team that won in 44.46 and she also anchored their 4 x 400m team to victory in 3:36.51 to wrap up her leading performance for Houston. Charlton and Culmer shine at Big Ten In her specialty in the women’s 100m hurdles, Charlton clocked 13.07 for one of her triumphs. She added a victory in the 100m in 11.22m and was seventh in the 200m in 23.61. Penn State’s junior Keianna Albury, however, wasn’t able to advance in the 100m heats where she was 11th in 11.77 as Charlton posted the fastest time of 11.34. Charlton, in her senior year at Purdue where Bahamian Rolando Greene is the head coach and Norbert Elliott an assistant, was seventh overall in the 200m
preliminaries in 23.61. She also had the fastest time of 12.76 as she advanced in the rounds of the 100m hurdles. In his senior year as well at Nebraska, Kaiwan Culmer popped a winning leap of 16.43m (53-11) on his fifth attempt in the men’s triple jump. He opened with 15.11m (49-7), followed with 15.71m (51-6 1/2), 15.96m (52-4 1/2), foul and 15.85m (52-0). Also, Jyles Etienne - a freshman at Indiana - cleared 2.08m (6-9 3/4) for seventh place in the men’s high jump final. Coakley hurdled to sixth at SEC At the South Eastern Conference (SEC) Championships, Auburn’s junior Xavier Coakley had the best showing with a sixth place in the men’s 110m hurdles in a time of 13.90. Coakley, who is a member of Auburn’s team with Bahamian Henry Rolle as an assistant coach, advanced with the sixth fastest time in the preliminaries in 13.86. In the women’s shot put, Texas A&M’s sophomore Serena Brown could only muster an 11-place finish with her best toss of 14.37m
(47-1 3/4) on her first attempt. She fouled the second and did 14.03m (46-0 1/2) on the third. However, she didn’t post a mark in her three attempts in the discus. LaQuan Nairn, a sophomore at Arkansas, had to settle for 17th place in the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.48m (24-6 1/2) on his third attempt. He opened with 7.51m (18-6 1/2) and improved with 7.13m (23-4 3/4) on his second. He also contested the triple jump where he got 14th with 14.55m (47-9) on his first attempt. His second jump was 14.52m (47-7 3/4) and 13.43m (44-0 3/4) on his third. Seymour clinches second place At the Big 12 Conference Championships at the Clyde Hart Stadium in Waco, Texas, national record holder Pedrya Seymour ran an impressive 12.72, but she had to settle for second place in the women’s 100m hurdles to trail her sophomore team-mate Rushelle Burton, who won in 12.65. In the preliminary rounds, Seymour had the fastest qualifying time of 12.82 ahead of Burton’s second best of 12.85.