10182016 sports

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SPORTS SECTION E

NAUGHTY

Column, Page 3

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2016

CONCACAF Beach Soccer: Bahamas drawn in Group A By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net TEAM Bahamas learned their path toward a possible regional title yesterday as the draw for February’s Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Beach Soccer Championship was announced. The Bahamas, hosts of the event, scheduled February 20-27 in Nassau, was drawn in Group A along with Jamaica, Belize and Guyana when the groups were revealed at the International Hotel in Doral, Florida. According to the latest Beach Soccer Worldwide rankings, the Bahamas is the top ranked team of the group within the region at No.6 in CONCACAF and No.55 worldwide. Jamaica is ranked No.8 in CONCACAF (65th overall), Be-

lize is No. 16 (92nd overall) while Guyana is presently unranked. Group B, features the defending CONCACAF Beach Soccer champion, Mexico (1 in CONCACAF,10 overall), along with Guatemala (5,50), Canada (9,75) and Guadeloupe (15,91). Group C includes the United States (3,24), Trinidad & Tobago (7,57), Antigua and Barbuda (14,90) and US Virgin Islands 19,59). Finally, Group D comprises El Salvador (2,18), Costa Rica (4,32), Panama (12,84) and the Turks and Caicos Islands (18,94). The draw was broadcast live on the CONCACAF Facebook page as Bahamas Football Association President Anton Sealey and CONCACAF Secretary General Phelippe Moggio addressed the contingent. “Hosting a FIFA World Cup is both an honour and a privilege, but it is also an extraordinary op-

portunity to develop talent and encourage greater participation among our youth. These major events provide a platform to continue building a stronger and more passionate fan base. We are eager to welcome fans and visitors from around the world so that they can experience the hospitality of The Bahamas. “I look forward to seeing thousands of visitors in Nassau in February and then again in April when we welcome the world to the pristine shores of Nassau, Bahamas,” Sealey said. The Bahamas last hosted the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championships in 2013 where they finished sixth following a loss to Guatemala in the tournament finale. “As the Bahamas prepares to be the first CONCACAF country to host the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, we are also delighted to be able to organise our CON-

CACAF Championship in this nation,” Moggio said. “Anton, you and your team are doing a tremendous job preparing for the World Cup. We hope that the recovery process from the recent effects of Hurricane Matthew is going well and we stand by you. Your country has already proven its capacity to host major events as it did so for our championship in 2013. That was a fantastic tournament ad we can’t wait for these two championships to take place.” The Malcom Beach Soccer Facility will host all group, quarterfinal, semi-final, third place and final matches. “It’s an amazing opportunity to not just play in but host this tournament once again. Then to follow that up with hosting and playing in the World Cup, we are excited and The Bahamas will be ready,” said Gavin Christie, captain of the Bahamas national beach soccer team. “I’m very ex-

cited. Bahamas versus Jamaica is always an exciting match up. We have two new teams that we haven’t played before so I look forward to the challenge of this year’s CONCACAF Qualifiers,” added Bahamas beach soccer national team member Lesley St Fleur. The champion and the runnerup of the competition will join host Bahamas as the three CONCACAF representatives in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2017. In case Bahamas (host of the World Cup) and/or Guadeloupe (Non-FIFA Member) reach the final match, the World Cup spot(s) will be allocated to the next best placed team(s). In an effort to further develop beach soccer, each one of the 16 participating member associations are guaranteed to play six games, with all competing for final tournament placement, until the last match date.

Lashann and Longhorns in race for Big 12 title

TRAVIS MUNNINGS JUMPS INTO LEADERSHIP POSITION AS SOPHOMORE

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net ollowing her personal standout freshman season, Lashann Higgs and her Texas Longhorns are expected to be major contenders for the Big 12 Conference title. According to a vote of the league’s head coaches, the Longhorns are predicted to finish second behind Baylor and also finished with a single first place vote. The Longhorns are coming off a 31-5 record and an NCAA Elite Eight appearance in 2015-16. Texas went 15-3 to finish second in the league and tied the school record for most Big 12 victories with 15. The Longhorns have appeared in back-to-back Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship games. Higgs finished with a career high 19 points in the Longhorns’ 86-65 loss to the eventual champion UConn Huskies in the Bridgeport Regional Semi-final in April. She also added four rebounds and two steals. It was the second consecutive season the Huskies ended the year for the Longhorns after they routed them by 50 in the 2015 Sweet 16. Higgs appeared in 34 games and finished the year averaging 7.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game in 13.2 minutes. The Harbour Island native has led the Longhorns in scoring three times this season, including in games against then ranked No. 4 Tennessee and No. 4 Baylor. She led the Longhorns with 48 steals and was its fifth-leading scorer. She was fourth in field goal

By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

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LASHANN HIGGS and the Texas Longhorns are expected to be major contenders for the Big 12 Conference title. percentage at 41 per cent. She came into the season heralded as the preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year and after a slow start, had a breakout 10-rebound, six-point performance against Rice. She followed with her previous career high with the 18-point outburst against Tennessee in what was a renaissance season for the Longhorns programme with their first 31-win season since 1987-88. Out of Cedar Ridge High in Round Rock, Texas, Higgs’ list of

accolades included the USA Today American Family Insurance All-USA First-Team and the Max Preps Girls Basketball All-American Second-Team. They also included a Naismith Trophy top-five finalist, Naismith Trophy All-America First Team, McDonald’s All-American, Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American, USA Today ALL-USA First Team, Austin American-Statesman Central, Texas Player of the Year, Jordan Brand Classic, Texas Association

of Basketball Coaches Class 6A All-State and University Interscholastic League District 13-6A MVP. Higgs competed in the Jordan Brand Classic and also became the first Bahamian to be named a McDonald’s All-American. The Longhorns opened official practice last Monday and are ranked in the top-10 of nearly every major preseason poll. They will open regular season play on November 14 against Stanford in a game televised live on ESPN2.

ONE of only two returning players to start at least one game last season for the University of Louisiana Munroe men’s basketball programme, Travis Munnings has been thrust into a leadership position as a sophomore. Munnings, fresh off his first appearance as a member of the Bahamian national team, will join senior guard Nick Coppola as the only returning players with any semblance of experience for the upcoming 2016-17 season. “Being one of the leaders on the team they watch me, they listen to the things I say. It starts from Nick and me. Once we key on something the rest of the guys will do the same thing. We have to just stay together as a team and keep fighting all season. A lot of people wish they had this opportunity so we have to take advantage,” Munnings said. “I have to get in the gym, get up a lot of shots so I can make big shots in big moments. I’ve been working on my ball-handling skills so I can have more control over everything I do. I just want to be more skilled overall for every situation so I have to work on everything to help to get us to where we need to be.” Munnings made an im-

SEE PAGE 3

Atkins, Barry and Cleare enshrined in the Hall of Fame By RENALDO DORSETT Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net A TRIO of Bahamians were inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame of their alma mater for outstanding collegiate careers on the track and in the field. Derrick Atkins, Trevor Barry and Aaron Cleare were enshrined as members of the Dickinson State University Athletic Department’s 2016 Blue Hawk Athletic Hall of Fame Class. Barry, the only member of the trio still active in competition, recently finished 11th overall in the high jump at the Rio 2016 Olympics. A 2006 graduate, Barry’s list of accolades with the Blue Hawks included setting the school’s high jump and long jump records as a senior. He is a 14-time conference champion and an eight

time national champion in both aforementioned jumps. He was also named the most outstanding indoor athlete in 2006 and was a member of the three-time national champion track team. Barry, 33, is entering his fourth season as an assistant track and field coach at North Dakota State University where he directs students in the high jump, long jump and triple jump. At the national team level, he has been a member of Carifta, CAC, NACAC, World Indoors, World Outdoors, Pan American Games, Commonwealth Games, Olympics, CAC Games, CAC Championships and NACAC teams. His list of major international medals won includes the IAAF World Championships bronze in 2011, CAC Games silver in 2006, Commonwealth Games silver in 2010, CAC Championships gold in 2011 gold and silver in 2008.

Locally, a former student of Aquinas College, he is son of Queenie and Charles Barry and was the youngest of five children. Atkins, 32, is the Bahamian 100m national record holder, and the only Bahamian to run legally under 10 seconds. The highlight of his career came in in 2007 in Osaka, Japan, where he clocked an astonishing 9.91 seconds for the Bahamas’ national record and the silver medal at the IAAF World Championships behind American Tyson Gay and ahead of race favourite, Asafa Powell of Jamaica. At Dickinson State, he excelled in the both indoor and outdoor for all for years. He has indoor and outdoor conference sprint records that are still standing, and he led his team to four Dakota Athletic Conference championships. Atkins is a seven-time national champion, and he won national

titles in the 100 metres in 2003, 2004 and 2005. In addition, he is an eight-time All-American in the sprints and relays. Atkins led Dickinson State to two consecutive national championships in 2004 and 2005 and to a runner-up finish in 2003 Atkins officially announced his retirement last June and currently serves as an assistant coach working with the sprints and relays for the Kennesaw State Owls in Kennesaw, Georgia. He was recently inducted in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Hall of fame for his college career, which includes three team national track and field championships, seven-time individual national champion, 15 National NAIA All-American honours, nine time DAC-10 All Conference honours and Dickinson State University male athlete of the year. Cleare, the former quarter-

miler, was also an NAIA Hall of Fame inductee. As a freshman in 2002 and as a junior in 2004, he was an outdoor track and field national champion in the 400 metres and an AllAmerican in the 4x100m metres and 4x400m relays. In 2005, he was an indoor track and field All-American in the 4x400m relay, and an outdoor track and field national champion in 400 metres and All-American in 4x100m and 4x400m. As a senior in 2006, he retained his outdoor 400m title his 4x400m relay set an NAIA national record. He represented the Bahamas at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games as an alternate for Bahamas in the Olympic Games in 2008. Cleare is currently a behavioural interventionist at Sheridan Jr. High in Sheridan, Wyoming, and he has worked with special needs students for the past two years.


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