11132018 SPORTS

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SPORTS SECTION E

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Megan Moss joins UK Wildcats track & field By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net dd St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine’s quarter-miler Megan Moss as the latest Bahamian to join the University of Kentucky Wildcats’ track and field programme. She heads to UK where there is a strong Bahamian presence with Rolando ‘Lonnie’ Greene in his first year as the head coach. He has acquired ‘Golden Girl’ Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie from the University of Houston as an assistant coach and St Anne’s graduate Divine Parker begins her freshman year as a sprinter. Tim Hall, who coaches American sprinter Christian Coleman, is also a part of the coaching staff. Moss, the 16-year-old sensation, signed her letter of intent to study at UK once she has completed her senior year and graduates from SAC in June. Despite what has been a turbulent year, Moss recovered from injuries to make three national teams, all while losing two grandparents in the space of 10 days in February and March before her personal coach for the past eight years - Dianne Woodside - took a sabbatical from the sport. Her father Tito Moss, who took over her coaching in forming the new Red Line Track Club out of Club Monica and coach Woodside, said the decision was based on several factors, including the Bahamian connection already established there. “It was a very difficult choice trying to narrow it down,” coach Moss said. “As a family, we talked about it and prayed about it and compared universities. “It was very difficult because Megan had a total of 32 offers and we narrowed it down to the University of Kentucky, Texas Tech and Tennessee. From there, looking at her strength in the 400, we decided to go to the University of Kentucky.” Coach Moss, making the visits to the schools with his daughter, said they envision that UK will have a very dynamic programme next year and it would be the best fit for her to file in line.

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BAHAMIAN PLAYERS IN U SPORTS SPOTLIGHT By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net IT was an active weekend for Bahamian basketball players at Canada’s toptiered U Sports level and in the Canadian College Athletic Association. Azaro Roker has thrived in a more prominent role early in the season for the St FX X-Men. Roker stuffed the stat sheet and finished with a near double double - 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots - in the X-Men’s 93-87 win over Cape Breton. He shot 6-11 from the field and made his first three-pointer of the season. The X-Men used a strong first half to build an insurmountable lead of 59-32 at halftime. The turning point in the game came when the X-Men broke open a close match with a 39-13 run in the second quarter that they were able to hang onto in the second half. Roker has averaged 12.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season as the X-Men got out to a 2-1 start. He opened with 12 points, nine rebounds and a season high five blocks in a loss to the UNB Reds, followed by 11 points and eight rebounds.

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BREAKOUT SEASON FOR STRACHAN, PRODUCTIVE YEAR FOR KNOWLESTENER ON TRACK: Megan Moss has joined the University of Kentucky Wildcats’ track and field programme.

2019. “I’m setting some goals. I’m reassessing this year’s goals and how I came close to accomplishing some of them, so I’m still planning and moving forward,” said Gibson, who improved on the Commonwealth Games bronze he earned in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2014. “It’s a long year ahead of us. We don’t get to compete at the World Championships until October, but I’m actually so hungry to get back on the circuit. In 2018, I think I might have been cheated of some races, so I’m just going after everything that I didn’t get this year and more.” Gibson, 28, was in town over the weekend to participate in the second Shaunae Miller-Uibo Bay Street Mile that was held on Saturday morning. He jogged with some of the youngsters and presented awards afterwards. Returning to his base in Clermont, Florida, on Monday, Gibson said it’s full stream ahead in his

training where he’s working out with a number of Bahamians, including double sprint national record holder Steven Gardiner, Teray Smith and Shavez Hart. “I’m looking forward to training camp, it’s nice,” Gibson reflected. “I think we have enough guys to run a 4 x 4 team for the Bahamas in a meet. So we hope to do more of that next year to see how well we can pull each other along. We did some of that this year. It was a lot of fun and so I hope we can do it some more next year.” Does this mean that the Grand Bahamian native will also be returning to the 400 - the event that he began competing in as a young athlete - and will he be available to assist the Bahamian team at the global level? “If my coach says go for it, I will go for it,” Gibson said. “I’m not hot up for it because I still want to focus on my main event, which is the 400 metre hurdles.

By RENALDO DORSETT Tribune Sports Reporter rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

“But if he says we’re going to go for it at the World Relays this year, that’s what I’m going to work towards. I know I need to get faster in the hurdles and I need to get faster in the open 400m. So be it if it means running on a couple relay teams. I will do it.” The IAAF World Relays has been moved from the Bahamas to Yokohama, Japan, May 11-12. In addition to the 4 x 400m, the Bahamas is also expected to be participating in the mixed gender 4 x 400m relay. The quartet of Gardiner, MillerUibo, Anthonique Strachan and Michael Mathieu clinched the title when the last World Relays was held in the Bahamas in 2017. The Bahamas didn’t make the final of the men’s 4 x 4 and had to settle for a disappointing fifth place finish in the B final with the combo of Andretti Bain, Demetrius

THE NCAA Division II football regular season concluded with a breakout season for Mike Strachan and a productive year in a new programme for Rondre Knowles-Tener. Strachan finished with five receptions for 55 yards and one touchdown in the Charleston Goulden Cougars 28-6 win over Glenville State. It was the sixth consecutive game where Strachan recorded a touchdown catch and the Golden Eagles finished the season at 6-5. After a scoreless first quarter, Charleston struck first with a field goal and Strachan’s six-yard connection with Mason Olszewski for a 10-0 lead. Glenville would score their only touchdown early in the third quarter but the Cougars ended the game with 18 unanswered points. Strachan finished as the only player in the Mountain East Conference to eclipse

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Hurdler Gibson hoping 2019 will be banner year By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net AFTER a rarely quiet year since winning the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia, in April, Bahamas national 400 metre hurdles record holder Jeffery Gibson is hoping to have a banner year in

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