SPORTS SECTION E
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2018
Hugh Campbell, PAGE 3
Bahamas Football Association bans Higgs for four years By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Football Association has banned Jared Higgs for four years and sanctioned Ehren Hanna, Torin Ferguson, Lamar Cancino and Christopher Davis following anti-doping testing last year prior to the CONCACAF Qualifiers and the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. According to the BFA’s website, the BFA Appeals Committee agreed to ban Higgs for four years in accordance with the mandatory BFA Pre-Competition Testing, FIFA Anti-Doping Regulations 5 - 3 and 8, and WADA Anti-Doping Code 2015, V1.10.1.1 and 10.2.1.2. The BFA Appeals Committee, decided the following:
SANCTIONS EHREN HANNA, TORIN FERGUSON, LAMAR CANCINO AND CHRISTOPHER DAVIS
JARED HIGGS Higgs, 26, i. is found to have committed an AntiDoping Violation; ii. is banned for 4 years starting from January 22, 2018; iii. cannot take part in any football competitions and iv. cannot enter any facility that the BFA owns, rents or any facility that they host games or tournaments.
All football clubs will be notified and the decision is final. As for Hanna, 26; Ferguson, 32; Cancino, 30 and Davis, 32, they all were found to have committed an anti-doping violation. Each of their samples resulted in a positive test for the prohibited substance Tetrahydrocannabinol (TCH). All four have been ii. suspended for 4 weeks; iii. fined $150 each; iv. cannot take part in any football competitions; v. cannot take part in any activities organized by the BFA; vi. cannot enter any facility that the BFA owns, rents or any facility that they host games or tournaments and vii. must undertake another
test before suspension can be lifted. When contacted, BFA’s secretary general Fred Lunn said it’s unfortunate that the incidents took place, but the information on their website speaks for itself. “Like every country, players were required to do a testing for the qualifier,” he said. “These players either got tested or they failed to show for the testing, which are required by WADA. “So if people fall short of that, we as an association, are obligated to follow the appropriate protocol and that is to report the information. That is all it is. We will stand behind the committee. It is what it is.
“It’s an unfortunate situation, but we are like every other sporting organisations, we don’t want to be in violation of the rules. So the athletes have to adhere to the rules.” Lunn said the posting on the website outlines the specific reasons for the ban and the sanctions and they are obligated to report the findings of the violations. As a member of FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, Lunn said they have to report the findings or they could be subjected to a fine and possibly suspension. “Hopefully it could be awarded in the future,” he said. “We do a lot to inform our players. We warn them and we advise them to
Grant Player of the Year By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net wo years after her brother Trevone Grant emerged as the Ontario University Athletics Male Player of the Year, Lakehead University Thunderwolves’ forward Leashja Grant was named the 2017-18 OUA Women’s Player of the Year and OUA First-Team All-Star. The announcement was made yesterday as Grant was awarded for her stellar performance for the Thunderwolves in just her first year in the OUA, becoming just the second Lakehead player to earn the feat, following in the footsteps of Jylisa Williams, the 2014-2015 recipient. Grant, in just her first year in the OUA and at Lakehead, made a huge impact as she helped to lead the Thunderwolves to a third-place finish in the OUA West with a record of 16-8 after she picked up a double-double in all but one game and averaging 22.3 points and 14.1 rounds per game. Grant not only led the conference but also ranked as the second-leading scorer and top rebounder in the country. She also holds the U SPORTS record for most rebounds in a single season with 338 in 24 games. As the OUA Player of the Year, Grant will automatically be named USports Women’s Basketball AllCanadian and will be honoured during the Nationals that will take place March 8-20 in Toronto. “I feel blessed, but most of all, I am forever grateful for this opportunity,” Grant told The Tribune following the announcement as she received her biggest honour ever. “It means a whole lot to me, especially with all of the visa situation. I was able to get a second chance to continue playing college
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basketball. I have all types of emotions going through me, but I’m just soaking it in. I’m just proud to be a Bahamian representing the country in a different country.” Two years ago, Grant was making her presence felt on the Texas Tech women’s basketball team. But after she experienced some problems with her US visa, she had to stay in the Bahamas until the deal came through for her to go to Canada. “I was really saddened by the situation because Texas Tech is a dream school for any athlete or any Bahamian coming out of the Bahamas because you want to play at that division one level and that type of lifestyle,” she said. “But God don’t make mistakes. I think it’s all in his plans for me to be here, so I’m going to make the best of the situation. I’m just glad that I can still get the opportunity to continue my education and to play basketball at the same time.” Lakehead’s head coach Jon Kreiner said she was pleased with the way in which Grant made the adjustment to the Canadian University basketball and impacted the Thunderwolves’ team. “She brought so much experience with her that transferred right into our FIBA rules and she was a force early, earning MVP of the U of Winnipeg tournament in nonconference play early October,” Kreiner said. “Leashja is obviously a tremendous rebounder but she has developed in so many other areas and has the ability to score in so many ways. She can shoot to 18’, post up inside and take it strong off the bounce. She needed to develop a passing game to make people pay for doubling her and she has done that as well. She still needs to refine that part of her game and we are confident she can lead this team in assists or be close next season.”
LEASHJA GRANT, of the Bahamas, has been named the 2017-18 OUA Women’s Player of the Year and OUA First-Team All-Star. Kreiner said it’s a tremendous feeling to have another OUA POY in their programme. “That’s twice in four years a Lakehead has been named OUA player of the year and Leashja did it in only her first year with the team,” he said.
“She also did it on a team plagued with injuries and with players coming in and out of the line-up all season. We feel she can come back and be even better next
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Rutherford Jr helps Patriots to basketball title win By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net EVEN though he came in as a sophomore, Bahamian Peter Rutherford Jr helped the Providence Academy Patriots to win
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the Heartland Christian Athletic Association’s (HCAA) State Basketball Championship title. Known as JP, the 6-foot, 2-inch Rutherford Jr played a pivotal role for the Patriots in their 49-48 nipping of Lawton. Unfortunately, two Bahamian female players Jonisha Rolle and Faith Curry, both juniors, were not so successful as the Patriots’ lost their championship game to Life Prep. Men’s basketball head coach Austin Bivens said he was quite pleased with the way that Rutherford Jr performed and he was delighted to watch the Bahamian connection at Providence Academy. “In the last couple of weeks, JP has really figured out the schemes that we run and that is how he was able to make the adjustment,” said Bivens of Rutherford Jr as he came off the bench. “He’s very athletic, very fast and that has helped him. “We have been running the floor and he has been able to fit
right into what we were doing. In the game, with about four minutes left, we decided to go to our 1-3-1 defence, which really hasn’t worked that well for us this year, and when we put JP on the top of that, he had such quick reactions that he knocked away a couple of passes and just did an amazing job.” While Rutherford Jr is the first Bahamian male player that Bivens has worked with, he said they had a couple of international players in the past who have gone on to play in major division one college teams and they’re hoping that he will be able to continue the trend. With basketball season over and done with, Bivens said Rutherford Jr has switched his talents to the track where he is now preparing to represent the Patriots in the 100 and 200 metres this season where he is the state champion. “We also will have him playing summer ball for us this year so that he can prepare for his junior
PETER Rutherford Jr celebrates. year where the players start to get looked at for college,” he forecasted. “So we are very excited bout his future here at Providence Academy.” Rutherford Jr, 16, left the Bahamas after he completed grade nine at St Augustine’s College where he played for the Big Red Machine’s junior boys basketball team. He is the son of Peter Sr and Chavez Rutherford.
talk to our medical officer, Pattie Symonette, so that she can check the list on any medicine that they are taking because the list is long. “I don’t know everything on the list, but if you have to be selected for a national team, then you need to be extra careful in whatever you take.” In the case of Higgs, Lunn said he chose to go to the Appeals Committee and that was the decision that they made. Hanna, Ferguson, Cancino and Davis all paid their fines and they were given four weeks. “That sounds a bit crazy, but when you want to go to
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FRASER GETS SET FOR IAAF WORLD INDOORS By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net AFTER running in the same race when Christian Coleman set the world indoor record in the 60 metres, Warren Fraser said he’s more motivated to take on the American again at the 17th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics. Fraser, the 26-year-old graduate from Clemson University, will be one of five Bahamians competing at the championships that will be held in Birmingham, Great Britain, from Thursday to Sunday. The other members of Team Bahamas are Alonzo Russell in the men’s 400m, Donald Thomas and Jamal Wilson in the men’s high jump and Devynne Charlton in the women’s 60m hurdles. Sandra Laing is the manager and Donald Cartwright is the head coach. “I’m looking forward to the competition this time,” said Fraser in an interview with The Tribune just before he departed for his second appearance at the World Indoors where he just missed making the final after he was ninth overall in Sopot, Poland, in 2014. “They have a lot of fast guys out there this time. I’m looking forward to the competition. Hopefully that will help me to step up my game and run even faster.” At the Clemson Invitational in Birmingham, Alabama, on January 18, Fraser clocked 6.69 seconds to pick up a third place finish as Coleman sped to a time of 6.37 to erase fellow American Maurice Greene’s previous record of 6.39 that was established in 1998. “That was my first race this season, but I’ve never experienced anything like that,” said Fraser, who trailed second place finisher Tevin Hester, who did 6.57. “After that experience, I went back to the drawing board and started working out and I went through a lot of training and stuff like that. I’m ready to go back again and, this time, I want to stay in my race and in my zone.” As the reigning Bahamas national sprint champion, Fraser said he hates to lose, which has motivated him even more to excel when he competes in the championships.
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