The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THIS year was a year of great achievement for Bahamian athletes at the high school level.

Student athletes both locally and internationally set the tone for future careers in their respective sports and introduced the Bahamas to several athletes well on their way to becoming household names in the country.

SAC Claims 25th Consecutive

BAISS Track and Field Title

The Big Red Machine set a new precedence for dominance in Bahamian sports when they extended their unbelievable win streak, the likes of which we may never see again. They won by less than 50 points in 2012, but in their quest for No. 25, SAC tripled their margin of victory in 2013 over arch-rival, the Queen’s College Comets and the remainder of the field.

At the conclusion of the three-day meet, the Big Red Machine totalled 1,370.50 points, compared to the Comets’ 1,102.50 points and the St Anne’s Bluewaves a distant third with 484 points.

SAC’s dominance was highlighted by their triumph in six of the eight divisions, including the bantam girls (90 points), junior girls (200 points), intermediate girls (195 points), senior girls (252 points), bantam boys (87 points), intermediate boys (237 points) and senior boys (181 points). The only division they lost was the intermediate boys to Queen’s College, who accumulated 177.50 to SAC’s 128.50.

Big Red Machine head coach William “Knucklehead” Johnson placed the feat into perspective as he watched a sea of red swarm the Thomas A Robinson track during their victory lap. “Every one is sweeter than the one before. I don’t know if that is possible, but the word was out that they (Comets) were out to stop the 25 and we took it personal and everyone did what they had to do and we came out here and were victorious,” Johnson said.

The last time the Big Red Machine were defeated at a track meet was the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations’ National High School Championships by the St John’s Giants in 1997. The championships have since departed by crowning an overall champion.

In their 25th BAISS title win, the Big Red Machine were led by a series of record-breaking and CARIFTA qualifying performances. The Big Red Machine’s Brashae Wood qualified for both the discus and the shot put in the intermediate girls’ division.

In the discus she set a new meet record with a throw of 37.57m, beating her own mark of 34.10m set last year and the CARIFTA standard of 34.50m.

SAC’s Doniesha Anderson began her incredible season at BAISS when she set a new record in the junior girls’ 400m in a time of 57.96s, well ahead of teammate Dreshanae Rolle’s time of 59.03s set in 2012.

SAC’s Shante Russell ran 2:23.25 to win the intermediate girls 800m to erase one of the oldest meet records of 2:32.32s that was set by Mizpah Williams of Temple Christian in 1997.

In the relays, the Big Red Machine ended the meet in style when they set a a pair of new records in the Junior Girls 4x400m and the Senior Girls 4x100m.

In the 4 x 100m, the team of Devynne Charlton, Makeya White, Danielle Gibson and Keianna Albury, who clocked 47.05s to shatter the time of 47.55s that SAC’s team led by Charlton and anchored by Shaunae Miller set last year.

CC Sweeting Cobras Win Back-

to-Back Hugh Campbell Titles

Despite losing their regular season eligibility in the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association, the Cobras cemented their status as the top senior boys basketball programme in the country in 2013.

The Cobras claimed arguably the most high profile title in Bahamian high school sports when they defeated the Eight Mile Rock BlueJays 63-53 in the title game. They become only the fifth school in history to claim back-to-back titles in a rematch of the 2012 final.

In 2012, Alvano Miller, Dionte Strachan, DeAngelo Wallace and Rashad Davis were the underclassmen during the CC Sweeting Cobras’ storybook season.

The quartet returned in 2013 to become the driving force behind the team to lead the repeat effort.

Strachan was named the MVP with a side high 17 points, Davis added 14, Miller added 13 while Wallace chipped in with 11.

After all the adversity that they experienced on the year, coach Mario Bowleg said their repeat championship feat was vindication for the Cobras.

“All of the adversities that we went through, this has made it sweeter for us to pull it off,” said Bowleg, whose team along with the CI Gibson Rattlers were denied the opportunity to participate in the GSSSA post-season after a brawl between the two schools in the first game of the regular season.

“Every year, CC Sweeting seems to go through some type of adversity in relation to the senior boys basketball team. But in spite of it all, we always try to use that as motivation to get through whatever obstacles come in our way. That was what we did this year.”

Bahamas At CARIFTA

It was the first major event held in the new Thomas A Robinson national stadium, and the Bahamas’ next generation of elite athletes put on the first of what is sure to be many memorable performances at the venue.

With their eight gold medals, 11 silver and 12 bronze medals, the Bahamas finished second at the region’s most prestigious meet for junior athletes. Jamaica (29 gold, 25 silver, 15 bronze) and Trinidad and Tobago (eight gold medals, 2 silver, 10 bronze) were first and third, respectively.

While collegiate freshman Shaunae Miller won the Austin Sealy award, the bulk of the Bahamas’ success came from its high school athletes.

Some of the gold medal winners included the Boys Under 17 4 x 400 relay team (Henri Deluze, Tyler Bowe, Kinard Rolle, Mikhail Bethel) - 3:16.12; Devynne Charlton: Under-20 girls 100m - 11.60s; Girls Under-20 4 x 100 relay team (Devynne Charlton, Carmiesha Cox, Shaunae Miller, Kieanna Albury) - 44.77; Teray Smith Under-20 boys 200 - 20.58; LaQuan Nairn Under-20 boys long jump - 7.40 metres; Desmond Major Open boys heptathlon - 4,707 points

In the pool it was a 30-medal total and fifth place finish for Team Bahamas at the 28th CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Kingston, Jamaica.

According to Bahamas Swimming Federation executives, the performance gave optimism on the future of the programme, but also placed local issues within the sport at the forefront.

BSF president Algernon Cargill said the team had many encouraging moments over the course of the four-day meet, particularly from its youngest members.

“We had a number of great performances. Many swimmers swam personal best times and others swam well beyond their seed times,” he said. “I think Travano McPhee did an excellent job as a head coach at this level. He showed great maturity, and with his staff Sara Knowles out of Abaco and Andy Loveitt from Grand Bahama they did an excellent job with this year’s team. It was not our best performance of the past few years but 30 medals, including nine gold, is nothing to scoff at.”

Abaco native Albury Higgs was one of the many bright spots of the team with five gold medals.

Joanna Evans advanced to the girls 15-17 division this year where she won gold in the 400m free in 4:25.46s and in the 800 free in 9:10.26s. She added a silver medal in the 400 IM in 5:15.53s.

In the boys 15-17 group, Dustin Tynes won sliver in the 200m final in 2:23.48s on the final night of competition in addition to a silver in the 100m breaststroke in 1:06.85s and bronze in the 50m backstroke in 30.49s.

Nairn Becomes Izzo’s

Heir Apparent

Lourawls Nairn will join the Michigan State Spartans for the Fall 2014 season as he suits up for legendary head coach Tom Izzo at the programme currently ranked No. 5 in the NCAA.

Nairn made the highly anticipated announcement in September at his Sunrise Christian Academy gymnasium in Bel Air, Kansas, as he heads into his senior season as the point guard for the Buffaloes.

Nairn will look to fill the void left by the departure of senior point guard Keith Appling who is currently in his final year of eligibility.

The 5’10” 170-pound Nairn received offers from Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Iowa and Arkansas and became the first commit for the Spartans 2014 class.

Nairn shot up the recruiting charts with an impressive summer circuit on the hardwood.

He saw his stock rise to the 61st ranked basketball player in America for the class of 2014 by Rivals.com and 72nd by ESPN.com.

Nairn’s eventful summer included participation in the Nike Point Guard Skills Academy and the LeBron James Skills Academy.

His performances at the camps placed him among the top 30 players from the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League and Skills Academies and earned him a spot on the USA West roster at the Nike Global Challenge.

The Point Guard Skills Academy featured the Brooklyn Nets’ Deron Williams and Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving.

The invite-only event featured the top 15-20 high school point guards and the top 10 college point guards.

The LeBron James Skills Academy featured the top 80 high school players and top 20 college players in the country.

Saunders Commits to ‘Noles

Two years ago, Mavin Saunders began the school year as a basketball star for the Kinkaid Falcons in Houston, Texas and never played a single down of football.

Saunders found the gridiron and his meteoric rise saw him earn a commitment to one of the top NCAA football programmes in the country, the No.1 ranked Florida State Seminoles.

Saunders, currently a Junior at Kinkaid, will join the Seminoles in the Fall 2015 semester.

“There were a lot of positives about it,” Saunders said. “It’s close to home, and that was a major factor in my decision-making process.”

In his junior season, he totalled 34 catches for 453 yards and eight touchdowns.

After making the switch from basketball to football, the 6’ 5” 233 pound tight end/ receiver began to garner interest from several elite programmes around the country.

“I know I have a lot of catching up to do in football. Right now I’m relying on using my size and athleticism to get ahead because there are not a lot of guys my size with my skill set so I feel like I have a lot to offer. The more I learn the better I’m going to become, I’m just committed to working hard and getting better at this point,” Saunders said, “The recruitment process was crazy. I know I’m blessed to be in this position and I’m grateful for God giving me the talent to be able to pursue my dreams.”

In his sophomore year, Saunders totalled 40 receptions for 505 yards and six touchdowns in his first season playing organised football.

More Baseball Players

Reach DI Programmes

A trio of Bahamian high school baseball players have made an impact on the NCAA’s early signing period as they announced where they would continue their careers at the collegiate level.

Tevin Symonette was the latest to add his name to the list when he signed his letter of intent to play this fall for the Lipscomb University Bison.

He joined Byron Murray, who signed with the University of Southern Mississippi and Perez Knowles, who signed with Troy University as the other Bahamians to sign with Division I programmes during the NCAA early signing period which ended November 18.

The three new signees will join the list of Bahamian players at DI Universities which includes Desmond Russell, Aneko Knowles, Sebereon Mackey and Stephen Curtis at Jackson State University, Brandon Murray at the College of Charleston, Ali Knowles at Troy University, Byron Ferguson at Bethune Cookman, Remon Grant at Grambling State University and Theodore Trae Sweeting at Georgia State University.

Pratt Torrid on Tour

Pratt was a force of nature during the summer months and saw her rankings rise after three consecutive finals appearances on the ITF Junior tour.

In April, Pratt reached the final of the 2013 JITIC tournament in the Dominican Republic where she lost 6-2, 6-4 to Cassandra Vazquez of Mexico. Her run was highlighted in July with an historic Junkanoo Bowl title, the first singles title for the Bahamas at an ITF Junior event played on home soil. Pratt led 4-1 in the first set before Sofia Kenin of the US retired. She made a third consecutive finals appearance.

The top seeded Pratt claimed the Girls 18 championship at the Coca Cola ITF Tournament with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Breana Stampfli of Trinidad and Tobago. It was the third consecutive final in an ITF Junior event for Pratt. During the summer she also competed internationally at the senior level as a member of the Bahamas’ Fed Cup team which received promotion to Group I.

The Bahamas finished at the top of Group B, and the 17-year-old Pratt won four of her five singles matches. She won 6-4, 6-3 over Yolande Leacock of Trinidad and Tobago, 7-5, 6-3 over Artiga Henriquez of El Salvador, 6-1, 7-6 over Mariella Calderon of Costa Rica, and 6-1, 6-1 over Ines Canepa of Uruguay.

SAC Sweeps BAISS Softball

In the first sport on the BAISS calendar for the 2013-14 season, St Augustine’s College made a major statement to set the tone for the remainder of the academic year by sweeping all four Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools softball titles.

The Big Red Machine made the Freedom Farm Baseball Complex feel like home field advantage in mid-November when they took the Junior Girls, Junior Boys, Senior Girls and Senior Boys championship series.

The junior boys became the first team to claim a title when they completed a two-game sweep of the St Andrew’s Hurricanes with a 9-3 win in game two.

The senior girls also claimed a two-game sweep when they closed out the series against the Hurricanes.

Both the junior girls and senior boys needed three games, but eventually joined their counterparts in the winner’s circle.

The junior girls took the opener over the Hurricanes, came up short in game two and sealed game three to reclaim their title, previously won in 2011.

In the senior boys, SAC fell in the opening game to the CW Saunders Cougars, 7-5, but rebounded to take the next two games in the series and claimed the fourth title for the school.

SAC junior boys’ head coach John Todd said he expects his talented group of returning players to win at least five consecutive titles before their run expires and elaborated on the success of the Big Red Machine programme as a whole.

“We bring in a lot of talented seventh graders from Freedom Farm and JBLN. They come in seasoned and we guide that along so it helps to build the programme, which has been good for us,” Todd said. “Competition to make the team itself is stiff so it keeps everyone on their toes.”