The Tribune

TRACK

NCAA QUALIFIERS

THE Bahamas will have five competitors representing their respective schools in the NCAA Division 1 Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, this weekend.

Shaunae Miller, the Southeastern Conference Women’s Freshman Runner of the Year from the University of Georgia Bulldogs, will be entered in the 400 metres as the fifth ranked competitor with a time of 52.21 seconds. The top time is by Arkansas’ senior Regina George in 51.40.

In the women’s 60m hurdles, Arkansas’ senior Ivanique Kemp has the 13th best time of 8.18. The leading time is 7.78 posted by Clemson’s junior Brianna Rollins.

Tynia Gaither, a sophomore from Georgia, will be a member of the Bulldogs’ distance medley team that will also be made up of Stella Christoforou, Megan Malasarte and Carly Hamilton. They are going in with the 10th fastest time of 11:03.27. The top qualifiers are Michigan in 10:56.66.

On the field, Arkansas’ sophomore Tamara Myers has posted the ninth best leap of 13.06m or 42-feet, 10 1/4-inches in the women’s triple jump. The best mark going into the event is 14.08m/46-2 1/2 by San Diego State’s junior Shanieka Thomas.

And on the men’s side, Arkansas’ junior Raymond Higgs has the third best qualifying leap of 7.95m/26-1. The best mark is 8.25m/27-0 3/4 by Florida’s senior Marquis Dendy.

TENNIS

ROBERTS LOSES

JUSTIN Roberts lost 7-5, 6-1 in a two-hour match in the men’s singles of the International Tennis Federation’s Luxembourg G4 Tournament on Tuesday morning.

“The guy was very solid,” Roberts noted. “He didn’t give me anything free. I have to get used to giving that much focus and effort and consistency to beat this kind of guy. But I played very well. He was just very solid.”

However, Roberts teamed up with Bart Van Leijsen of the Netherland Antilles to defeat the team of Jan Choinski of Germany and Jules Okala of France 3-6, 6-3, 13-11 to advance to the men’s doubles quarterfinals.

BASEBALL

ELEUTHERA

LEAGUE RESULTS

THE Eleuthera Junior Baseball League continued its regular season action with games played in Spanish Wells despite the cold weather and the drizzling rain over the weekend.

In the Coach Pitch division – (Spanish Wells) Hook n’ Jook - rolled over the (Rock Sound) Coco Plums with impressive hitting of the long ball by the young girls on the Hook N’ Jooks team and some smart fielding.

In Minor division the (Green Castle) Scotiabank Dragons won over the (Harbour Island) Briland Tornados by default while the (Rock Sound) Sports Centre Marlins and the (Spanish Wells) Sluggers had the day off.

In the Junior division, the (Spanish Wells) Contenders stopped the (Rock Sound) NuView Stingrays in five innings 13-3. The outstanding players were Chandler Albury, who pitched five strong innings, striking out nine batters and Kirby Albury did an outstanding job behind the plate by going 3-for-3 offensively at the plate with two triples.

Play is slated to continue this coming weekend in Rock Sound with the (Rock Sound) Sports Centre Marlins taking on the (Green Castle) Scotiabank Dragons and in Spanish Wells with the (Spanish Wells) Sluggers facing the (Harbour Island) Briland Tornados, both in the Minor division.

BASEBALL

MARIO FORD CAMP

THE 28th Mario Ford Baseball Camp is scheduled to get underway at Windsor Park on Saturday. The event is scheduled to start at 9am and run until 11am. It will cater to boys and girls between the ages of four and 15. The basic fundamentals will be taught by the various instructors, headed by Das Gardiner. He will be asisted by Cardwell Taylor and Lenny Pennerman. The camp, according to founder Mario Ford, is designed to provide a wholesome atmosphere for the youngsters to learn more about the fundamentals of the game.

BASEBALL

COMMUNITY BASEBALL LEAGUE

THE first Community Baseball League, headed by Mario Ford, is slated to begin on April 13 with a jamboree at Windsor Park. Once the league starts on April 15, games will be played at Windsor Park and the Southern Recreation Grounds and Claridge Road.

The league is designed for players in the tee ball from ages 4-6, coach pitch from 7-9, minor league from 8-10 and 11-12 is the major league. The league is also affiliated with the Bahamas Baseball Federation, which will enable the players to participate in the national tournaments and be eligible to travel on the national teams.

“We want to be able to give these kids in the inner city the opportunity to get some exposure competing at the national and international levels,” Ford said.

While Ford serves as the president, Fred ‘Papa’ Smith is the first vice president, Andy Percentie is the second vice president and Das Gardiner is the third vice president. The secretary is Renee ‘Sunshine’ Sweeting and Elsa Harris, Kervin Culmer is the treasurer and the public relations officer is Roosevelt Archer. The commissioner is Anthony ‘Boozie’ Rolle. There is also a board of directors and persons who are serving on special projects.

“We are catering to anyone in the community who wants to enter a team,” Ford said. “We want to try and get as many teams and players registered by April 15. We are providing them with uniforms and equipment. We are going into the schools and will work with some of the teams.”

Interested persons can call Ford at 556-0993 or Fred Smith at 429-5917.