The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

SHYRONE Kemp was honoured once again for his breakout season in the field as a member of the Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons.

The sophomore rising star was named the Dragons’ Men’s Field Athlete of the Year for a standout indoor season.

Kemp was profiled by the Dragons digital network and credited the influence of Dragons’ assistant coach and two-time Bahamian Olympian Trevor Barry. “I came to MSU because in high school my coach would tell me it’s a good programme.

“And to have a coach that is Bahamian I feel like we would have a connection and I would be more comfortable with others I came here with.

“My relationship with Trevor is strong, I can talk to him about things outside of track, he can be like a friend to me but I would also have respect for him,” Kemp said. “The coaching played a very important role. I can give them most of the credit. Without them I wouldn’t have been able to improve like I did.”

Barry previously served as an assistant coach at North Dakota State. At NDSU during Barry’s time as an assistant, the Bison won nine Summit League women’s team titles and seven men’s team titles. He coached two NCAA All-Americans, seven national qualifiers and 10 school record holders.

Representing the Bahamas, Barry was a high jump finalist at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - he finished 11th. He also qualified for the 2012 Summer Games in London. He was a World High Jump finalist in 2015 and was a bronze medallist at the 2011 World Outdoor Championships.

“Shy is very raw. Last year we just introduced him to the triple jump, he came in as a high jumper and just learned to long jump.

“In the triple jump he has improved by leaps and bounds but still has a long way to go. Going into the indoor season, my expectation was for him to jump at least 50 metres, he exceeded that so it will be interesting to see what we get out of him,” Barry said.

“Expectations are great but he is still learning. Our goal this year was to work on the approach, try to fine tune that, then work on his first phase and second phase.”

Kemp was also previously named the NCAA Division II, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference’s Newcomer of the Year.

After declaring as a redshirt last indoor season, Kemp made his debut this year and was one of the top performers in the conference. He won the triple jump at the NSIC Indoor Championships with a leap of 49 feet, 2 ¼ inches.