The Tribune

Rhema Otabor, 19 - Track and Field

OTABOR’S 2021 season featured milestone accomplishments in the javelin at both the collegiate and international levels.

The sophomore at Florida International University had her year highlighted with an historic fourth-place finish at World Athletics Under-20 World Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.

Otabor set a new Bahamian junior national record and a personal best with a throw of 55.08 metres on her second attempt and finished just shy of the medal podium at the inaugural meet.

“I was a bit disappointed about not being able to make the podium considering how close I was to it,” she told The Tribune following the meet.

“Overall I’m still happy to place in the top five. I did feel that I could’ve done better, but I’ll just have to work harder for next time.”

She opened her series of throws that included a 47.61 metres on her first heave before she recorded her personal best throw. She threw 49.42m on her third, 45.84m on her fourth, 49.86 on her fifth and 48.67m on her sixth and final mark.

Otabor, a former NCA Crusader, also won gold for Team Bahamas at the NACAC Under-18, U-20 and U-23 Championships team in San Jose, Costa Rica with a then personal best of 55.06m.

It was one of several first-place finishes for her over the course of the 2021 season. She also took first place at the Hurricane Invitational (54.19m), North Florida Invitational (53.47m), Hurricane Alumni Invitational (49.53m), Conference USA Championships (51.37m).

For the Panthers, Otabor qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in her freshman season. She finished 21st overall in the field with a throw 49.60m.

2. Reine Pagliaro, 17 - Equestrian

THE Bahamas entered a new frontier in equestrian competition, as 17-year-old Reine Pagliaro’s successful ride in the FEI World Endurance Championship for Young Riders and Juniors marked the first time that the country competed in an equestrian event at the World Championship level.

Pagliaro was among 74 riders from 20 countries who vied for top honours over a technically demanding, 120km course that took riders through open fields, wooded sections, and hilly terrain in Ermelo, the Netherlands. The course was so demanding that over 45 percent of the competitors failed to finish. However, Pagliaro rode a strategic and determined race in partnership with her horse, the 11-year old grey Arabian gelding, Beautiful Knightmare (affectionately known as Beau). The pair finished the course in 38th place, clocking a final time of 8:09:35 at an average speed of 14.706 km/hr.

3. Meagan Moss, 19 - Track and Field

Moss made her Olympic debut for The Bahamas at the Tokyo Olympics as a member of the 4x400m relay team. Her 2021 season also included a new outdoor personal best of 52.13 seconds in the 400m in May in Jacksonville, Florida, and a new indoor personal best of 52.32 in February in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

In her outdoor season with the Wildcats, she advanced to the NCAA Championships in three events, the 400m dash and the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

Moss was a part of eighth-ranked 4x400m relay team at NCAA Championships (3:28.68) and third-fastest in UK history.

She was named first team All-American. She also placed 22nd in the 400m at NCAA Championships (53.26), earning honourable mention All- America honours, and was a member of 13th-ranked 4x100m relay team (44.11).

Moss began her 2021 Indoor season this month at the Louisville Cardinal Classic where she placed second overall in the 500m in 1:13.21.

4. Lacarthea Cooper, 17 - Track and Field

Cooper earned the opportunity of a lifetime to represent the Bahamas at the highest level of the sport, but many see that as just the beginning of great things to come for the high school sprinting phenom.

The St Augustine’s College 12th grader was named a member of the 4x400m relay team for the Tokyo Olympics but was forced to miss the trip after she tested positive for COVID-19 on the eve of her trip.

Despite the disappointment, Cooper’s 2021 résumé solidified her as one of the top junior athletes in the country, with over a dozen scholarship offers on the table.

She posted personal bests in four events and was also a member of the World Athletics U-20 Championships team in Nairobi, Kenya and the NACAC U18, U20 and U23 Championships team in San Jose, Costa Rica.

In Costa Rica, she posted a personal best of 24.09 in the 200m and her 100m personal best came at home in the Thomas A Robinson Stadium where she ran 11.71. She posted personal bests this past season in the 100m, 200m, 400m and the 400m hurdles.

At the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) National Track and Field Championships in June, Cooper ran a personal best 54.47 and she recorded her 400m hurdles personal best at the Red Line Athletics meet in a time of 1:00.21.

5. Rhema Collins, 16 - Basketball

The junior national basketball team standout continues to become one of the most highly sought after prep basketball prospects in her recruiting class.

The 6’2” wing averaged 16.8 points and six rebounds per game last season for Schoolhouse Prep in Florida before she transferred to the Webb School in Tennessee last fall.

Prep Girls Hoops Florida lists Collins at No.7 among the Class of 2023 in the latest edition of its rankings and has also received over 10 scholarship offers from NCAA Division I programmes.