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Versatile triple jumper Bayli Major gets athletic scholarship

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

VERSATILE triple jumper Bayli Major became the latest member of the Red-Line Athletic Track Club to receive an athletic scholarship to further her education at college.

Major, a 17-year-old two-time CARIFTA athlete, recently signed a letter of intent to compete for the Ladies Rebels’ track team at the University of Mississippi or Ole Miss, starting in August.

“I was really excited to be accepted into Ole Miss,” said Major, a 12th grader at St Augustine’s College. “I am just grateful to God, my coaches and my parents for affording me this opportunity to get there.”

After reviewing a number of applications from so many other schools, Major said she accepted Ole Miss because she felt their coaching staff was similar to what she experienced with Red-Line Athletics and the Big Red Machine at SAC.

“I like how the school is set up and the coaches there,” Major said. “I didn’t feel like the other schools offered what I saw at Ole Miss. The team at Ole Miss reminds me so much about home.”

When she gets to Ole Miss where she went to pursue a degree in business, Major said her immediate goal is to make an impact on the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and eventually qualify to compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championships.

At present Major has posted a lifetime best of 12.34 metres, or 40-feet, 6-inches in the triple jump and has also soared 5.70m (18-81/2) in the long jump and 1.55m (5-1) in the high jump. On the track, she has run 12.15 seconds in the 100m, 24.78 in the 200m, 40.83 in the 300m, 57.36 in the 400m, 14.75 in the 100m hurdles and 1:02.13 in the 400m hurdles.

Head coach Tito Moss said over the three years she’s been a part of Red-Line Athletics, she has excelled as an all-around athlete who should fit well into the Rebels’ system.

“She should do very well at Ole Miss in the sprints and both the long and triple jumps,” Moss said. 

“She’s very focused and a hard-working individual and a student-athlete with an accumulative GPA of 3.01.”

With that background, Major said she wants to make this season a memorable one for her before she makes the transition to the collegiate scene.

“Hopefully, I can stay focused and PR (personal best),” said Major, who likes at times to add the sprints to her repertoire, especially on the relay team.

“I’m happy with my performances so far. I just have to continue to work on my form and my technique and I know I will become a much better triple jumper.”

To her team-mates at SAC and Red-Line, Major encouraged them all to “stay focused and just believe in yourself.” 

She said if they remain patient, their time will come to also embrace the next level at college.

Major is the daughter of Deangelia Deleveaux and Steffard Major and the only track star in the family, similar to what she enjoys in the company of SAC and Red-Line and hopefully Ole Miss in the future.

Major will join 16 other Red-Line Athletics’ team members who are currently off to school.

In total over the six years, Red-Line Athletics has secured scholarships for a total of 34 student-athletes at a total value of $3.7 million.

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