By DENEZ JONES, NG Sports Reporter

mailto:denez@nasguard.com

Multi national record holder in men's swimming, Jeremy Knowles, was the top male finisher at the Abaco 5K Open Water Race in the beautiful waters between Marsh Harbour and Hope Town during the Discovery Day holiday weekend.

According to Jeremy's father and race organiser Andy Knowles, head of the SWIFT Swimming Club, much of the success of the event is attributed to sponsors, Abaco Beach Resort and the Ministry of Tourism.

"This year's success will hopefully lead to a greater participation from international swimmers in the future. With Open Water Swimming now an Olympic event it promises to attract more interest," Knowles senior said in a press release.

The Nassau Guardian Sports Desk tried to reach Jeremy, who we understood returned to Auburn, Alabama to continue training at Auburn University, but attempts were unsuccessful up to press time. Other top level swimmers that participated were Jenna Chaplin, and John Bradley, who along with Jeremy Knowles, set a fast pace from start to finish, despite competing in different age categories.

Jeremy finished the three-mile course in less than an hour, while the final relay took approximately two hours. Returning home from abroad, Jeremy led from start to finish and was followed in a hotly contested race for second between John Bradley and Jenna Chaplin. Bradley nipped Chaplin at the finish by nine seconds.

Knowles, competing in the 18 and Over Boys division, finished in a time of 58 minutes and 23 seconds. Soon-to-be veteran swimmer David Morley, of Morley Realty, placed second in a time of 1:16.15, with Matt Spencer was third in 1:20.28. Rounding out the top six male finishers are David Barton (1:36.02), Andrew Thompson (1:36.38), and Dale Hill (2:01.05). Barton, Thompson and Hill finished fourth, fifth,

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can be for young boys. What also made young Smith stand out was that he already has a sense of what his purpose is. When asked how he became Head Boy at Woodcock Primary, he responded: "First, you gotta have leadership ability. You gotta be... you know - a leader," Smith pointed out. "(You have to) set roles for other people to follow. You gotta do your best, work hard and try everything to be the best at your level." These were the exact words of a 10-year-old Bahamian male, which also confirms how young boys and girls can benefit from good, wholesome sporting activities.

'Lil Man' Smith also sees the tournament as an opportunity for his team to make a name for their school. When asked to highlight the most exciting part of playing in his first soccer tournament, Smith replied: "Having to get to try and win for our school, and keep our school looking good. The competition wasn't that bad, and I tried my best. I want to continue to play soccer and work hard because it's a fun sport."

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and sixth respectively. Chaplin was the top female finisher in the Open Water 5K, as well as, the top finisher in the Girls 13-17 age group. Chaplin's finishing time was a 'SWIFT' 1:06.15, just over eight minutes behind the top male competitor. Second place in the Girls 13-17 age group was Paige Waugh, who also recorded an impressive time of 1:19.12.

Last but not least, there was Carifta standout Shaunte Moss, of the Sea Bees Swim Club, who was the top finisher in the Girls 12 and Under category. Moss finished in a remarkable time of 1:19.47, less than a second behind the third place open male finisher. What's even more impressive about young Moss is that she's fearless, and will compete against anyone in any age group. At such a young age, Moss is already showing the kind of stuff that champions are made of. She could end up surpassing standards set by her seniors Alana Dillette and Nikia Deveaux.

Some 33 athletes competed in the Open Water 5K, including many from New Providence, Grand Bahama, and Abaco.

"They traveled by boat, plane, or car to be a part of the race," said Knowles senior. He added that, "the weather was calm and the new triangular course allowed for spectators to follow the race more closely."

The triangular course was approximately three miles in length, starting at the shore of the Abaco Beach Resort, heading south along the main land of Marsh Harbour for one mile, and then northeast towards Hope Town for one mile, then back to the beach at the resort for a mile.

The race started at 10:00 a.m. and was finished by 12 noon, with good representation in age groups from youth to masters. Morley, the top masters swimmer, was fourth followed by another close race between Waugh, Moss, and Spencer, who finished in that order with only 50 seconds between them after three miles.

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his leadership. The D.W. Davis Pitbulls became the latest victims of the Golden Eagles on Wednesday. They got past them in three tough sets, 15-17, 17-11, and 17-15 to raise their win/loss record to a perfect 3-0 on the young season.

However, their junior boys dropped their second consecutive loss with a tough three-set loss to the Pitbulls. The Golden Eagles junior boys fell 17-14, 14-17, and 10-15. Also on Wednesday, the C.C. Sweeting Scorpions got a straight set win over the A.F. Adderley Tigers junior girls, and the S.C. McPherson Sharks junior girls did the same to the C.H. Reeves Raptors. The Scorpions pulled off a 17-12, 17-7 victory, while the Sharks prevailed 17-4, 17-12.

In junior boys play on Wednesday, the Sharks completely humiliated the Raptors, while the Tigers surprised the Scorpions. The defending champions Sharks won 17-2, 17-2, and the Tigers got past the Scorpions 17-14, 17-13.

The senior boys wrapped up play on Wednesday with three games that were all decided in straight sets. The Doris Johnson Mystic Marlins turned back the R.M. Bailey Pacers, 25-15 and 25-24, the C.V. Bethel Stingrays continued to impress as they beat the runners-up from a year ago, the C.I. Gibson Rattlers, 25-16 and 25-17, and the four-time defending champions, the C.C. Sweeting Cobras, remained perfect on the young season with a 25-12 and 25-19 win over the G.H.S. Magic.

So far this season, the Cobras and Stingrays senior boys appear to be on a collision course to meet in the GSSSA finals, although the Marlins and the C.R. Walker Knights also appear to have very strong teams and could present tough challenges.

Meanwhile in the New Providence Volleyball Association (NPVA) on Wednesday night at the D.W. Davis gym, the Scotiabank Defenders defeated the Charlotte Hornets in straight sets, 25-21, 25-19 and 26-24, and in the men's feature match, the S'barro Intruders needed just three sets to get past Diamonds International, 25-22, 25-21, and 25-19.

In the women's match, for the Defenders, Shannon Russell led the way with a game high 15 points. She had eight kills and seven aces. National team member Kelsie Johnson contributed nine kills and two aces. For the Hornets, Nicole Major had a game high 11 kills, and Samantha Forbes contributed five kills and one block.

In the men's feature, for the Intruders, Sherwaine Arthurs had a game high 13 points, with 10 kills, two blocks and one ace. Leonardo Dean added six kills, one block and one ace for the Intruders. For the losing Diamonds International squad, Daryl Dorsette had seven kills and two blocks, and D'Toro Bethel contributed seven kills and two aces.

The league continued with its regular scheduled matches last night but the results were unavailable up to press time. In the women's game, the First Caribbean Bank Diggers played the Tech Team International Lady Techs, and in the men's feature, the Passé squad battled with the Technicians. This point, an overthrow led to a second run attempt by Armstrong while Tappin did not leave the crease, costing the wicket of Armstrong. The very next delivery sent Tappin back to the pavilion when he was caught near the boundary line. Wickets tumbled regularly thereafter and the target just got steeper. Paradise crawled to a total of 124 runs for nine wickets in 20 overs, with Llewelyn Armstrong and Tappin recording the top scores of 29 runs and 22 runs respectively. The highest wicket taker was Ekanayake who bagged four wickets.

In the earlier rounds, Dockendale defeated Police Cricket Club in the first match and then beat Commonwealth Cricket Club in an exciting game. Paradise advanced to the final by first crushing St. Agnes Cricket Club and then beating the defending league champions, T-Bird Cricket Club in a close game. The first round also saw T-Bird with a comfortable victory over Rising Stars Cricket Club. The 'Player of the Tournament' award went to Ekanayake who scored 89, 85 (not out) and 84 runs in the three matches.

The BCA will stage another 20/20 match this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. when The Bahamas' Under-19 team will take on a BCA Masters Team led by Edmund Lewis. Regular league games will resume on Sunday.