By SHELDON LONGLEY,NG Sports Editor,slongley@nasguard.com

It certainly would have been great to see a sporting discipline other than athletics breaking through for The Nassau Guardian's five choices for athletes and team of the year for 2008, but at the end of the day, no one could have argued with the choices that were made.

Kudos to the 2008 winners Sheniqua Ferguson, Raymond Higgs, Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, 'Superman' Leevan Sands and the men's 4x400-meter (m) relay squad for an outstanding year, and keeping the country as one of the most feared little countries in the world, as far as athletics are concerned.

In the junior female category, nothing more could be asked of the top young female swimmer in the country, Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace. In 2007, she was beaten out by Nivea Smith, and last year, she finished second again, but this time to Sheniqua Ferguson. Arianna had her second successive spectacular year, but even an Olympic qualification (in two events), and the establishment of both short course and long course national records, couldn't propel her past Sheniqua.

Sheniqua was a part of the CARIFTA record setting 4x100m team, went on to attain the 'A' qualifying spot for the Beijing Olympics in the 200m at the Scotiabank Olympic Trials, broke Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie's junior national record in the process, and was a 200m quarter-finalist in Beijing. To top her year off, she won the 200m at the World Junior Championships and added a bronze medal in the 100m. So, even with the strong year turned in by Arianna, Sheniqua was still a unanimous choice for the honor, while Arianna had to settle for second for the second year in a row.

In the junior male division, Dwight Miller was the only non track and field athlete to win one of The Nassau Guardian's honors in 2007. Last year, there would be no denying Grand Bahamian Raymond Higgs. The junior jumper is rapidly rising up the charts. He is a four-time CARIFTA gold medalist, and soared to new heights this year with a personal best 2.13m (7'0") at the Scotiabank Olympic Trials. He went on to finish eighth in the final of the high jump at the World Junior Championships.

When one thinks of the upper echelon of Bahamian athletics, and the contribution toward the development of sports in general in this country, the name Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie always comes to mind. Debbie will probably go down in the Bahamian history books as the most consistent athletic performer of all-time. She proved her worth again last year, becoming the only athlete to advance to the final of both short sprints in the past three Olympiads. She finished seventh in both events in Beijing, but just making it to the final of both events was a remarkable accomplishment. She was edged out for the honor of The Nassau Guardian's Senior Female Athlete of the Year by Laverne Eve in 2007, but there would be no denying her in 2008.

The Nassau Guardian's Senior Male Athlete of the Year in 2008 was a two-horse race between 'Superman' Leevan Sands and Chris 'The Fireman' Brown. In my view, anyone of these deserving athletes would be suitable for the honor. They both had stellar campaigns in their respective events topped off by strong performances at the Beijing Olympics. Leevan won a bronze medal in the triple jump and Chris was fourth in the 400m. At the World Indoor Championships in Valencia, Spain, Chris was third while Leevan settled for sixth. At the end of the day, Leevan prevailed over Chris in our voting process, but it was the closest of all five divisions as he only won by one point. In 2007, World Champion Donald Thomas was a unanimous winner.

It's also interesting to note that all four of our choices for athletes of the year were also chosen by the BAAA as their athletes of the year. It speaks volumes for their accomplishments in 2008. As for The Nassau Guardian's Team of the Year, for the second year in a row it was the men's 4x400m relay squad. Having won the silver medal at the 2007 Osaka World Championships, the team came into the year as the second ranked team in the world behind the powerful United States, and substantiated that ranking with a silver medal winning run in Beijing. The team of Andretti Bain, Andrae Williams, Michael Matthieu, Chris Brown, Avard Moncur and Ramon Miller was spectacular in both the heats and the final. Andretti, Andrae, Michael and Chris ran the final and finished in a time of 2:58.03, the second fastest time ever ran by a Bahamian quartet. The team was a unanimous choice for the honor and deservedly so.

As we look forward to 2009, it will be interesting to see which athletes rise to the forefront. Over the past two years, all but one of the 10 honors went to athletics. It is by no means an attack on the other sporting disciplines in the country, but in actuality, a testimony of the tremendous strides made on the track and in the field. I just can't wait to see how 2009 unfolds.