SPORTS SECTION E
THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2025
French Open, Page 8
High jumper Hanna climbing the ladder By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
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lan Hanna could be the next Bahamian male high jumper to watch as he prepares for his collegiate career on a division-one scholarship at Kansas State. Over the weekend at the KSHSAA State Championship at the Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas, the graduating student at Maize High School soared a lifetime best of 7-feet, 3 1/2-inches or 2.22 metres to win the boys’ 6A high jump. In the process, Hanna broke the 30-year-old state meet record of 7-3 1/4 (2.21m) that was set by Garden City’s Jason Archibald. It is the second-best mark in Kansas history and second-best mark in the United States this season.
NBA FINALS PREVIEWS
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“I just had the feeling that I’ve really got to be number one,” Hanna told The Wichita Eagle after his performance. “Anything lower than that is not really that good.” With his performance, Hanna improved on his previous personal best of 7-2 (2.18m) and he posted the second best feat by a Bahamian this year, trailing only Donald Thomas, who cleared 7-5 3/4 (2.28m) on April 27 at the Jagar Track in Mobile, Alabama. Hanna’s father, Jason Hanna, who was on the sideline to watch his son close out his high school campaign, was just as impressed as everybody else with his accomplishment. “We started putting the bar up that high, just so he could see it,” proud father Jason Hanna said. “And then he went to work.” After starting the competition clearing 6-10 (2.08m) to secure the title, the bar moved up to 7-0 (2.13m) as Hanna easily cleared it. From there, he matched his PR of 7-2 (2.18m) to continue a clean slate. But as he soared over the bar at 7-3 1/2 (2.22m), Hanna said he knew he did something special. It propelled him to one of the top 10 performances ever by a Bahamian. “That one felt crazy. When I was over the bar and I didn’t feel anything, I started celebrating a little early,” Hanna said. “I looked up at the bar and I said, ‘I got you. I’m going higher than you.’” His coach at Maize, McKenna Pontius, knew that he had a phenomenal athlete on his hand. “He is an elite athlete, and it’s just been amazing to have a front-row seat to
SENIOR BASEBALL NATIONALS TO ‘PITCH OFF’ THIS FRIDAY By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
ALAN Hanna soared a lifetime best of 7-feet, 3 1/2-inches or 2.22 metres to win the boys’ 6A high jump. He could be the next Bahamian male high jumper to watch as he prepares for his collegiate career on a division-one scholarship at Kansas State. Photo: Travis Heying/The Wichita Eagle his gift,” Pontius said. “For him, every competition is between him and the bar.” His father said it will be an achievement that he won’t forget. “It was just unbelievable,” father Hanna said. “I still can’t believe it. It was just breathtaking. “It’s just awesome, and I’m so proud of him that he was able to say that he wanted to break a record
and he put in the hard work and did it.” The 18-year-old Hanna has earned a scholarship at Kansas State where he expects the sky to be the limit as he begins his collegiate career in August. He follows in the footsteps of his older brother Jacob Hanna, who completed his senior year as a basketball player for the Washburn Ichabods.
Jacob Hanna was named the most outstanding player in the NCAA Central Regional Tournament where the Ichabods made it to the Final Four this season. Jacob Hanna was also named the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year and the Newcomer of the Year after he transferred from the University of Illinois-Springfield.
THE Bahamas Baseball Association is gearing up for its Brice Newball Foundation 2025 Andre Rodgers Senior National Baseball Championships at the Andre Rodgers Baseball Stadium.. The championships will comprise of six teams competing in the under-16 division and four teams in the under-23 division with games played from Friday to Sunday. However, BBA secretary general Theodore Sweeting said there are a few games that will be played at the Baillou Hills Sporting Complex as they try to get all of the games completed in the three-day window. The tournament, which is being held this year in honour of legendary former player turned coach Fred “Papa” Smith, will feature teams from the Commonwealth Baseball League (CBL), Freedom Farm Baseball League (FFBL), Ed Armbrister Baseball League (EABL), Grand Bahama Little League (GBLL), Legacy Baseball League (Legacy), Abco Youth Baseball League (AYBSL) and the Junior Baseball League of Nassau (JBLN). “The Commonwealth Baseball League are the defending champions from the under-23 division and they will be back to try to see if they can repeat,” Sweeting said. “And you have the return of JBLN in the under-16. I think that’s their strongest division. But we also have Freedom Farm, who
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FINALS EVE: HOW THE Twin sister sprinter Joanna NBA PROS PREPARE - AND WHAT making her presence felt OUR ATHLETES CAN LEARN By Dr Kent L Bazard
By BRENT STUBBS Chief Sports Editor bstubbs@tribunemedia.net TWIN sister Joanna Miller, with aspirations to one day represent The Bahamas at the Olympic Games, had another phenomenal year as a sprinter at Tallulah Falls. In concluding her season at the GIAA State Track and Field Championships - Class AA, AAA at the Strong Rock Christian School in Locust, Grove, Georgia last month, she ran a personal best of 26.10 seconds to win the 200m with Hadley Stewart of Stratford Academy in 26.14. It was a contrasting difference for Miller, who ended up seventh in the 100m PR of 12.68 as she watched Morgan Davis of George win her PR of 12.68. The 15-year-old Miller also ran the 400m where she placed fourth in 1:01.91 with Makayla Richardson of Westfield taking the tape in 1:00.26. Miller ended the meet by anchoring Tallulah Falls’ girls 4 x 100m relay team of Carlota Martinez, Jace Ibermere and Sophia Williams-Angmor to victory in 51.02, just ahead of Stratford Academy, who did 51.04. Prior to that, Miller also participated in the regional championships where she won the 100, 200 and 400m, while running on their winning 4 x 100m relay team and third on the 4 x 400m relay. Home for the summer, Miller said she was thrilled about her performances, especially in the 200m which she considers to be her specialty over the 400m. “I think it was a good season for me, mostly at the end, but
not the beginning,” Miller said. “I had some good performances at the regional and state championships.” She competes along with her twin brother, Jordan, who also competes in track as a 400m specialist and will be playing baseball. “It’s a lot of fun. He was on the track team my first year and we had a lot of fun competing together,” said Miller of her twin. “They treat us the same.” With the season behind her, Miller, one of several Bahamians attending Tallulah Falls, said that when she returns to enter grade 11 in August, she’s expected to start playing softball. “I’m trying for first base, but I haven’t played yet,” she said. I will have to wait until I go back to school to see how it will work out. It’s going to be interesting because I will be competing against players who are older than me. “It could be intimidating, but when I get to that point, I take the time to pray and ask God to take that fear away from me. I hope to do that when I go to try out for the team.” Miller, as a former student of South Haven Christian Academy on Gladstone Road, said she’s also looking forward to the continuation of her track career. “I’m hoping that I can break some more school records and I get to compete at a higher level,” said Miller, who is aiming to secure an athletic scholarship to a prominent college or university when she’s done in two years. Since she returned home, Miller has been working with her aunt
AS Game 1 of the NBA Finals tips off tonight, fans around the globe will tune in to watch elite athletes perform at the highest level. But while the game itself lasts just four quarters, the preparation behind those performances spans days, months - even years. What happens the day before a championship showdown? And what can our Bahamian athletes take away from how the legends prepared?
From the gym to the dinner table, the best of the best treated pre-game preparation like a science. BAZARD Athletes like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Allen Iverson each had their own method - but their commitment to excellence
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THE SPORTS June CALENDAR
JOANNA Miller on the podium. Cherly at Beyond Flags for a summer gig, but she intends to start training for her return to competition. Miller, whose ultimate goal is to compete at the Olympics, is the daughter of Rickcardo and Dan Miller and she has an older brother, Joel, who plays baseball in college in Georgia as well.
BASKETBALL SMILES IT’S that time again as Basketball Smiles returns to The Bahamas. Scheduled for June 16-18 at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium, the basketball clinic conducted by veteran American basketball coach Sam Nicholls is designed for boys and girls between the ages of seven and 17 years old. The girls’ clinic is slated to run from 9am
to noon and the boys will follow from 1-4pm. Interested persons are urged to contact coach Patricia “Pattie” Johnson at HO Nash Junior High School or call 5653675 for more details. BASKETBALL MHB CAMP THE Marvin Henfield Basketball Summer Basketball Camp is scheduled to run from
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