As The Nassau Guardian Sports Team begins its process of its athletes of the year honors, one must truly reflect on the year that was 2020 and come to appreciate sports in all forms, shapes and sizes.
The year 2020 will never be forgotten. It was the year that sports came to a complete standstill worldwide, athletes were forced to work out from their respective homes, sportsmen and sportswomen had tons of idle time, and sports enthusiasts were stuck at home watching Lifetime movies and re-runs (not that anything is wrong with Lifetime movies).
In general, the average sports aficionado grew a much wider appreciation for the one physical aspect of life that breathes excitement, features activity on all levels and encompasses physical strength and aggression. With sports, it’s not just all about the joy of victory and the agony of defeat – it’s about camaraderie among athletes from all walks of life and love, respect and appreciation of your fellow sportsman.
The definition of sportsmanship is fair and generous behavior or treatment of others, especially in a sporting contest… and I believe in 2020, all of us in sports, developed more in this area, and appreciate the value and substance of sports on the whole.
Now, having said that, it’s time to get the party started.
For years, the past three in particular, Megan Moss has been a standout female sprinter for The Bahamas, winning a couple 400 meters (m) titles in the youth girls division at the CARIFTA Games and solidifying herself as one of the finest young sprinters in the Caribbean region.
Moss was named as the Nassau Guardian’s Junior Female Athlete of the Year for 2020 after finishing with 29 points in the voting process – just one point short of a unanimous selection. CARIFTA Champions Anthaya Charlton and Rhema Otabor finished second and third with 27 and 23 points respectively.
Three years ago, Moss won the under-18 girls 400m at the CARIFTA Games in Willemstad, Curaçao, in 53.69 seconds, at just 15-years-old; she came back one year later and took the under-17 girls CARIFTA Games 400m title at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, in Nassau, The Bahamas, in a record time of 53.19 seconds.
Moss broke Shaunae Miller’s CARIFTA record of 53.56 seconds in Nassau and was praised as the next female sprinting star in the region. She was the absolute best junior female quarter-miler in the Caribbean and ended the year as number 13 in the world.
However, after battling through injuries for the rest of 2018, Moss struggled to get back to the top.
This year, her first at the University of Kentucky (UK), Moss showed some of that tenacity and speed that had her so highly regarded as a junior sprinter just a couple years ago. She ran personal best times in the 200 and 400m indoors this year, and was on pace to explode outdoors before the coronavirus pandemic became rampant on this side of the world earlier this year.
In the 200m indoors, Moss prevailed at the Jim Green Invitational, at Nutter Field House, in Lexington, Kentucky, in a personal best time of 24.09 seconds. Just one day later, she came back and won the 400m indoors, in 53.67 seconds. About two weeks later, Moss would be nearly a second faster, finishing third in the 400m at the Rod McCravy Memorial, at Nutter Field House, in 52.85 seconds, and about three weeks later, she would set a new personal best time of 52.58 seconds, finishing third at the Tiger Paw Invitational, at Clemson Indoor Track & Field Complex, in Clemson, South Carolina.
There is little doubt that she was on pace for a breakout year outdoors before COVID-19 forced a stoppage in sports.
Outdoors, she has personal best times of 11.94 seconds in the 100m, 24.04 seconds in the 200m and 53.06 seconds in the 400m.
In 2019, Anthaya Charlton was a triple medalist at CARIFTA, winning gold in the 100m and long jump events and taking bronze in the 100m hurdles, leading to her earning the Nassau Guardian’s Junior Female Athlete of the Year for 2019. Like others, Charlton didn’t get to showcase her skills at CARIFTA in 2020, but showed signs of progression.
Indoors, at the UK High School Invitational, in Lexington, Charlton ran 7.41 seconds to win the 60m and finished second in the long jump with a jump of 5.79m (19’). Outdoors, Charlton has season best performances of 11.87 seconds in the 100m and 5.77m (18’ 11-1/4”) in the long jump, not far from her personal best marks of 11.51 seconds and 5.86m (19’ 2-3/4”) respectively.
She won gold medals in those events at the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) Track and Field Championships in early March, and was poised to perform well at the high school nationals before that meet was halted.
If there was any indication that Rhema Otabor was set to have a grand year in 2020, one needs to look no further than her opening throw all the way back in January. Otabor had a massive personal best heave of 47.95m (157’ 4”), surpassing her gold medal winning throw at CARIFTA last year by almost five meters. At CARIFTA in George Town, Cayman Islands, last year, she had a winning throw of 43.07m (141’ 3”) in the under-20 girls division. She is significantly better this year.
Additionally, Otabor was one of seven athletes to unofficially qualify for the 2020 CARIFTA Games at the Blue Chip Athletics Throwers Meet on Saturday December 19. The CARIFTA Games are tentatively set for April 3-5, 2021, in Hamilton, Bermuda. Otabor recorded a best throw of 47.15m (158’ 8-1/4”). The Florida International University (FIU) student-athlete made that throw on her second attempt, and easily surpassed the 2020 standard of 38.39m (125’ 11-1/2”).
It was good to see two softball players finish in the top five for the Nassau Guardian’s Junior Female Athlete of the Year for 2020 as Laurel Rolle was fourth with 13 points and Dorinda Knowles finished tied for fifth with 12 points.
The top junior men in the country for 2020 will be recognized tomorrow.
The post Moss named as top junior female; Charlton, Otabor finish second and third appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/moss-named-as-top-junior-female-charlton-otabor-finish-second-and-third/
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