St. Aug's
hurdler
.
is going
to Beijing
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Former Saint Augustine's College hurdler
and current Falcon student Bershawn Jackson
gained a berth to the 2008 Beijing Olympics
with a convincing victory in the 400-meter
hurdles final on June 29 at the U.S. Olympic
Track and Field Trials at Hay ward Field. This
is the first Olympic berth for Jackson, a
Miami, Fla., native who lives and trains in
Raleigh,
under
George
Willialns,
the leg
endary Saint
Augustine's
College
track and
field coach
and 2004
U.S.
Olympic
team coach.
Jackson
blitzed the
field in the
finals, cross
ing the fin
ish line in
48.17 sec
J onds to beat
Former St. Aug.
Bershawn Jackson rti
US Olympic team.
A n g e 1 o
Taylor
(48.42), who both are going to the 2008
Olympics as well. The top three finishers
advanced to the Beijing Games.
Jackson, who won his heat in the quarterfi
nals and semifinals, entered the finals with the
fourth-best semifinal time but made an adjust
ment.
"I got out very hard." said Jackson, the
2005 world outdoor 400-meter hurdles cham
pion. "The wind played a big factor in the race
today. I just wanted to relax as much as possi
ble and not fight the wind and conserve as
much energy as possible. The main thing was
to come hone strong and have a kick because
I knew it was going to be a tight race.
"I really came on. I felt pretty sluggish
today (June 29) but when the race came, the
adrenaline put me through the race. I had a
hurdle-free day."
Williams said Jackson ran a smart race.
"By him being small, (Jackson) let the
wind help hi'm on the backside," Williams said.
As a result, Jackson attained his life-long
goal of making the Olympics.
"My main thing was to make the team,"
Jackson said. "I was very nervous. If I didn't
make the team, 1 think I would have given up
track and field, I was feeling so much pres
sure."
Jackson, scheduled to graduate from Saint
Augustine's College in the fall semester of
2008, is the latest runner under Williams head
ed to the Olympics.
"He is a great individual to support our
country," Williams concluded. "I am thrilled
these kind of students come to Saint
Augustine's College."
Little
cancels
Late Nite
League
It looks like a summer tra
dition is coming to an end this
year. Most of you have experi
enced the atmosphere of the
Late Nite Summer Basketball
League. It's hood. It's excit
ing. It's crazy. It's comfort
able. It's fun And for over 20
years it has been a tradition
here in Winston
Salem.
There s noth
ing quite like
Late Nite hoops.
I mean, you
would see
females dressed
for the club. You
might run into an
old friend you
haven't seen
since high
school. It s noth
ing to run into
local high school standouts
and coaches during game
nights.
I remember also running
into guys like Justin Gray,
Trent Strickland and Eric
Williams in the 14th Street
gym to catch some of the
action. That's how exciting it
was. Winston-Salem State
head basketball coach Bobby
Collins was on ,a team for a
short period last year.
Everyone wanted to check it
out.
It looks like some of the
swagger or excitement has
been taken away from the
league. There was a time when
guys couldn't wait to turn 18
so they could take part in the
action. There was a time when
guys bragged
from one
FROM THE
HUDDLE
Anthony
W
summer to
the next after
winning a
Late Nite
champi
onship. Then,
there's this
year. One and
Done and the
Hot Boy'z
made it clear
^ ? they weren't
playing in the
league this year. Most of them
have decided to play . in the
growing Pro Am League in
Lewisville. That seemingly
took some of tha' fun away
from participating in the 14th
Street league, "teams geared
up to defeat bath of those
squads every weak. Due to
them not playing this year, not
enough teams signed up for
the league. That led to league
See Hill on B4
Photo by Charlie Pfaff
Late Nite action gave local fans an opportunity to watch their friends play, as well
several former prep and college bailers.
Career
Crossover
Divina Simmons making smooths
transition into coaching
BY ANTHONY HILL
THE CHRONICLE
Reynolds assistant varsity girls coach Divina Simmons
never imagined being a basketball coach when she was a
young bailer at North Forsyth. As a matter of fact,
Simmons wanted to be the first female to play in the NBA.
She altered her career plans after suffering a number of
ACL injuries and undergoing five knee surgeries.
"I probably didn't think about being a coach until I got
to college," said Simmons, who played her college ball at
Virginia Tech. "1 wanted to play in the NBA. That was
before the WNBA came around. The interest in coaching
came about after sitting on the bench, dealing with
injuries. .Y#u see the game in a different light from the
sidelines. It really gives you a chance to reflect and think
about some things."
Simmons has always kind of played the role of a
coach, though. As a player, Simmons was constantly
telling teammates where to go and what to do during cer
tain plays ? almost like a point guard. But she was a
small forward and power forward during her playing days.
See Simmons on B2
moto oy Aninonv n
Reynolds assistant coach Divina Simmons is primed to be a head coach one day.
Sisters in Arms
AFP Photo by Adrian Dennis
Venus Williams hugs her sister, Serena, after the pair won the 2008
Wimbledon Doubles Championship on Saturday. Earlier that day,
Venus also won the fifth singles title by beating her little sis. Venus
Williams is one of only four women to have won five Wimbledon sin
gles titles. The others are Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and
SteffyCraf.
Bailey putting in extra duties
BY ANTHONY HILL
THE CHRONICLE
Don't tell Carver assistant ath
letic director Aaron Bailey that
he's supposed to be relaxing dur
ing his summer break. Bailey
spends most of his energy and
time teaching kids, ages 9-17, bas
ketball skills at Carl Russell
Community Center.
Bailey has been giving free
basketball and skill development
lessons at the rec. center for
almost a month. His passion is
simply to help kids that probably
wouldn't get special help, due to
financial circumstances or other
reasons. Bailey also puts on the
summer-long clinic to teach the
game he loves.
"I really don't get af? opportu
nity to be around basketball as
much as I would like, with my job
as assistant athletic director,"
Bailey said. "But I still love the
game. So I wanted to give back to
some kids that have never played,
or need a little help. A lot of these
kids are self taught through televi
See Bailey on B4
Photo by Anthony Hill
Carver assistant athletic director Aaron Bailey gives instruction during a
session earlier this week at Carl Russell.
?