SPORTS BRIEFS: Reggie Lewis, Mimi Land head to NCAA championships

Local athletes compete in NCAA track & field championships

A pair of Albany-area athletes will be competing in the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships that begin today in Eugene, Ore. Former Westover High School standout Reggie Lewis, a graduate transfer at Arizona State, and former Monroe standout Mimi Land, now at Clemson, will compete in the national meet which runs through Saturday.

Lewis will team with senior Ben Trotter, redshirt senior Isaiah Underwood and freshman Brandon Hasson in the men’s 4×100-meter relay at 7:32 p.m. Wednesday night. A victory would send them into the finals Friday night at 8:32 p.m.

Lewis will also compete in the 200 meters at 9:44 p.m. Wednesday. The former Westover standout just missed qualifying in the 100 meters by .001 seconds.

“I think that set us back because I do believe in our heart of hearts if we had an additional round of racing, then Reggie Lewis would have also qualified in the 100-meter dash,” Arizona State Director of Track & Field Greg Kraft said in regards to the qualifying being adjusted due to weather in Kansas at the West Regional. “He made it in the 200, but there’s no question that he has the ability and mindset to compete in both of those races along with our 4×100 relay at the NCAA Championships.”

Land qualified for the national meet after a strong performance for Clemson at the East Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Fla. last week.

Land finished 11th in the women’s long jump with a jump of 20-feet, 3 3/4-inches and fourth in the women’s high jump with a jump of 5-10.75.

On Thursday, Land will be Clemson’s first competitor of the day at 9 p.m. in the long jump finals. She will compete at 6 p.m. Friday in the high jump.

MMA Fighter Slice passes away

Mixed martial arts fighter Kimbo Slice, who rose to fame in the early 2000s through videos of his unsanctioned street fights and backyard brawls, died on Monday at the age of 42.

The cause of death was not immediately made public.

American Top Team, a facility where he trained in Coconut Creek, Florida, announced Slice’s death on Twitter.

“The ATT Family and South Florida community lost a legend today. RIP KIMBO,” their Tweet read.

Slice was taken from his home in Coral Gables, Florida to a hospital in Fort Lauderdale on Monday. Sergeant Carla Kmiotek of the Coral Springs police told Yahoo Sports: “We did not receive a police or EMS call from the residence.

“There is no foul play suspected and there is no investigation. It is being handled as a medical incident.”

Scott Coker, president of Bellator MMA, an organization for which Slice competed, said in a statement: “We are all shocked and saddened by the devastating and untimely loss of Kimbo Slice, a beloved member of the Bellator family.

“One of the most popular MMA fighters ever, Kimbo was a charismatic, larger-than-life personality that transcended the sport.

“Outside of the cage he was a friendly, gentle giant and a devoted family man.”

Slice, who was born as Kevin Ferguson in Nassau, Bahamas, and attended the University of Miami and Bethune-Cook University, compiled a 5-2-1 career MMA record between the UFC and Bellator and was 7-0 with six knockouts in seven professional boxing fights.

He last fought at Bellator 149 in February, defeating Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris. Slice later tested positive for steroids, wiping the victory from the record books.