Bethune-Cookman first in Div. I to cancel sports through spring

Bethune-Cookman will not be participating in intercollegiate sports this coming winter or spring, announcing Tuesday that it has canceled all athletic events for the remainder of the academic year because of ongoing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

The NCAA said Bethune-Cookman, located in Daytona Beach, was the first Division I institution to publicly announce that it was not going to compete in any sport for the entire academic year. University President E. LaBrent Chrite said the decision was made “in the face of a surging COVID-19 spike” both in the state of Florida and across the country.

“We have concluded that the risks are too great for our student-athletes and staff to travel and compete at this time,” Chrite said.

Bethune-Cookman has 15 varsity programs, and the fall 2020 seasons were canceled back in July.

“We obviously recognize that other institutions may elect to move forward with spring competition,” Chrite said. “The decision for us, however, was not a complicated one. The risk premium is simply too high and our priority remains the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff.”

HIGH SCHOOLS

Girls’ volleyball —

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Pines Charter (1-0) d. Fort Lauderdale (25-15, 25-15, 27-25): Danelli Mejia 11 service points, 12 Kills, 5 assist, 5 digs; Natalie Hernandez 10 service points, 11 kills, 8 assists; Kaitlyn Albino 8 service points, 11 digs; Mourning d. Northwestern (25-5, 25-9, 25-13): Silva Fernandez, 5 aces, 2 digs; Mila Cvetkovski and Valentina Arcila dominated in kills. Mynah Marchena, 2 kills and 5 aces.

Bowling — TERRA

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d. Coral Reef 7-0: Boys – Ryan Toffoli 267 game, 687 series; Gianfranco Caro 203 game; Casey Puett 206 game. Girls –

Ella Perez 201 game, Series 550; Gillian Pons 166, Alexa Puett 159.

Football — Goleman 35, Miami Springs 0: In the preseason game, junior linebacker Ethan Bradley

led the way for the defense. On the offensive line, Division 1 prospects Avari Marshall and Jamaal Joseph had a strong start, scoring two touchdowns apiece. Junior Dorian Hodge also scored. Junior Jose Hernandez

threw three touchdown passes. The Gators regular season begins Friday against Carol City.

— NICOLE DEL RIO

ETC.

Soccer: Diogo Jota

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scored the 10,000th goal in Liverpool’s 128-year history to lead the six-time European champion to a 2-0 win over FC Midtjylland in the Champions League. In other matches:

Joao Felix scored his second goal of the match in the 85th minute to give Atletico a 3-2 win over Salzburg; Manchester City enjoyed a respite from domestic difficulties and found its scoring touch in a resounding 3-0 win at Marseille; Inter Milan dominated but it was held to a second successive draw in the Champions League, ending 0-0 at Shakhtar Donetsk.

Tennis: Novak Djo

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kovic overcame a slow start and saved a set point before beating Filip Krajinovic 7-6 (6), 6-3 in an all-Serbian first-round match at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. Track

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and field: Men’s 100-meter world champion Christian Coleman

was banned for two years and lost his chance to succeed Usain Bolt as the fastest man at the Olympic Games. Track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit said it banned the American sprinter for two years, until May 13, 2022, because of three violations of doping control rules.

Olympics: More than six years after the Sochi Games, Russian biathlete

Evgeny Ustyugov was stripped of the medals he won at the Vancouver and Sochi Winter Olympics due to doping.