It was a busy weekend for Bahamian athletes in indoor action with premier sprinter Shaunae Miller-Uibo leading the way as she opened her season with a national record in the women’s 200 meters (m) at the American Track League Meet #2 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Saturday. Also at that meet was collegiate jumper LaQuan Nairn.
A number of other Bahamian track and field athletes were in action for their respective schools as they continued to perform at a high level on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) scene. Some of those athletes made the best of their season debuts after not competing collegiately since March 2020.
As for Bahamian Olympic Champion Miller-Uibo, she pulled out the light blue hair for her indoor season opener, clocking a blistering personal best time of 22.40 seconds that inked her name in The Bahamas’ record books once again, this time with the 200m indoor national record. Miller-Uibo broke Pauline Davis’ 22.68 seconds mark which was set back at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain, in 1995.
The 200m and 400m specialist also has the world-leading time this season.
She spoke about how she and her husband, multi-event specialist, Estonian Maicel Uibo, pushed each other throughout the passing of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a blessing to share this dream with him,” Miller-Uibo said to ESPN. “He is so dedicated and he always pushes me and I push him. We push each other to do our best and it’s just an exciting thing, especially during the pandemic. We just try and help each other and stay in shape as best as we could. We encourage each other to get out and work out and stay fit.”
The Bahamian ran a comfortable race passing her only competitor American Shamier Little just 20 meters into the race. With about 100 meters left in the race, Miller-Uibo went into auto pilot mode as she cruised to the finish line.
Little crossed the finish line in a personal best time of 23.40 seconds.
It is a superb start for Miller-Uibo as she continues to prepare herself for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics Games, which is now set for July 23 to August 8, still in Tokyo, Japan.
Nairn clocked 6.92 seconds to finish sixth in his heat of the 60m dash. His time was not enough to get him into the finals. The University of Arkansas Razorbacks redshirt senior was making his season debut.
It was a winning start for Charisma Taylor in the long jump and the 60m hurdles. The Washington State University (WSU) Cougars sophomore made her debut at the University of Washington Indoor Preview at the Dempsey Indoor Center in Seattle, Washington on Friday and Saturday.
Taylor started out the season in the long jump. It would be her fifth jump in the series that produced her winning leap of 5.76m (18’ 10-3/4”). She posted two jumps over 5.70m (18’ 8-1/2”) in her season debut. Finishing behind her in second with a jump of 5.73m (18’ 9-3/4”) was the University of Washington Huskies’ Jelani Heath. Finishing third was Taylor’s teammate Anna Rodgers whose best jump was 5.58m (18’ 3-3/4”).
Taylor clocked 8.35 seconds in the 60m hurdles to come away with a victory in that event. Her closest competitor was the Huskies’ Aaliyah Wilson who ran 8.55 seconds to secure the second place finish. Rounding out the top three positions was Taylor’s teammate MacKenzie Fletcher who crossed the finish line in 9.05 seconds.
The Cougars head out of state this weekend to compete in the Arkansas Qualifier at the University of Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. For Taylor, it will be a return to her old stomping ground as she started her collegiate career at Arkansas.
Western Illinois University Leathernecks’ Amelia Peterson made her season debut and claimed a victory in the triple jump and the long jump events at the Bill Clinger Classic at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, on Friday.
In the triple jump, the former Queen’s College athlete used her fourth jump in her series to win the event with a leap of 11.84m (38’ 10-1/4”). Her teammates Allie Scott and Tyronay Taylor finished second and third respectively. Scott recorded a jump of 11.33m (37’ 2-1/4”) while Taylor posted a leap of 11.12m (36’ 5-3/4”).
Senior athlete Peterson had to settle for second in the long jump when she leapt 5.51m (18’ 1”) on her second attempt. Grand Valley State Lakers’ Angelica Floyd won that event when she recorded a leap of 5.77m (18’ 11-1/4”). Finishing third was Hillsdale College Chargers’ Emily Gerdin with a leap of 5.17m (16’ 11-1/2”).
Peterson returns to the same location on Saturday, February 13, at which time the Leathernecks will be in action again.
Senior Sasha Wells was in action for the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles at the Wichita State Shocker Invitational. She competed in the 60m dash on Friday afternoon at the Heskett Center in Wichita, Kansas. Wells won that event comfortably in a time of 7.56 seconds. The reigning Summit League Athlete of the Week performer improved on her 7.58 seconds clocking that she ran in the preliminaries. Finishing second behind her was Wichita State University Shockers’ Paula Garcia. Finishing third was Wells’ teammate Victoria Neville who was close behind Garcia with a time of 7.75 seconds. Bahamian and Golden Eagles’ sophomore Lakelle Kinteh was fourth when she posted a time of 7.75 seconds.
Bahamian and Golden Eagles’ junior Gabrielle Gibson ran away with a victory in the 60m hurdles when she clocked 8.53 seconds. That time was better than her preliminaries time of 8.66 seconds. The Shockers’ Nerea Quiros recorded a time of 9.20 seconds for second. Quiros’ teammate Anycia Cole sprinted her way to a time of 9.38 seconds to finish third. Wells was in this race but did not finish after she hit a hurdle and fell, but was not injured. She went into the final with the second-fastest qualifying time of 9.01 seconds.
Gibson was also victorious in the 200m when she crossed the line in 25.14 seconds. She led a trio of Golden Eagles in securing the top three spots in this race. Kayvon Stubbs, another Bahamian, was second after clocking 25.55 seconds and finishing third was Tay’Maro Powell when she posted a time of 26.14 seconds.
On the men’s side, it was former C.R. Walker Knights’ athlete and current Golden Eagles’ athlete Bradley Dormeus who ran away with the fastest time in the 200m. The junior ran a time of 21.66 seconds. His teammate Aaron Charlton was second after he recorded a time of 22.21 seconds. The Shockers’ Antonio Norman was third after running 22.28 seconds.
Kinteh finished third in the long jump when she jumped 5.42m (17’ 9-1/2”). The Shockers finished first and second with Jacque Darby coming away with the best jump of 5.64m (17’ 11-1/2”). Ezinne Okoro was second with a jump of 5.64m (18’ 6”).
The Golden Eagles returns to Wichita this coming Friday for another meet hosted by the Shockers.
West Texas A&M Buffaloes’ Jahmaal Wilson narrowly missed out on a top three finish in the 60m hurdles as he finished fourth at the Washburn Open at the Washburn University Indoor Athletic Facility in Topeka, Kansas. His time of 8.127 seconds was not enough to beat out Washburn University’s Romain Henry who clocked 8.125 seconds to secure the third position. Wilson’s time was once again a NCAA Division II provisional qualifying time.
The top finisher was Wilson’s teammate Tyrin Lewis when he ran 8.02 seconds. Finishing second was Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions’ Dorian Andrews with a time of 8.09 seconds.
Wilson finished 19th in the 60m dash with a time of 7.03 seconds. The sophomore was 42nd in the 200m after clocking 22.88 seconds.
Next up for Wilson and the Buffaloes will be the Adams State University Grizzly Invite this coming Saturday. The meet will be at the High Altitude Training Center in Alamosa, Colorado.
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