A total of seven Bahamian collegiate athletes have qualified for the upcoming National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I and Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships, each slated for March 11-13.
Qualifying in the NCAA Division I are Purdue University Boilermakers senior Tamar Greene (men’s triple jump), University of Kentucky Wildcats sophomore Megan Moss (women’s 400 meters (m) and 4x400m relay), Washington State University (WSU) Cougars junior Charisma Taylor (women’s triple jump) and University of Florida Gators junior Doneisha Anderson (women’s 4x400m and distance medley relays).
Over in NCAA Division II action, the Bahamian qualifiers are Minnesota State University at Mankato Mavericks sophomore Denisha Cartwright (women’s 60m, 60m hurdles, 200m and 4x400m relay), West Texas A&M Buffaloes sophomore Jahmaal Wilson (men’s 60m hurdles) and Minnesota State University at Moorhead Dragons junior Shyrone Kemp (men’s triple jump).
The NCAA Division I Championships will be hosted by the University of Arkansas at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. On the NCAA Division II side, the University of Montevallo and the City of Birmingham will be co-hosts for the championships that will be held at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.
Last year’s championships were canceled due to the nature of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
Greene, the most experienced Bahamian on this list, qualified with the 10th best jump in the nation – 16.14m (52’ 11-1/2”). That was his season-best jump ever and the third-best mark in Boilermakers’ program history. It was done at the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships this past weekend where he won a bronze medal. It was his third meet of the season.
The Aviation Management major will be going to his first NCAA Division I Indoor Championships. He is one of five Boilermakers to qualify for the prestigious meet under head coach, Bahamian Norbert Elliott.
Moss is one of those up-and-coming Bahamian quarter-milers who has proven that she is a tough competitor. She logged a personal best of 52.32 seconds that has her listed as the 12th fastest female quarter-miler on the NCAA Division I scene. She clocked that time this past weekend at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Indoor Track and Field Championships where she finished sixth in a highly competitive race.
At the same meet last weekend, Moss and the Wildcats 4x400m team ran their way to the third-fastest time in the country when they clocked 3:28.82. Having already had a top-12 time, they qualified for the NCAA Championships with a faster time. Along with Moss were Abby Steiner, Masai Russell and Dajour Miles.
This is Moss’ second time qualifying for the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships after doing so during the 2019-2020 season. She is one of 11 Wildcats to qualify for the championships next week. The Wildcats’ head coach is Bahamian Rolando “Lonnie” Greene.
Taylor is ranked at number 11 in the triple jump event in the nation. Her leap of 13.45m (44’ 1-1/2”) came at the Texas Tech Matador Qualifier back on February 19. She won that event which was her last meet of the regular season. Like Greene, she was only able to get three meets in this season.
Taylor also qualified for the championship in the triple jump in 2020.
Anderson did not run any individual races this past indoor season. However, she made contributions to the 4x400m and distance medley relay teams.
Anderson and the Gators 4x400m relay team heads into the championship with the sixth-fastest time in the nation – 3:31.75. Anderson did not run with the team when they posted that time at the SEC Championships last weekend, but is a member of the Gators’ qualifying squad.
The Gators’ distance medley team also has the sixth-fastest time in the nation – 11:00.31. They made the mark at the SEC Championships last weekend.
The junior is one of 22 Gators entries at the upcoming championships.
Cartwright is in four events on the NCAA Division II side and is highly ranked in the country.
In the 60m hurdles, Cartwright has the top time in the nation at 8.41 seconds – a time she was able to produce this past weekend at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Championships. In the 200m, she is ranked at number three in the national rankings with a time of 24.10 seconds. Again, she recorded that time at the conference championships. Her nationally number four ranked time of 7.52 seconds, in the 60m, was also done at the conference championships.
The 4x400m relay team of Cartwright, Nyeaee Robins, Mackenzie Keune and Mackenzie Woodard has the fifth-fastest time of 3:51.07. They ran that time at the Minnesota State University at Mankato Triangular Meet back on February 12.
Cartwright was named the NSIC Track Athlete and Newcomer of the Year for the indoor season. She is one of 12 Mavericks athletes to qualify for the NCAA Division II Championships.
Wilson has the fourth-fastest time in the nation in the 60m hurdles, clocking a personal best of 7.93 seconds at the Lone State Indoor Track and Field Championships on February 20.
He has shown great improvement this season after being unable to get under eight seconds last season. He went under eight seconds twice this season.
Wilson was one of 15 Texas A&M student-athletes who qualified for the championships.
Kemp has been outstanding all season in the triple jump and recorded a personal best of 15.31m (50’ 2-3/4”) at the NSIC Indoor Track and Field Championships last weekend. With that leap, he is ranked third in the nation in the NCAA Division II and broke his own school record of 15.17m (49’ 9-1/4”).
This is the second straight year Kemp qualified for the championships. He is one of two Dragons athletes to qualify for the championships.
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source https://thenassauguardian.com/bahamians-qualify-for-ncaa-championships/
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