Bahamian athletes perform well in college meets

Bahamian jumpers had strong performances in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athletics this past weekend.

Competing in her sixth triple jump event of the outdoor season was the University of Western Illinois Leathernecks’ Amelia Peterson. The junior picked up her fourth victory of the season in that event at the Drake Relays at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. She leapt 12.49 meters (m) – 40’ 11-3/4” and finished ahead of North Dakota State University Bisons’ Jodi Lipp who recorded a leap of 12.31m (40’ 4-3/4”). Finishing third was Indiana State University Sycamore’s Ryann Porter, who leapt 12.28m (40’ 3-1/2”).

Peterson was ninth in the long jump after posting a jump of 5.48m (18’ 0-1/4”). Winning that event was the University of Northern Illinois Huskies’ Jazmyn Smith with a leap of 6.06m (19’ 10-3/4”).

It was a season best for University of Arkansas Razorbacks senior LaQuan Nairn as he leapt 7.66m (25’ 1-3/4”) to finish fourth. He had that performance at the John McDonnell Invitational at the John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Nairn’s teammate, John Baker, won that event with a leap of 7.95m (26’ 1”).

At the Fighting Big Ten Relays in Champaign, Illinois, it was Purdue University Boilermakers’ Vinajah Adderley who picked up her first collegiate win. The freshman did it in the women’s triple jump after attaining a wind-aided leap of 11.66m (38’ 3-1/4”). Finishing second was the University of Wisconsin Badgers’ Diamond Black who posted a jump of 11.55m (37’ 10-3/4”). The University of Illinois Fighting Illini’s Camille Osborne was third after she leapt 11.24m (36’ 10-1/2”).

Adderley’s teammate and fellow Bahamian Samson Colebrooke ran his second 400m race in his college career. He clocked a college-best 47.88 seconds to finish fifth overall. Winning that race was the University of Iowa Hawkeyes’ Wayne Lawrence Jr. who ran 46.72 seconds.

Charisma Taylor took a break from the triple jump pit as she was on the track at the Oregon Relays on Saturday and the University of Washington Huskies and Washington State University (WSU) Cougars Dual last Wednesday.

At the Oregon Relays at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, Taylor won the women’s 100m hurdles with a time of 13.72 seconds. The Cougars junior finished ahead of her teammate Mackenzie Fletcher who clocked 14.58 seconds. Oregon State University Beavers Claire Corbitt was able to clock 14.71 seconds to finish third.

On Wednesday, the Cougars junior clocked college-bests in the 200m and the 100m hurdles. In the 100m hurdles, she ran a personal best time of 13.42 seconds on the way to crossing the finish line first. She held off the Huskies duo of Lyndsey Lopes and Hannah Rusnak who finished second and third, respectively. Lopes clocked 13.49 seconds and Rusnak clocked 14.06 seconds.

Taylor clocked a personal best of 24.31 seconds in the 200m where she placed fourth overall. Winning that race was the Huskies’ Olivia Ribera with a time of 23.91 seconds.

After running a wind-aided 20.97 seconds at the Masked Rider Open two weeks ago, Grand Bahamian Terrence Jones clocked a wind-legal 21.17 seconds at the Texas Tech Open in Lubbock, Texas. The Texas Tech Red Raiders freshman finished third behind both teammates, Karayme Bartley and Courtney Lindsey, who were first and second, respectively. Bartley clocked 20.42 seconds and Lindsey posted a time of 20.56 seconds.

It was a good Thursday afternoon for University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) Miners senior Shakeem Smith. He clocked a college-best 13.91 seconds to win the men’s 110m hurdles at the Don Kirby Tailwind Open in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was the only competitor to go under 14 seconds in that event.

Barton Community College Cougars’ Almighty Williamson ran 14.29 seconds to finish second. Adams State University Grizzlies’ Leroy Elliott finished third with a time of 14.57 seconds.

Smith and the Miners’ 4x100m relay team clocked 40.14 seconds to finish with a silver medal. His teammates included Jevaughn Powell, Chevannie Hands and Dennis Johnson. They finished behind Barton Community College who clocked 39.86 seconds to win the race. Finishing third was the Grizzlies in 41.90 seconds.

In NCAA Division II, at the 2021 South Atlantic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina, Tusculum University Pioneers senior Kenisha Stubbs set a new school record in the 400m hurdles, running 1:03.37. Coker University freshman Giovana Machado finished second in 1:04.14, and Anderson University freshman Lauren Pernell was third in 1:05.71.

In the 100m hurdles, Stubbs was fifth in 15 seconds flat, and in the 4x400m relay, she helped her team to a fifth place finish in 4:04.31.

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