The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net STEPHEN Newbold, having made the necessary adjustments to competing indoors, couldn't ask for a better way to open his collegiate career at Florida State University. In the Atlantic Coast Conference at the Boston College in Roxbury, Massachusetts, Newbold led a weekend filled with outstanding performances from Bahamians around the US. The St John's College graduate posted a time of 47.78 seconds for his first victory in the 400 metres. He went in with the fastest qualifying time of 48.44. "I practiced and I worked hard for it," Newbold said. "The competition was kind of stiff but I overcame it and I just want to thank God for giving me the ability to do it." After relaxing in the first of the two 200m lap races, Newbold said he went to an all-out sprint in the last lap and he had to run for time rather than the competition. "This is my first time running the 200 and 400 indoors, so I'm more eager to see how well I can run them outdoors, especially the 200," he said. "So it should be pretty good." Newbold, the reigning quarter-mile champion in the IAAF World Youth Championships, contested the 200 where he was third in the final in 21.38 after a fourth place finish in the preliminaries in 21.49. This weekend, he is expected to compete in his next meet in Arkansas - a last chance to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Warren Fraser, a junior at Clemson University, was seventh in the 200 final in 21.94. In the preliminaries, Fraser got sixth overall in 21.71. And Fraser came through for sixth as well in the 60 final in 6.76. But he wasn't able to improve on his seventh place finish in the preliminaries in 6.74. Smith wins at SEC Indoors At the Southeastern Conference Indoor in Kentucky-Nutter, Lexington, Kentucky, Auburn University's senior Nivea Smith clocked 23.52 to win the women's 200 final heat one. Tynia Gaither, a freshman at the University of Georgia, got third in the same race in 23.93. During the preliminaries, Smith won heat three in 23.55 while Gaither took heat four in 23.72. Gaither also contested the 60 where she was ninth in the final in 7.51. V'Alonee Robinson, a sophomore at Auburn, finished ahead of Gaither in seventh in 7.43. In the preliminaries, Gaither was seventh after her third place in heat three. Robinson followed in eighth in 7.45 for third as well in heat two. Smith ran 7.53 for fourth in heat one but it was only good enough for 12th. Another Bahamian, Ivanique Kemp, contested the women's 60 hurdles where she was fifth in tying her personal best time of 8.27. Kemp won heat three for the third fastest qualifying time of 8.36. Gibson double victory at the Summit League Oral Roberts' junior Jeffery Gibson clocked 48.25 for his victory in the Section 2 final of the men's 400 at the Summit League Indoor Championships in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was also the fastest time of the two segments of the final. Gibson did the same thing in winning the Section 2 final of the 200 in 22.07. Culmer second at State Farm Southern Illinois University's senior Kenya Culmer had to settle for second in the women's high jump at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference. Culmer cleared 1.74 metres or 5-feet, 8 1/2-inches for her performance. Meanwhile, her sophomore team-mate Douglas Palacious got a second and third in the men's triple and long jumps respectively. In the triple jump, Palacious soared 15.22m or 49-11 1/4 for his runner-up position. In the long jump, he leapt 7.16m or 23-6 to end up in third. Dorsett fourth at Big Sky Competing for Portland State, P'Lar Dorsett ran to a fourth place finish in the women's 60 hurdles in 8.62 at the Big Sky Conference Championships in Flagstaff, Arizona. She had the second fastest qualifying time of 8.50.