The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

High hurdler Pedrya Seymour, coming off her senior debut at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in March, led a big weekend for a number of Bahamian athletes in various international meets, including triple jumpers Latario Collie and Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands and sprinters Blake Bartlett, Keanu Pennerman and Carmiesha Cox.

Competing at the Illinois Twilight meet in Champaign, Illinois, Seymour was spectacular, clearing the women’s 100m hurdles with ease in a winning time of 13.40 seconds for her second win in two weeks. The IAAF World Indoor Championships representative improved on her previous time in the win.

“Pedrya continued her success,” said head coach Ron Garner on the Illinois’ website. “There was a slight head wind, ran 13.40, but replicated her performance from the week before.”

Seymour, a sophomore at Illinois, returned later in the evening session with a 23.88 in the 200m dash to take home her second event title of the day.

“For Seymour to have a 13.40 time earlier and then come back and have a significant personal-record, you’re talking about someone who couldn’t break 25 seconds when she got here,” Garner said.

Seymour, who will celebrate her 21st birthday on Friday, added her third victory when she ran the lead off leg on Illinois’ 4 x 100m relay that ran 45.08 for their second triumph for the year.

Latario Collie, a senior at Texas A&M, posted a winning leap of 16.37 metres or 53-feet, 8 1/2-inches to snatch the victory in the men’s triple jump at the Michael Johnson Classic in Waco, Texas with his twin brother Lathone Collie coming in sixth with 15.38m (50-5 1/2).

On the track, Blake Bartlett, a senior at Oklahoma Baptist, sped to a winning time of 10.47 seconds in the men’s 100m as he held off Zach Johnson, a junior from Air Force, who was second in 10.49.

Bartlett also competed in the 200m where he was second in 20.81. The race was won by Elijah Morrow, a senior at Texas A&M in 20.66.

Quarter-miler Demetrius Pinder, working his way back from an injured season last year, ran the third leg of the A&M Elite 4 x 400m relay team, inclusive of Bralon Taplin, Carlyle Roudette and Deon Lendore, as they took the tape in 3:05.95. A team comprising of athletes from Brazil was second in 3:05.95.

Fresh off his third place finish at the 2nd Chris Brown Bahamas Invitational at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium on April 16, Leevan Sands turned to Auburn where he won the event at the War Eagle Invitational at the Hutsell-Rosen Track. His performance was 16.29m (53-5 1/.2). Jeremiah Green, a junior at Alabama, was second with 16.17m (532-0 3/4).

Also at the meet in Auburn, Teray Smith was third in the men’s 200m in 20.64 in a race won by Ahmed Ali, a senior at Alabama, who did 20.52. Smith, another Grand Bahamian, had the seventh fastest qualifying time of 10.33 in the century. However, he opted not to run in the final of the straight away race that was won by Trentavis Friday, who competed unattached, in 10.40.

Smith also anchored the Auburn Tigers men’s 4 x 100m relay team of Wellington Zara, Kahlil Henderson and Joshua Burks to victory in 39.36.

And Jenae Ambrose, in her freshman year, had double duties in the women’s sprints. She qualified with the sixth fastest time in the 100m in 11.49, but didn’t run the final that was won by top qualifier (11.40) Flings Owusu-Agyapong, who competed unattached, in 11.30.

Ambrose came in sixth in the 200m in 23.85. Diamond Gause, a junior at Alabama who was second in the century’s final in 11.44, won the half-lap race in 23.35.

With hurdler/sprinter Devynne Charlton out for the rest of the season with an injury, the spotlight for Purdue University at their dual meet against Indiana University at the Robert C Haugh Track and Field Complex fell on Keanu Pennerman, who took the men’s 100m in 10.48 ahead of his team-mate Malcolm Dotson, who did 10.62.

Dotson, however, spoiled Pennerman’s bid for a sweep of the two sprints as he won the 200m in 21.02. Pennerman did 21.28 to get second.

Carmiesha Cox secured a second place in the women’s 100m in 11.54 as she trailed her team-mate Savannah Carson, the winner in 11.46.  Cox bounced back and turned the tables on Carson in the 200m. Cox won in 23.33 and Carson was third in 24.02 behind Savannah Roberson, second in 23.73.

Running on the third leg, Cox helped the Boilermakers women’s 4 x 100m relay team of Savannah Carson, Autumn Heath and Savannah Robertson clock 44.31 for the victory to post the third fastest time in Purdue’s history, though that same team holds the school record from three weeks earlier.

“I’m very excited about the performances from these athletes that we have from the Bahamas,” said Rolando ‘Lonnie’ Greene, the Bahamian head coach at Purdue who has another Bahamian Norbert Elliott on staff as his assistant coach. “They have all been performing exceptionally well.

“This is a tough school to be in academically, but they are all holding their heads high and they are getting the job done. I’m really looking forward to seeing if I can get some more Deyvnne, Carmiesha, Keanu and Kinard. We’re just so sorry that Devynne is hurt, but we made a decision in her best interest to shut her down as she recuperates over the next 8-10 weeks.”

At the Georgia Tech Invitational, Grand Bahamian Alonzo Russell finished third in the men’s 400m in 45.97. Izaiah Brown from Rutgers won the race in 45.51. Jamaican Ricardo Chambers was third in 46.50.

Tayla Carter of Western Carolina got fifth in the final of the women’s 100m in 11.92 after she turned in the second fastest qualifying time of 11.68. India Brown, the fastest qualifier in 11.57, was the winner of the final in 11.62.

Two other competitors competed at the Bermuda Invitational with LaToy Williams picking up a third place finish in the men’s 400m in 46.53 seconds and sprinter Cache Armbrister came in third in the women’s 100m in 11.84.