The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

FROM the Drake Relays to the Penn Relays and add in the NTC Pure Athletics Spring Invite, the Bahamian elite and collegiate athletes were all over the United States competing over the weekend.

NTC Pure Athletics

Sprint Invite

In Clermont, Florida, Shaunae Miller continues to show her versatility by running the women’s 100 metres where she was tied for second place in 11.19 seconds with American Tiffany Townsend.

American Tori Bowie won the race in 11.00.

All three athletes competed for Pure Athletics.

Miller, coming off her 400m win at the 2nd Chris Brown Bahamas Invitational last month at the Thomas A Robinson National Stadium, had the seventh fastest time of 11.40 in winning her heat to qualify for the final.

Bowie, the CBBI 200m winner, led all qualifiers in 11.10.

Turning in that time in the final, Miller went under the Olympic Games’ qualifying standard of 11.32. However, she has already indicated that she will be concentrating on just the 400m in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August where she has now qualified for all three events – 100, 200 and 400m.

Also at the meet, Adrian Griffith posted a season’s best of 10.12 to win the men’s century. His previous best was 10.22. Danny Talbot of Team Agile was second in 10.15, tied with Yancarlos Martinez of Sabaku Athletics.

Griffith, who had the seventh fastest time of 10.22 in the preliminaries with a third place in his heat, has surpassed the qualifying standard of 10.16 for the Olympics. This is the second international meet for the year that he has qualified in. He competed in the IAAF World Indoors in Eugene, Oregon, in March.

Drake Relays

In Des Moines, Iowa, Chris ‘Fireman’ Brown made his season debut after spending time getting his CBBI off the ground. He got a real test in a star-studded field, placing fifth in 45.82. Grenada’s World and Olympic champion Kirani James, winner of the CBBI, did 44.08 for the win over American LaShawn Merritt, who did 44.22. Grenada’s Bralon Taplin came third in 44.92 and American David Verburg was fourth in 45.03.

The Bahamas’ top three high jumpers squared off again for the second time this year. Coming off his second place at the CBBI, Trevor Barry got the best of the trio when he cleared 7-feet, 2 ¼-inches to beat out CBBI champion Donald Thomas at the same height. Jamal Wilson, third at the CBBI, was sixth with 7-0 ¼.

All three competitors have already surpassed the Olympic qualifying height of 2.29.

Derek Drouin of Nike won with a leap of 7-4 ¼.

Jeffery Gibson, the Pan American Games silver medallist and World Championship bronze medallist, got fourth place in the men’s 400m hurdles in 49.98 behind an American dominance that saw Bershawn Jackson take the tape in 49.30, followed by Michael Tinsley in 49.36 and Kerron Clement third in 49.86.

In the women’s long jump, Bianca Stuart, coming of her win at the CBBI, was fifth in the women’s long jump with 20-4 ¼. Lorraine Ugen was the winner with 22-4 ½; Brittney Reese got second with 22-1 ½; Chelsea Hayes was third in 20-9 and Blessing Okagbare was fourth with 20-6 ¼.

Leevan ‘Superman’ Sands, third at the CBBI, got seventh in the men’s triple with a best of 52-5 ½. American Chris Benard won with 55-4 ½ over compatriot Chris Carter, who did 55-0 ¼. Troy Doris of Guyana came third with 54-10.

In relay events, Keanu Pennerman ran the opening leg for Purdue as they took second place in the men’s university 4 x 200m in 1:23.82.

Texas Tech, which was expected to include Grand Bahamian Elroy McBridge, didn’t start the final of the men’s university 4 x 100m. The team was fourth overall in the preliminaries in 40.74.

However, Texas Tech advanced to the final of the men’s university 4 x 400m with McBridge on third leg as they clocked 3:07.29 for fifth overall.

Blake Bartlett, another Grand Bahamian, ran the third leg as Oklahoma Baptist, won the college men’s 4 x 400 relay in 3:11.38.

Blake also anchored Oklahoma Baptist to a second place in the men’s college 4 x 200 in 1:24.07.

Purdue’s team, featuring Carmiesha Cox, didn’t run the final of the women’s university 4 x 100m. The team turned in the second fastest qualifying time of 44.76.

Penn Relays

In Philadelphia, the St Augustine’s College Big Red Machine led the way on the girls side, while the Tabernacle Falcons topped the list on the boys side as the Bahamas was represented by a number of high schools.

The high school girls’ 4 x 100m Championship of America saw the Big Red Machine’s team of Kayneisha Carter, Tanae Miller, Megan Moss and Doneisha Anderson roll to a seventh place finish in 47.85.

In the high school boys 4 x 100m small schools, Tabernacle’s team of Johnathan Smith, Kendrick Thompson, Javan Martin and Holland Martin ran 42.29 for seventh place.

SAC’s team of Adrian Curry, Tavonte Mott, Denvaughn Whymns and Duane Murray got 20th in 42.81 and Queen’s College squad of Samson Colebrooke, Kaze Poitier, Brentan Edwards and Branson Rolle were 12th in 42.93.

The Big Red Machine’s team of Tavonte Mott (52.04), Glen Knowles (50.59), Alexander Storr (52.40) and Ryan Bethell (51.92) were third in the high school boys 4 x 400m in 3:26.94.

In the high school boys 4 x 400m, Tabernacle got third in 3:19.87. The team comprised of Ricardo Richardson (50.99(, Holland Martin (50.49), Shaquil Higgs (51.63) and Kendrick Thompson (46.78).

Queen’s College team of Samson Colebrooke (50.01), Kaze Poitier (49.15), Bronson Rolle (49.02) and Lavardo Henfield Jr (50.05) got second in the high school boys’ 4 x 400m in 3:18.22.

On the college side, Teray Smith anchored Auburn University to 16th in the college men’s 4 x 100m heats in 41.19 after they got third in their heat.

And in the heats of the college men’s 4 x 200m, Smith again was on anchor as Auburn got third overall in 1:25.31, after winning their heat.

Individually, there was a rematch from the Carifta Games in the high school boys’ high jump championship as gold medalist Etienne Jyles, competing for Stony Brook School out of New York, came second with 6-9. Bronze medalist Benjamin Clarke from SAC was eighth with 6-6 ¾.

 And in the high school boys’ triple jump, Tamar Greene from Queen’s College was fourth with a leap of 50-0 ½.