The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER making the transition from the Bahamas to the United States to complete her high school tenure, versatile Charisma Taylor is now all packed and ready to continue her athletic career as a member of the Razorbacks women's track and field team at the University of Arkansas.

Taylor, a member of SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio, signed with the division I track and field powerhouse for enrollment in August, just within days of graduating from St John's School in Ashtabula, Ohio, the latter accomplishment she did on Friday with distinction.

During her final year in high school, Taylor trained with SPIRE Academy, headed by Olympic American coach Nathan Taylor and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Orloff. The academy features athletes from around the world and although it was a challenge for her and her parents - Patrice and Dewey Taylor, she fitted right in.

Taylor, 17, is a two time Carifta gold medalist in the triple jump as well as a Carifta long jump gold medalist. She competed at the IAAF World Junior Championships, fates she attained while she competed for the Comets at Queen's College and Club Monica Track Club in the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations and is coached in the jumps by James Rolle.

"They have a really good track and field programme and they have a very good academic programme in what I want to study," said Taylor, who hope to pursue her major in Hospitality Management with a concentration in Culinary Arts.

"I feel I will be a great fit there. I think I gel with the coaches there, so it just felt like home to me when I went there to visit. They treated me very well. That's why I made the decision to go there."

There were also some reservations when Taylor and her parents decided on the move to let her leave Queen's College and complete her final year in high school in Ohio.

But looking back on what has transpired, Taylor said she doesn't have any regrets.

"It was a rough one for me (transitioning) because the school is so small," she reflected. "Not only that, my senior class only had 30 people. I had to adjust to making new friends and living the American way of life.

"At first it was a bit hard, but I got adjusted to it very quickly and now it has become so naturally for me. I've become a part of the family. I'm just really happy because I believed I had an impact on a lot of people there."

Competing for SPIRE Academy, Taylor got her introduction to the indoor circuit where she got to run the 60m hurdles instead of the 100m hurdles and quite naturally competing indoors.

"It was hard at first, but again I got used to it," she lamented. "I suffered an injury and that kind of dampened my performance going into regional championships.

"I also qualified for Carifta (in Curacao in April) and I also qualified for nationals in New York. So for my first year indoors, I was quite satisfied, considering the fact that I was not at 100 percent because of the injury."

The setback also of set her performance outdoors, but Taylor dismissed the criticism that she got from a lot of people who felt that she got worse than when she left home.

"I had a rough year, but people don't know what you go through before they start all of the talking," she insisted. "I was all around looking for colleges, but I couldn't find one that fit me so I was overwhelmed for a period of time.

"So just to finish out the year with Arkansas as my final choice and graduating from high school is a relief. I'm just glad that I made it through."

This season, Taylor finished with her best marks of 5.73 metres or 18-feet, 11 ¼-inches in the long jump, 12.62m (41-5) in the triple jump and 14.13 seconds in the hurdles.

With her next step at Arkansas, Taylor said she's only looking to improve on their stats. She has a personal best of 5.93m (19-5 1/2) wind-aided/legal 5.79 (19-0) in the long jump, 12.62m (41.5m) in the triple jump and 13.83 in the 100m hurdles.

Additionally, Taylor has been clocked in 12.74 with a wind-aided 11.94 in the 100m, 24.84 in the 200m, 59.39 in the 400m and 8.62 indoors in the 60m hurdles.

"I am looking forward to proving those people wrong who didn't believe in me," she stated. "I'm just looking forward to a new season and some improved performances."

With those goals on the horizon, Taylor said she has shut down her season and will return home to participate in a summer job before she gears up for college.

"I'm really excited," she proclaimed. "This is something that I've been looking forward to and now it's here. I'm going to fully embrace it."

Her father, Dewey, said his daughter is right where she wants to be.

"I;m very pleased with her accomplishments today," said Dewey, who along with his wife, were in Ohio over the weekend for the official college signing and high school graduation. "She's had some ups and sh's had some downs, but I think she's learnt to weather the storm and trust the process.

"She's also learnt to trust God for whatever is the will for her life. She's had some good times. This year was challenging for her because she's had some injuries and she's been recovering and doing very well as she competed. Carifta wasn't the standard that she's accustomed, but I had to remind her that she was recovering from her injury."

As for Arkansas, Taylor said it's exactly where his daughter preferred to be competing at.

"We've made some visits and each one was really nice, but she said she had that feeling inside that Arkansas was really the one," he said. "I'm just happy and happy that she's happy. I told her that she had to chose and I'm happy that she got to make her choice.

"I told her that I already got my degree, so it's up to her to go out there and fulfill her dream. I think the move to the United States really helped her because she was able to mature so much, not just as an athlete dealing with an injury, but as a person who had to overcome the odds to get to where she is right now."

When she get there, Taylor said his only expectation for his daughter is to enjoy the ride.

"I don't go out there expecting her to do anything. I just want her to go out there and do her best," he stressed. "Whatever she does, once it's her best, I'm happy for her. I would be upset if I think she has not done her best. But she's a competitor, so I know that she will give it her best."

Looking back at the decision for her to leave Queen's College, Taylor said his daughter had approached her the year before because she wanted to join her brother who was of in boarding school. But he insisted that she was not ready until she came back last year and they made the decision to allow her to go.

"We went and visited the school and we saw that it was an opportunity for her to get the exposure to a different system because at home she was on top winning," he reflected. "So we felt with her going to the United States, she would have gotten the chance to compete with some of the best here because there was an indoor facility, which would have helped her in her transition to college.

"Academically, she only had to concentrate on the classes that she needed to gt ready for the NCAA and so that helped her to even bring up her GPA (grade point average). So she had a good balance between academics and athletics. Unfortunately, she got injured so she wasn't really able to show just talented she was. But she got it down in the classroom."

And SPIRE Academy's decision to allow her to properly heal before she started competing again turned out to be a blessing in disguise because even though she didn't put up the numbers she expected, she was able to get rid of the nagging injuries that hampered her progress while she was at home competing.

Now that she is college bound, he said the sky is the limit for his multi-talented daughter, who is capable of playing just about any sport but has mad track and field her forte.