The Tribune

By Renaldo Dorsett

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Several Bahamian student athletes will participate in the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field East and West Regionals this weekend, looking to qualify for the Division I Championships.

The East Regional is hosted at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, while the West Regional is hosted by Sacramento State University in Sacramento, California.

Athletes gained entry into the competition by having one of the top-48 best marks of the region (East or West) in their respective events. In order to advance to the final round in Austin, Texas, an athlete must finish among the top-12 best (per region) in their respective events.

Five Bahamians will compete at the East Regionals.

For the Purdue Boilermakers, Samson Colebrooke will contest both the 100m and 200m while Tamar Greene will compete in the triple jump.

At the Big 10 Championships, Greene took first place in the triple jump with a leap of 16.15m and ran the first leg of the winning 4x100m relay team.

Colebrooke, the junior sprinter in his first year with the programme, finished fourth in the 100m in 10.29 seconds and fourth in the 200m.

Both were members of the first place 4x100m relay team.

Donavon Storr also qualified for the Southeastern Louisiana in the 200m and 400m.

“We are extremely excited about this group,” said SLU track head coach Corey Mistretta. “Donovan has had an exceptional training year. He is starting to realise the fruits of his labour and I think it will pay off this weekend.”

Storr ran a personal best 46.74 in the 400m in the conference championships on May 5. The second team All-Southland selection also qualified in the 200m running a 20.98 April 27 at the Southern Miss Open in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

Jyles Etienne will contest the high jump for the Indiana Hoosiers.

Etienne recorded his season best height at the Big Ten Championships where he cleared a height of 2.20m (7’ 2.5”).

The Liberty Flames’ Denzel Pratt looks to return to the NCAA championships for the second consecutive year. He finished third at the 2018 NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round meet in Tampa, Florida.

This season, Pratt has won four of his six javelin competitions, and won the ASUN title most recently.

Pratt will attempt to improve upon his own Bahamas national record (232-0) set in 2017.

The Liberty school record of 234-11 is also in play.

The West Regionals will feature nine Bahamians highlighted by three from Oral Roberts University.

Sasha Wells qualified for the 100m hurdles while Kayvon Stubbs will compete in the 200m. 

On the men’s side, Bradley Dormeus will compete in the 400m and the 4x400m relay.

Wells was named the 2019 Summit League Outdoor Track Championship MVP. She shattered the meet record with a time of 13.44 in the 100m hurdles, tying her personal best which she ran at the 2018 CARIFTA games.

Individually, Wells also took first place in the 100m (11.83), second in the 200m (24.48).

Stubbs took first place in the 200m in 23.99 and was second in the 100m in 11.85.

Dormeus finished second in the 400m in 47.67.

Arkansas’ Laquan Nairn will compete in the long jump and triple jump. At the SEC Championships, Nairn set a new personal best and finished fifth in the triple jump with his jump of 15.68m.

Charisma Taylor, of the Washington State Cougars, will compete in the triple jump.

Texas Southern’s Alexis Gray qualified in the 100m and 200m.At the SWAC championships, Gray came away with a pair of silver medals in sprinting events for the Lady Tigers. Her second-place time in the 100m dash was 11.77, Gray finished the 200m dash with a time of 23.74, also good for second place.

Shakeem Smith and Dreshanae Rolle will both compete for the University of Texas El-Paso in the 400m hurdles.

Smith won the 400m hurdles in 50.86 at the Conference-USA championships and was sixth in the 110m Hurdles in 14.40.

At the junior college level, several Bahamian student athletes also earned All-America honours for the 2019 NJCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field season.

The awards were announced Wednesday by the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Kyle Alcine, Chanice Forbes and Kenisha Stubbs claimed the honour for Cloud County Community CC, Oneika Rolle did the same for Highland CC while Devonte Smith and Denvaungh Whymms won the award for South Plains CC.

Student athletes earned USTFCCCA All-America honours by virtue of finishing among the top-8 of their respective individual events – including as a member of a relay – at the 2019 NJCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships this past weekend in Hobbs, New Mexico.

Cloud County (Kan.) won its first outdoor national title in programme history, while the New Mexico JC women made it three in a row and protected their home-track advantage.