The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

While they didn’t get to compete in the NCAA indoor championships because of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of Bahamian track and field athletes got All-America honours for the 2020 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field season.

Triple jumpers Laquan Nairn and Charisma Taylor, quarter-milers Doneisha Anderson and Megan Moss and sprinters Devine Parker and Samson Colebrooke were on a list of 671 honourees from 119 different institutions that was announced on Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Normal policies dictate that All-America honours are awarded based on classifications of performance at the NCAA Championships. But due to the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships, the NCAA Division I Track & Field Executive Committee adopted the following criteria:

Based on the post-medical scratches startlist for the national championships posted on Wednesday, March 11 at 9:24pm local time, the following will be recognised as All-America for the 2020 indoor track and field season:

Individual events: ALL student-athletes listed on the startlist for the anticipated event.

Relay events: The four student-athletes per anticipated relay who produced the performance that was declared and accepted into their event. Those listed as alternates will not be recognised. There will not be a distinction of “first-team”, “second-team”, or “honourable mention” to these recognitions.

Nairn, a senior at the University of Arkansas, was a double honouree in the men’s triple and long jumps. In his final meet before the season came to a close at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships over the weekend of February 28-29, he earned a second-place finish in the men’s long jump with a lifetime best leap of 8.02 metres or 38-feet, 3 3/4-inches, and he was fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 15.92m (52-2 3/4).

The former CR Walker standout who graduated from St John's 2016 and went on to compete that year in South Plains before joining the Razorbacks’ roster in 2018, had his season’s best performance over the weekend of February 24-25 at the Tyson Invitational where he won the triple jump with a leap of 16.11m (52-10 2/4).

Nairn, who turns 23 on July 31, is a criminal justice major. He is the son of Lourawls and Monalisa Nairn and the brother of Lourawls Nairn Jr, who played basketball for the Michigan State Spartans.

Anderson and Moss, two St Augustine’s College graduates, also earned double NCAA honors in both the women’s 400m and as members of their respective schools’ 4 x 400m relay teams.

Anderson, a sophomore at the University of Florida, finished fifth in the 400m at the SEC Championships in 52.28. Their Gators’ 4 x 400m relay team had to settle for fifth place in 3:32.87, which ranked them at number 13 in the NCAA.

At Clemson’s Tiger Paw Invitational over the weekend if February 14-15, Anderson produced her lifetime best times of 23.68 in the 200 for 18th place and 52.06 in the 400m for the victory. Her 400m time was ranked at No.3 in the NCAA this year, while the 200m time was pegged at No.53.

Anderson, 19, also helped Florida pick up a fourth place in the 4 x 400m relay in 3:34.94. She is the daughter of Bernadette Martin.

Moss, in her freshman year at Kentucky, didn’t advance out of the preliminaries of the SEC Championships as she ended up 10th in the 400m in 53.23. But she came back and helped the Wildcats to a second place in the 4 x 400m relay in 3:30.42.

During her debut for Kentucky at the 2019 Jingle Bells Open on December 6, Moss posted her PR of 38.19 in the 300m, In her next meet at the Jim Green Invitational January 10-11, Moss collected her PR in the 200m in 24.09.

But her best showing came at the Tiger Pew Invitational where she was seventh in the 400m in 52.58 for the 16th best mark in NCAA. She also ran on the first leg of the Wildcats’ 4 x 400m relay team that did 3:29.74 for the second NCAA fastest time.

Moss, 18, is the daughter of Tito and Mekeva Moss. She is studying human health science.

Parker, a graduate of St Anne’s School who previously competed for Kentucky during her freshman year, transferred to Ohio State where she participated for the Buckeyes in her sophomore season.

The Buckeyes participated in the Big Ten Indoor Championships from February 28-29 where Parker placed second in both the 60m in 7.36 and 23.24 for her lifetime achievements.

Last year while competing for Kentucky, Parker also contested the 400m where she posted a PR of 1:00.90 at the Kentucky Invitational and had previous best of 24.07 in the 200m at the Rod McCravy Invitational and 7.53 in the 60m at the Hoosier Open.

Parker, 19, is the daughter of Delvin and April Parker from Grand Bahama. She is studying Psychology,

Taylor, now attending Washington State, completed her sophomore year by winning the women's triple jump at the MPSF Indoor Track and Field Championships February 28-29 with a leap of 13.29m (43-7 1/4). She was also fourth in the 60m hurdles in 8.29.

The former Queen's College versatile athlete who went on to compete for Spire Academy, produced her lifetime best in the triple jump of 13.48m (44-2 3/4) at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational.

Last year, she did her personal best of 6.03m (19-9 1/2) in the long jump at the WSU Indoor Track and Field Meet. At the WSU Cougar Indoor last year as well, she did her PR of 7.65 in the 60m; she ran 13.79 for her PR in the 100m hurdles at the Cougar Invite and she posted her PF of 25.34 in the 200m at the Bronco Invite.

Taylor, 20, is a major in Hospitality Management at Washington State. She is the daughter of Patrice and Dewey Taylor.

Colebrooke, a senior at Purdue University, competed in his final meet for the Boilermakers at the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships from February 28-29 where he placed third in the 200m in 20.91 to earn his All-American honours.

He won his heat in the fastest qualifying time of 20.80.

Colebrooke also got sixth in the final of the 60m in 6.75 and was a member of the Boilermakers' 4 x 400m relay team that finished ninth in 3:14.02.

Having already qualified for the Olympics with a silver medal in a photo finish in a lifetime best of 10.01 at last year's Central American and Caribbean Games, Colebrooke lowered his 60m PR to 6.65 at the Gene Edmonds Memorial over the weekend of January 10-11. He entered the 2020 season with his PR of 20.46 in the 200m in 2019 and 33.87 in the 300m from two years ago.

The Queen's College graduate who attended Barton Community College before he enrolled at Purdue two years ago, is studying law and hopes to become a professional track and field athlete and Pastor.

Colebrooke, who just celebrated his 23rd birthday on May 10, is a son of Modesta and Shenique Colebrooke.

The NCAA also named its Division II honours list and included was Kaze Poitier, a Web Design and New Media major in his junior year at Academy of Arts University.

The 21-year-old son of Kingsley Jr and Monique Poitier, was named as a member of the distance medley relay team. They finished the year at the Amory Leap Year Invitational on February 29 where they got second in the 4 x 400m relay in 3:18.02.

Poitier, a graduate of Queen’s College, has recorded PRs of 7.22 in the 60m, 22.37 in the 200m and 49.80 in the 400m.

The athletes didn’t get to compete in the outdoor season as the NCAA joined all other major sporting bodies as they cancelled all sporting activities in March due to the spread of the coronavirus.