The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Bria Sands, following in the footsteps of her older brother Olympic bronze medallist Leevan “Superman” Sands, is off to a great start for the Life University Running Eagles women’s track and field team.

At the GottaRun Invite hosted by Southern Wesleyan over the weekend in Central, South Carolina, Sands posted a personal best of 1.70 metres or 5-feet, 7-inches in the high jump for second place in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) thus far in the outdoor season.

She trailed Moena Battle, of Emmanuel, who cleared the same height, but got the win on fewer knockdowns.

Sands also dominated the competition in the triple jump with a distance of 12.19m (40-feet) for the third best length in the NAIA. Her nearest rival was Serenity Hunt, a senior at Converse, who did 11.34m (37-3).

She was joined by team-mate Alisha Wright, who ran a blisteringly fast 14.20 in the 100m hurdles for the best in the NAIA as well.

Bahamian former sprinter Dominic Demeritte, now the head coach at Life University, was quite thrilled by the performances.

“I’m extremely happy with how today went but definitely not satisfied. We continue to exemplify the championship mantra of progression, not perfection, and I think all of our young ladies did just that,” Demeritte said.

“Led by our super seniors Bria [Sands] and Alisha [Wright], they paced our team with two personal bests that also happen to be the number one times in the country in their respective events.”

Demeritte, in the men’s 200m at the World Indoor Championships in 2004 in Budapest, Hungary, established the then national record of 20.66 (before Demetrius Pinder lowered it to 20.50 in 2012), said he’s looking forward to the rest of the outdoor season.

“I’m very excited for the next few weeks and hope that we will continue the momentum heading into the Mid-South Conference,” he said.

The track team is now in Mount Berry, Georgia for the Berry Invitational this weekend.

Following that, all roads will lead to the Mid-South Conference Outdoor Championships April 23-24 in Williamsburg, Kentucky and the NAIA Outdoor Championships May 26-28 in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Sands, 23, is hoping to qualify for the postponed 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

If she does, she will join her brother, Leevan, as the first Bahamian brother-sister combo to make it to the world’s biggest sporting stage.

Leevan Sands, now an assistant coach for the Northern Colorado State Bears, is the Bahamian national record holder in the men’s triple jump at 17.59m, a feat he achieved with a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

The 39-year-old former standout for Temple Christian, Florida Academy and Auburn University suffered a near career-ending knee injury at the 2012 Olympics in London, England.

Both Bria and Leevan Sands have dedicated the rest of their careers to their deceased father Leevan ‘Dragon’ Sands, who passed away on February 25, 2020.