The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Versatile Sasha Wells emerged as the most outstanding athlete, while Daejha Moss was the most outstanding field competitor in one meet and Grand Bahamian Shyrone Kemp and Denisha Cartwright turned in record breaking performances in another.

The quartet led a list of Bahamian collegiate athletes in action over the weekend at various track and field meets around the United States of Americas as the indoor season winded down.

Wells and Moss shine at Summit League

At the Summit League indoor Track and Field Championships at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex at the South Dakota State University, Oral Roberts’ senior Sasha Wells was named the Athlete of the Meet.

She triumphed in her speciality in the women’s 60m hurdles in 8.38 with her Bahamian junior team-mate Gabrielle Gibson trailing for second in 8.54. Indea Cartwright, a freshman at Oral Roberts, was eighth in 11.30.

Wells, leading by example as the Golden Eagles’ team captain, surged to a second place finish in the 60m in 7.61 with Gibson right in the mix in fourth in 7.70. South Dakota State’s sophomore Rich-Ann Archer was the winner in 7.54.

Lakelle Kinteh, a sophomore at Oral Roberts, didn’t advance out of the preliminaries after she placed 14th in 7.96.

And in their final individual event, Wells had to settle for third in the 200m in a time of 24.27 and Gibson was fourth in 24.79. Sara Reifenrath, a freshman at South Dakota, took the title in 23.73, followed by Kendra Kelley, a sophomore at North Dakota State, in 24.23.

Cartwright (25.52) and Kinteh (26.60) didn’t get out of the preliminaries with 10th and 17th places respectively.

And in the 4 x 400m relay, Wells was on anchor and Gibson on second as they teamed up with Tay’Maro Powell (lead of freshman) and Victoria Neville (second on third leg) for third in 3:49.57.

South Dakota A won in 3:46.46 and North Dakota State A was second in 3:47.85.

Not to be outdone, Moss earned the field MVP award by winning the women’s high jump for North Dakota State with as leap of 5-feet, 8 1/2-inches or 1.73 metres.

Moss also picked up a third place finish in the long jump with a leap of 19-02 (5.84). Amelia Peterson, a senior at Western Illinois, was 11th with 17-11 (5.46m) and Kinteh was 14th with 16.10 (5.13m).

Jodi Lipp, a junior at North Dakota State, won with 19-05 (5.92m) and Annie Wendt, a sophomore at South Dakota, was second with 19-02 (5.84m).

And in the triple jump, Moss picked up fourth place finish with 38-06 (11.73m). Lipp was the inner with 41-01 1/4 (12.53m).

Amelia Peterson was second with 39-06 3/4 (12.06m) and Allie Scott got third with 38-10 1/4 (11.84m).

Both are seniors at Western Illinois.

Also at the meet was Oral Roberts’ junior Bradley Dormeus who clinched the men’s 400m title in 47.10 and Ethan Hanna, a freshman at Oral Roberts, was eighth in 49.28.

Dormeus also ended up second in the 200m 21.42 as Coby Hilton, a senior at South Dakota State, took the crown with 20.93.

And in the 4 x 400m relay, Dormeus ran the second leg of the Golden Eagles with Hanna on anchor with seniors Aaron Charlton (lead off) and Cameron Neely (third) as they raced to second in the 4 x 400m relay in 3:12.05.

North Dakota State won in 3:11.04.

Kemp and Cartwright at the 2021 NSIC Championships

Kemp successfully defended his title in the men’s triple jump at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Division II Indoor Championships at the Myers Fieldhouse at the Minnesota State University at Morehouse.

The Minnesota State University Moorhead Dragons junior soared 50-02 3/4 on his first attempt to surpass his previous best mark o 49-02 1/4 (14.99m).

In the high jump, Kemp placed third at a height of 6-6 3/4 (2m) and he also got fifth in the long jump with 23-1 1/4 (7.04m).

Kemp, a graduate of Tabernacle Baptist Academy, is the son of Cora and Tyrone Kemp. He is studying civil engineering as his major.

Cartwright, a junior for the Minnesota State Mavericks, posted her record breaking feat in the women’s 60m hurdles in 8.41 to erase last year’s championship time of 8.74 by Olivia Montez Brown of Augie.

In the process, Cartwright, a former volleyball player from Temple Christian (and daughter of Leslie ‘Russia’ and Denise Cartwright), became just the third Mavericks athlete to earn the title in the hurdle event.

Cartwright picked up a double victory in the women’s 200m as she matched last year’s winning time of 24.47 by Ja’Cey Simmons, also from MSU. And Cartwright ended up in a photo finish in the 60m in 7.52 with Tonie Canfall, a senior at Concordia-St-Paul, but had to settle for second place.

With their performances, Kemp and Cartwright have both qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama over the weekend of March 12-13.

Moss sixth at SEC

Megan Moss, a sophomore for the University of Kentucky, finished sixth in the final of the women’s 400 metres in a lifetime best of 52.32. Talitha Diggs, a freshman from Florida, won in her personal best of 51.14.

In the preliminary rounds, Moss was second in her heat in 52.65 to qualify with the fifth fastest qualifying time. Diggs had the fastest time of 51.91.

Moss, a graduate of St Augustine’s College, has also qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships next month.

Bahamian duo at Big Ten Championships

At the Big Ten Indoor Championships at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio, Purdue’s senior Tamar Greene got third in the men’s triple jump with 52-feet, 11 1/2-inches or 16.14m on his sixth and final attempt.

Greene is now ranked at number three in school history in the event as he moved up from No. 5. He also hold a No. 9 ranking in the country.

Papay Glaywulu, a junior from Nebraska, won with 53-5 (16.28m) and Clarence Foote-Hall, a sophomore at Ohio State, was second with 53-5 (16.28m).

And Ohio State’s sophomore Adrian Curry placed fourth in his heat of the men’s 200m in 21.63. Curry was also sixth in his heat of the men’s 60m preliminaries in 6.97m for 17th place overall.

2021 SWAC Indoor Championship

Women’s 60m final - Daneisha Curry, redshirt senior at Grambling, got seventh in 7.81. Kaizha Roberts of Prairie View won the race in 7.56. In the preliminary rounds, Curry had the seventh fastest qualifying time of 7.73 after she got fourth in her heat.

Curry also competed in the 200m where she placed 17th overall in 26.04.

Rolle at ASUN Championships

Versatile Bronson Rolle of Liberty University was tied for fourth with 6-5 (1.96m) in the men’s high jump and in the long jump he placed eighth with a leap of 22-3 (6.78m) at the Atlantic SUN Championships at the Liberty University Indoor Track Complex. His team-mate Quinten Clay won with 23-7 1/2 (7.20m).

Rolle also participated in two events on the track.

In the 60m, Rolle was eighth in 7.03 in the final that was won by his team-mate Christian Lyon in 6.77. In the preliminaries, he was fifth in his heat in 7.02 for the seventh fastest time.

Rolle also got tenth in the men’s 200m in 22.15. Aaron Goodwin of Kennesaw State was the winner in 21.05.

Rutherford successful in Houston

In the absence of a conference championships, the University of Houston Track and Field program hosted a meet on Sunday at Yeoman Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon with Camille Rutherford producing a stellar performance.

She posted a pair of personal-best in the 60m and 200m as she matched the fourth fastest time in UH history in the 60-meter, winning the event at 7.35.

Grand Bahamian Brianne Bethel, redshirt senior out of Sunland Baptist Academy, competed unattached, placing second in 7.46 in her season opener.

In the 200-meter, Rutherford powered through the finish line with a time of 24.25, a lifetime-best for the Cougar freshman.

Strachan fourth in Jamaica

Also on Saturday, sprinter Anthonique Strachan performed at the Jamaican Qualifier at the newly refurbished national track and field stadium where she was third in the women’s 400 metres in 53.55 seconds.

It was the Bahamas’ Olympic and World Championship 200m competitor’s first 400m in quite a while as she continue her training in Jamaica.

Roneish McGregor, a Jamaican 2019 World Championship 4 x 400m silver medalist, won the race in 52.28 with fellow Jamaican multiple Olympic and World Championships relay medalist Christine Day settling for second in 52.30.