Home|Sports|Nine Bahamians qualify for NCAA ChampionshipsSports
Sheldon LongleySend an emailMay 30, 2023 389 3 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
A total of nine Bahamians will represent their respective schools at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, set for June 7-10 at the Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.
Coming out of the east regionals in Jacksonville, Florida, six Bahamians qualified and the remainder qualified out of the west.
Leading the way among the Bahamians in the east was Charisma Taylor, a senior out of Tennessee, who qualified in three individual events and was also a member of their 4×100 meters (m) relay team which also qualified. She had her best performance in the triple jump, leaping 13.95m (45’ 9-1/4”) to win the gold at the east regionals on Saturday. It was just off her personal best of 13.99m (45’ 10-3/4”), which was done at the Southeastern (SEC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships two weeks ago, and more than 17 inches ahead of second-place finisher Titiana Marsh, of Georgia.
In between her series of jumps, Taylor competed in the women’s 100m hurdles quarterfinals and qualified out of the east regionals with the fifth fastest time. She ran a wind-aided 12.80 seconds, finishing third in her heat and fifth overall. In the preliminaries on Thursday, Taylor clocked a wind-aided 13.12 seconds.
Graduate student Taylor qualified 11th overall in the women’s long jump on Thursday, leaping 6.23m (20’ 5-1/4”). On Saturday, she ran the third leg of the Tennessee Volunteers’ women’s 4x100m relay team. They were fourth in their heat and qualified 10th overall in 44.24 seconds.
Taylor’s teammate at Tennessee, Javonya Valcourt, qualified fifth overall in the women’s 400m, running 52.31 seconds. Valcourt, just a freshman, was fourth in her heat and fifth overall. She ran 52.66 seconds in the heats on Thursday. Valcourt was also a member of the Volunteers’ women’s 4x400m relay team, and helped them qualify for the NCAA Championships. She ran the leadoff leg for the Volunteers, and they qualified fifth overall in 3:32.08. They were second in their heat and fifth overall.
Anthaya Charlton, a redshirt freshman at Kentucky, was also a double qualifier, making the mark in the women’s 100m and as a member of the Kentucky Wildcats’ women’s 4x100m relay team. In the 100m, Charlton was second in her heat and sixth overall, in a wind-aided 11.08 seconds. She ran a wind-aided 11.10 seconds in the heats.
Charlton came back in the relay and helped her team post the top qualifying time of 42.99 seconds. Charlton ran the second leg.
Megan Moss, a junior, also competed for the Wildcats and helped their women’s 4x400m relay team qualify for the NCAA Championships. She ran the second leg for the Wildcats and they completed the 1600m relay in 3:32.88 – third in their heat and seventh overall.
Moss failed to qualify in the open 400m, finishing 32nd overall in 53.87 seconds.
Ohio State junior Shaun Miller leapt 2.14m (7’ 0-1/4”) in the men’s high jump to qualify for the NCAA Championships. He matched the top qualifying jump, and nine athletes cleared that height. Miller finished second overall, based on number of knockdowns.
In the men’s 4x100m relay, Clemson Tigers’ freshman Wanya McCoy ran the anchor leg for his team and helped them qualify for the NCAA Championships fifth overall out of the east. They were second in their heat and fifth overall in 39.36 seconds. McCoy also ran the open 100m and finished tied for 12th overall in a wind-aided 10.07 seconds. He was seventh in his heat and tied for 12th overall, failing to qualify for the NCAA Championships in that event. Just the top three finishers in each heat and the next three fastest times moved on to the NCAA Championships.
McCoy ran 10.10 seconds in the heats.
Out of the west regionals at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California, Terrence Jones proved that he will certainly be a force to reckon with at the NCAA Championships. The Texas Tech junior was just outleaned at the tape, finishing in 9.93 seconds in the men’s 100m. He finished second overall, losing out on the top spot by one one hundredth of a second. Jones ran 10.25 seconds in the heats.
Jones came back in the men’s 4x100m relay and helped his team qualify second out of their heat and sixth overall in 39.16 seconds. He ran the anchor leg for his team.
Jones’ teammate at Texas Tech, Antoine Andrews, a freshman, qualified for the NCAA Championships by running 13.74 seconds in the men’s 110m hurdles. He was third in his heat and 14th overall. The top three finishers in each heat and the next three fastest times qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Andrews also ran 13.74 seconds in the heats.
Over in the women’s javelin, Rhema Otabor, a junior at Nebraska, qualified 12th overall with a throw of 52.10m (170’ 11”).
As mentioned, the NCAA Championships is set for June 7-10 in Austin, Texas. This will be the eighth time that the NCAA Outdoor Championships have been held in Texas, and the first time since 2019.