Home|Sports|Otabor is NCAA national javelin championSports

Bahamians shine at NCAA DI Outdoor Championship

Simba FrenchSend an emailJune 12, 2023 18 4 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Bahamian collegiate athletes had a strong weekend at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 Championships that included the Nebraska University Huskers’ Rhema Otabor winning the national title in the javelin throw.

Otabor did it at the Mike A. Myers Stadium on the University of Texas Longhorns campus in Austin, Texas, as she led a strong contingent of Bahamian athletes in a very competitive meet. She won the javelin throw with a throw of 59.49 meters (m) (195’ 2”). That distance was a personal best for her, and it was also the college-leading throw. She broke her own school record and was the second Husker to win the javelin throw at nationals.

“It feels amazing to be national champion,” Otabor said. “It was one of the goals I had put down to achieve at the beginning of this season and it’s so awesome that I was able to accomplish it.”

Texas A&M duo of Lianna Davidson and Katelyn Fairchild posted 

personal bets to place second and third, respectively. Davidson posted 58.78m (192’ 10”) and Fairchild posted 57.97m (190’ 2”).

The junior said she came into the meet wanting to stay calm and have a clear mind, and did not want to overthink. Her first throw was strong as she posted a distance of 59.04m (193’ 8”).

“The first throw and the second throw felt very similar to me. The only thing that I could say was different is that I was a bit more determined and aggressive on the second throw, since I knew that my first throw guaranteed me a spot in finals,” Otabor said.

She was able to meet her goals at this meet and she plans on competing at the Central America and Caribbean (CAC) Games later this month before competing at the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) Senior National Championships in early July.

The Texas Tech Red Raiders’ Terrence Jones competed in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay races. His best finish came in the 200m where he ran away with the bronze medal with a personal best of 19.87 seconds. Stanford University Cardinals’ Udodi Onwuzurike narrowly won in 19.84 seconds while Jones’ teammate, Courtney Lindsey, was second in 19.86 seconds. The top four finishers all ran under 19.90 seconds.

Jones ran out of lane nine and got off to a quick start. He was leading the race until the curve before Onwuzurike picked up speed and led coming off the curve. Jones tried passing him, but the Stanford runner was tough to catch down the straight.

The junior was expected to compete in the 100m finals but it did not go as planned as his 10.06 seconds in the semifinals was not enough to advance him to the finals.

In the 4x100m relay race, Jones and teammates Adam Clayton, Lindsey and Don’dre Swint ran a quick race with Jones anchoring the team. They posted a school and meet record time of 37.93 seconds only to be disqualified. The NCAA officials cited rule 15.9c because the first exchange was outside the allowable zone. That meant that second-place Louisiana State University Tigers won with a time of 38.05 seconds.

Also competing for the Red Raiders was Antoine Andrews in the 110m hurdles. It was not a good outing for the freshman as he clocked 14.30 seconds after hitting a few hurdles on the way to the finish line.

Anthaya Charlton had a good run for her University of Kentucky Wildcats in the 100m and 4x100m relay races. The 100m race saw her clock 11.18 seconds in the semifinals to narrowly miss out on advancing to the final. She finished with the 11th fastest overall time.

Charlton ran the second leg in the 4x100m relay along with teammates Victoria Perrow, Masai Russell and Karimah Davis. Charlton had a strong run on the second leg and helped them to a silver medal finish in a time of 42.46 seconds. Winning that race after clocking a season best and college leading time, and a facility, meet and collegiate time of 41.55 seconds in the semis, the hosts won with a time of 41.60 seconds. The Tigers was close behind with a season best 42.52 seconds to place third.

The Wildcats also featured Megan Moss who ran the second leg in the 4x400m relay. Her teammates included Davis, Tamiia Fuller and Dajour Miles. Moss helped them to clock a season best 3:27.47 to place sixth. The University of Arkansas Razorbacks was the winner with a season best of 3:24.05.

Charisma Taylor saw action in four events for her University of Tennessee Volunteers. Taylor was in the 100m hurdles, long jump, triple jump and the 4x100m relay. Taylor’s best finish came in the triple jump when she placed fourth with a leap of 13.93m (45’ 8-1/2”). The University of Florida Gators’ Jasmine Moore won that event after posting 14.78m (48’ 6”) which was a personal best, college leading distance, facility, meet and collegiate record.

The long jump saw her finishing sixth after leaping to 6.41m (21’ 1/2”) on her final jump. The Longhorns’ Ackelia Smith had the best jump of 6.88 (22’ 7”) to get the victory in that event.

The senior missed out on the finals in the 100m hurdles running to a time of 12.94 seconds. She finished with the 10th fastest time in the semifinal.

Taylor ran the third leg for her school in the 4x100m relay along with Jacious Sears, Jonah Ross and Nicole Sreenan. They finished with their semifinal in a season best time of 43.25 seconds to place 10th overall.

Freshman Javonya Valcourt also ran for the Volunteers in the 400m semifinals. She did not finish the race.

Shaun Miller was tied for fourth in the high jump. The Ohio State Buckeyes junior cleared 2.16m (7’ 1”). Winning that event was the University of South Florida’s Romaine Beckford who cleared a personal best 2.27m (7’ 5-1/4”).

Wanya McCoy got his Clemson University Tigers started in the 4x400m relay final. However, the team of McCoy, D’Andre Anderson, Aman Thornton and Tarees Rhodes did not finish the race. They came into the final with a season’s best time of 2:59.78.

McCoy also anchored his 4x100m team of Giano Roberts, Cameron Rose and Guinove Joanus. They ran a season’s best time of 38.73 seconds to finish 11th in the semifinals.

Athletes that place in top eight in their events earned All-American First Team honors and ninth to 16th place earned All-America Second Team honors.