National javelin record holder Keyshawn Strachan presents gold and silver medals to his sister Kamera Strachan and Dior-Ray Scott respectively.
#By BRENT STUBBS
#Senior Sports Reporter
#bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
#AFTER watching his sister Kamera Strachan produce a record-breaking performance at the Oaktree Medical Center’s 50th CARIFTA Games over the Easter holiday weekend, Bahamas men’s national javelin record holder Keyshawn Strachan said he was surprised to learn that he was on the watch list for the NCAA.
#Strachan, who closed out his CARIFTA experience last year in Kingston, Jamaica, with his record-breaking performance of 79.89 metres, improved the mark to 84.27m in one of his meets so far this year at the Mike A Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas, on March 31.
#While it was Strachan’s lifetime best, the performance came just before he returned home for CARIFTA when he tossed the javelin 76.97m at the Tom Jones Memorial at the Percy Beard Track in Gainesville, Florida. “I feel very good about my progress. This is where I want to be at,” he said. “It’s a good spot and all I have to do is build off the momentum and throw even further. But I actually feel good about the season so far. “Everything has been going good. My training is going great, so I’m really happy for that.”
#Those performances helped to place Strachan on the Bowerman 2023 Men’s Mid-Outdoor Watch List, alongside Texas Tech’s sprinter Terrence Jones from Grand Bahama, along with Tennessee’s Dylan Jacobs and Arkansas’ Jaydon Hibbert and Ayden Owens-Delerme.
#The 19-year-old freshman at Auburn said he woke up to the congratulatory messages. “I really didn’t expect it. What was so crazy was I was sleeping and when I woke up, I had a lot of messages from the Auburn coaching staff and my teammates telling me about this Bowman list.
#“I wasn’t expecting it because there a lot of athletes who are performing just as spectacular as I am, so I really wasn’t expecting to be there with some of them, including Terrence Jones, who is having a fantastic season.”
#Strachan said he’s just enjoying the moment and will continue to put in the work so that he can continue his progression.
#“I’m just taking the training serious and doing the things that are necessary,” he said. “That’s the key right there. When you put in the work, you will get good results.” With his season winding down in about three weeks, Strachan said he’s hoping that he can end up throwing at least 87 feet before he return home to resume his training with his long-time coach and mentor Corrington Maycock.
#“I’m expecting some great things in these meets coming up,” said Strachan, who nope to be back in action . “I’m preparing for it. So I’m expecting to throw at 88 87 metres.”
#The World Championships in Budapest, Hungry is the major item on Strachan’s watch list for this year. He hasn’t achieved the qualifying standard of as yet, but he feels it will come sooner or later.
#“I’m not rushing it. I know I have time. I know I will qualify for the World Championships,” he projected.
#Over the Easter holiday weekend, Strachan was in the stands at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium when his younger sister broke the under-17 girls javelin record. She threw the spear 46.07m for the gold ahead of team-mate Dior-Ray Scott, who finished with the silver with 45.13m.
#“It took me back to my performance last year when I broke the record,” Strachan said. “I know that feeling she was having and I was just happy to be there to support her so she could break the record while I was there watching.
#“So that was a great feeling for me.”
#The 19-ear-old Strachan, who is studying business administration at Auburn, said his only regret was he didn’t get compete before the huge crowd of spectators in the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.
#“I know where I’m at, I probably could have thrown even further,” Strachan said. “That kind of crow could only get you going, so I was kind of depressed and sad that I couldn’t compete this year.”
#Once he’s done with his collegiate obligations at the NCAA National Championships around June 10, Strachan said he will pack his bags and head home to train again with Maycock before he compete in the BAAA’s Nationals and the various international meets on the horizon.
#“Coach is like a father me. I’m just thankful to him. He didn’t have to bring me from Andros and made me who I am today. All thanks go out to him and to my parents,” said Strachan, the son of Latisha Moss and is the stepchild of Sabrina Moss.
#“If it wasn’t for coach Maycock, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
#Maycock, who operates the Blue Chips Throwers Club, brought Strachan in from Andros in 2016 at the age of 13 and now today, he’s listed as one of the top javelin throwers in the world.
#“I’m grateful for everything he has done for me,” Strachan summed up.
#Strachan is expected to be back in action with the Tigers.
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