Four Bahamians compete at NCAA Indoor Championships

Four Bahamians compete at NCAA Indoor Championships
Carmeisha Cox. (PHOTO: WALT MIDDLETON PHOTOGRAPHY)

Four of the country’s premier collegiate track and field athletes competed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Division I Men’s and Women’s Indoor Championships at Giliam Stadium.

Carmeisha Cox was a part of the Purdue women’s 4×400 meter (m) relay team that finished second overall in a Big Ten Conference record 3:28.82 in the event final. Cox split 52.07 on the third leg to keep the Boilermakers out front, and Jahneya Mitchell brought it home, clocking 52.04, the second-fastest final leg of the heat to capture the silver medal.
With the second place finish, Cox, Mitchell, Chloe Abbott and Brionna Thomas earned First Team All-America honors in the event. It was the first time the program ever earned honors in the 4×400.
USC was first in the women’s 4×400 in 3:27.45, while Florida finished third in 3:29.41.
Saturday’s race was Cox’s last as a collegiate athlete, as she’s no longer eligible to compete outdoors.
Also on the track, Pedrya Seymour, from the University of Texas, finished 10th overall in heat 2 of the women’s 60m hurdles in 8.13 seconds. Seymour, who is making a comeback this season, after missing most of last year with a hamstring injury, came into the event tied with three others with the 12th-fastest time overall.
Over on the field, Kaiwan Culmer, from the University of Nebraska, finished 10th overall in the men’s triple jump with a leap of 15.97m (52′ 4 3/4″). O’Brien Wasome, from Texas, won the event in with a best mark of 16.82m.
Culmer came in with a qualifying mark of 16.08m (52′ 9 1/4″), which won him the Big Ten title two weeks ago in Geneva, Ohio. The 16.08m was also a career best mark for Culmer.
And in the men’s long jump, Arkansas’ Laquan Nairn musterd an 11th place finish with a best mark of 7.52m (24′ 8 1/4″).
Nairn came into the event ranked 11th overall with a season’s and personal best of 6.94m (22′ 9 1/4′).

About Randy Smith

Randy Smith is the producer of the widely-watched local television show “Beyond The Headlines” and the web content manager of Eyewitness News. He joined Eyewitness News as a sportscaster in 2018, a role he still performs, and has previously covered a slew of international sporting events, including the 2015 Pan American Games, the Nike EYBL Showcase, several IAAF World Relays, the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, the Commonwealth Youth Games, the Bahamas Bowl and multiple CARIFTA Swimming and Track & Field Championships. Randy has been recognized by the Bahamas Press Club with awards for “Best Sports Broadcast” as a sportscaster and “Best TV Talk Show” as a producer.