The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net As the track and field season swings into high gear, a number of Bahamian athletes made their presence felt on the elite and collegiate scenes this weekend. In the USATF Classic at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, two second place finishes from two rising stars and an 11th place for a veteran was produced and at the Millrose Games, another veteran came through with a sixth place finish. On the collegiate front, a first, second, fourth, sixth and a pair of eighth places highlighted the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa. * Here's a look at how the athletes performed at the various meets: USATF Classic National long jump record holder Bianca Stuart soared 6.79 metres or 22-feet, 3 1/2-inches on her fourth and final attempt for second place in the women's long jump. American Janay DeLoach won the event with a leap of 6.83m or 22-5. Grand Bahamian Demetrius Pinder, in his first full year on the pro circuit, clocked 45.40 seconds for a second place in the men's 400 metres. Grenada's Kirani James, last year's IAAF World Championship's champion, won the race in 45.19. Chandra Sturrup, back in action after a brief hiatus, got sixth in the first of two heats in the women's 60m in 7.31. That placed her 11th overall in the standings, not fast enough to advance to the final. American Tiana Madison (7.02) out-sprinted Jamaican Veronica Campbell-Brown (7.08) to not only win the final but also erase Campbell-Brown's meet and stadium records of 7.04 she ran in 2006. Madison posted the fastest qualifying time in winning the heat that featured Sturrup, while Campbell-Brown had to settle for second in 7.08. Millrose Games Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, the lone Bahamian participating, ran 7.33 for sixth in the women's 60 final. American Bianca Knight won in 7.25. Both are competing for Adidas. Iowa State Classic She didn't jump as high as she did last weekend but Kenya Culmer pulled off another victory in the women's high jump to lead a field of competitors. The senior at Southern Illinois cleared 1.74m or 5-8 1/2 to beat out Nebraska's Jillana Scanlan on the count-back. Culmer's team-mate Douglas Palacious took fourth place in the men's triple jump with a distance of 15.02m or 49-3 1/2. The winning leap was 15.61m or 51-02 3/4 by Jamal Peden, representing Stephen F Austin. Palacious also competed in the long jump, finishing eighth with a leap of 6.78m or 22-03. The winning leap was 7.26m or 23-10 by Teddy Lampkin of Iowa State University. Grand Bahamian Jeffery Gibson, competing for Oral Roberts University, placed second in the men's 400 in 46.96. Fernada Blakely, unattached, ran 46.45 for the win. Gibson also contested the 200 where he was sixth in 21.91. Derek Bredy of Msu-Moorhead won the race in 21.57, the same time as Cameron Boy of Minnesota for second. As the anchor leg runner, Gibson helped Oral Roberts to a sixth place in the 4 x 400 relay in 3:13.13. Mississippi State won in 3:07.75. And Michelle Cumberbatch, competing for Lincoln University (Missouri), was eighth in the women's 400 in 55.91. Althia Maximilien of Missouri State won with 54.91. Cumberbatch also ran on the second leg of Lincoln University's 4 x 400 relay team that was fifth in 3:43.65. Iowa State University won with 3:41.28.