The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

DEVYNNE Charlton turned in another big performance over the weekend as she helped to lead the Purdue University Boilermakers women’s track team to a second place finish at the Big Ten Conference Championships in Geneva, Ohio, where she turned in three personal best times, two school records, a facility record and a Bahamian national record.

Charlton highlighted the performance by a group of Bahamians, including Kaiwan Culmer’s triple jump triumph, by lowering her Bahamian national record in taking the tape in 7.97 seconds to erase the previous mark of 8.08 set last year. In the process, she beat out fellow Bahamian Pedrya Seymour, a sophomore at Illinois, who was third in 8.16. Cindy Ofili, a senior at Michigan, was second in 7.99. In the 60m, Charlton finished second in 7.33 with her Bahamian team-mate Carmiesha Cox coming in sixth in 7.44. Charlton also got a fourth place in the final of the 200m in 23.64.

“I feel proud of my performance,” Charlton told The Tribune in a brief interview. “I expected to run well going against a large field of competitors, but didn’t expect to run that fast this early in the season. I was happy and excited to break the national record after being so close to it last year. And to add a world indoor qualifying mark was just icing on the cake.”

While she has qualified for the IAAF World Indoors, scheduled for March 11-13 in Eugene, Oregon, Charlton has opted to stay and concentrate on her commitment to Purdue University where she will concentrate on the NCAA National Championships where she hopes to achieve her All-American status.

Charlton said she was extremely proud to have her parents Laura and Dave Charlton in the stands cheering for her and the rest of the Bahamians, who all performed exceptionally well.

“Having my parents there was part of the motivation I needed to compete at my best to represent them and make them proud, she said.

While Cox just missed out of a lane in the final of the 200m when she ran 23.88 for ninth place in the preliminaries, Charlton had the fourth fastest time of 23.66.

In the 60m hurdles, Charlton also had the fastest qualifying time of 8.11. Seymour had the third best time of 8.16. In the 60m, Charlton had the second fastest time of 7.38 and Cox had the sixth in 7.42.

Cox, however, ran the third leg of Purdue’s winning 4 x 400m relay team that clocked 3:32.07.

Kinard Rolle, a Bahamian in his sophomore year at Purdue, just missed the final of the men’s 400m when he ran 47.06 for ninth place. Rolle also didn’t advance in the 200m where he was 16th in 21.62. Rolle, however, ran the third leg on Purdue’s 4 x 400m relay team that finished sixth in 3:06.59.

On the field, Kaiwan Culmer, competing as a sophomore for the University of Nebraska, soared 15.76 metres or 51-8 1/2 to snatch the gold in the men’s triple jump.

Danielle Gibson, a junior at Penn State, was second in the women’s triple jump with her leap of 13.10m (44-11 3/4). She was also 15th in the long jump with 5.60m (18-4 1/2).

Meanwhile at the SEC Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, twin brothers Latario and Lathone Collie, representing Texas A&M in their second year, were third and fifth in the men’s triple jump with leaps of 16.23m (53-3) and 15-95 (52-4) respectively.

Latario Collie also contested the long jump where he was 12th with 7-10 (23-3 1/2).