By BRENT STUBBS
Senior Sports Reporter
bstubbs@tribunemedia.net
THE 2017 National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Outdoor Championships came to a close over the weekend with four Bahamians competing in an individual final event.
Leading the way was Devynne Charlton, who rebounded from an injury that prevented her from competing outdoors last year, including an appearance at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as she settled for fifth in the women’s 100m hurdles in the women’s day on Saturday.
Charlton, a junior at Purdue University, clocked 12.74 seconds in the keenly contested race that saw Tobi Amusan take the tape in 12.57, just ahead of Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, a sophomore from Kentucky, who trailed in 12.58. Rushelle Burton, a freshman from Texas, was third in 12.65.
The only other Bahamian athlete in a final on the track was Katrina Seymour, a senior at East Tennessee State, who finished in eighth place in the women’s 400m hurdles in 59.68.
Sage Watson, a senior at Arizona, stopped the clock in 54.52 for the gold. Anna Cockrell, a freshman at the University of South Carolina, got second in 55.36 and her team-mate, senior Amalie Iuel, came through in third in 55.82.
In the women’s triple jump final, Danielle Gibson closed out her collegiate campaign at Penn State with a sixth-place finish.
Gibson, in her senior year, had a best leap of 13.36 metres or 43-feet, 10-inches in the event that was won by Keturah Orji, a junior from Georgia, who propelled to the top of the podium with 14.29m (46-10 3/4).
Serena Brown, a freshman at Texas A&M, didn’t perform as expected. She didn’t get a legal throw in as she fouled out in the women’s discus, won by Shadae Lawrence, a sophomore at Kansas State, with a huge toss of 61.37m (201-4).
On Friday in the men’s day of competition, Auburn’s senior Teray Smith ended up in eighth place. The Grand Bahamian clocked 20.84 as he watched Tennessee’s junior Christian Coleman complete a sprint double by adding the title in 20.25 to the 100m crown he captured earlier in the day in 10.04.
No other Bahamian male competed in a final.
However, in the semi-finals on Wednesday, Southeast Louisiana’s senior Andre Colebrooke was fourth in his heat, but his time of 50.67 was only good enough for 14th place in the men’s 400m hurdles.
Right after that race, Smith booked his lane in the men’s 200m final when he ran 20.36 for third in his heat and ended up seventh overall.
Smith also had some extra duties as he helped Auburn to a second place finish in the men’s 4 x100m relay in 38.48 behind Houton’s winning time of 38.34 and he was also on their 4 x 400m relay team that got eighth in 3:12.22 as Texas A&M posted their second fastest time this year in winning in 2:59.98.
The two other Bahamians to compete in an individual event were Shaquania Dorsett and Jenae Ambrose.
Dorsett, a sophomore at Florida State, got fifth in her heat of the women’s 400m in 53.56 for 17th place overall, while Ambrose, a sophomore at Auburn University, was seventh in her heat in 23.62 for 20th place.
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