The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER being named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Track Athlete and Newcomer of the Year, Minnesota State Mavericks' sprinter Denisha Cartwright is now looking forward to extending her success at the Division II National Track and Field Indoor Championships.

Cartwright, the 21-year-old junior transfer from Central State University, earned the overall points leader title in the NSIC Indoor Championships held over the weekend in Mankato, Minnesota.

She collected 28 points for the Mavericks after earning conference championships in the 60m hurdles and 200m dash to go along with a second place finish in the 60m dash. 

Not only did Cartwright win the high point performer award at the championships, but she won the 200m and the 60m hurdles and placed second in the 60m. Her time in the 200m tied team-mate Ja-Cay Simmons’ NSIC record time of 24.47 run last season and her time in the 60m hurdles was a NCAA automatic qualifying time and is listed as the fastest in DII this season.

Her converted 200m time of 24.10 is a provisional time and ranks third best in NCAA Division II and her time of 7.52 in the 60m is tied for fourth fastest in NCAA Division II this season. “I was thrilled with my performance to see that I ran a PR (personal best) in the hurdles,” Cartwright said. “I didn’t anticipate winning the award, so I was shocked when I realised that I won it.”

Cartwright has qualified to compete in the 60m dash, 200m dash, 60m hurdles and the 4 x 400m relay in the NCAA Division II National Championships set for March 11-13 in Birmingham, Alabama.

“I’m hoping to do very well in all of my events, especially the hurdles. I love them,” said Cartwright, as she looks forward to adding to her list of accolades she has already received so far this season. 

In addition to her achievement in the NSIC Championships, Cartwright was also named USTFCCCA Indoor Track Athlete of the Week and two time NSIC Track Athlete of the Week during this season.

Cartwright, a member of the Silver Lightning Track Club and coached locally by Rupert Gardiner and Ednal Rolle, is the daughter of fellow volleyball great Leslie ‘Russia’ Cartwright and Denise Cartwright.

She attended Temple Christian Academy from grades 9-11 where she played on the Suns’ senior girls volleyball team before she did online courses with Pennfoster for her final year of high schooling. 

Subsequently, she also decided to switch from playing volleyball to running track on the advice of her local coach Jason Saunders, whom she played for with the Panthers in the New Providence Volleyball Association. 

“I had a love for volleyball for a while, but I got tired of playing. I got bored,” she stated. “Then my volleyball coach saw I had speed in me and he talked to my mother about putting me in track.”

After enrolling at Central State where she started to bloom as a sprinter, Cartwright transferred to Minnesota during the coronavirus pandemic last year to complete her final two years.

“I transferred because they fired all the coaches except for the football coach the day before I was supposed to go back,” she pointed out. “I had to make a tough decision.”

No doubt, it’s one that she’s not regretting.

“I feel like the progress here is amazing where they have me working on things that need to be fixed and taking the time with us as athletes to become better,” she said.

Already, Cartwright has lowered her times indoors this past season. In her speciality in the 60m hurdles, she improved from 8.49 to 8.41 and in the 200m, her time has dipped from 24.49 to 24.10. With some unfinished business at the DII Nationals next weekend, she anticipates running even faster.

Cartwright is currently coached by Mike Turgeon, who was named the NSIC Women’s Coach of the Year, who was extremely proud of her achievements.

“She is poised to have an awesome national meet next weekend. The conference championship meet schedule was drawn out due with COVID in mind. It forced Denisha to be on top of her game and mentally stay in the meet as her races came up,” he said. 

“We are very proud of the effort she put in and the 28 points she scored helping the women’s team take down the conference title as a team.”

Turgeon led MSU to its fourth NSIC Championship, its first since 2016-17.

He also coached the Mavericks to a No.2 ranking in the USTFCCCA Rating Index this season, coached 18 student-athletes to All-NSIC honours this season and has coached 20 student-athletes that are currently qualified for the NCAA National Championships as well as the 4x400m relay team.

“She will be the hurdler to beat nationally. She has set herself up and had gotten faster each meet this year. She had a shortened fall of training since she transferred in here, so I knew we’d be improving each week as we worked through the training schedule,” Turgeon projected. 

“She is ready to run another nice personal best and take home the championship in the hurdles. She is ranked number three in the 60m and the 200m and I know she will be fighting for the top spot in both. I am very excited to watch her compete over the two-day national meet.”

No doubt, as one of his new protégés, Turgeon is looking forward to Cartwright competing next weekend.