The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Although she would have preferred better results across the board, multi-talented Charisma Taylor was content with another Bahamian national record-breaking performance in the women’s triple jump at the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Indoor Championship over the weekend.

As the only Bahamian to make an individual appearance in a final at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama, Taylor came off two dismal performances in Friday’s 60 metre hurdles and the long jump to soar in the hop, skip and jump event on Saturday.

Taylor, a University of Tennessee junior transfer from Washington State, cleared a personal best of 45-feet, 9 3/4-inches or 13.96m to improve on her own national record of 13.90m on January 30 in Clemson, South Carolina when she broke the Lady Vols indoor record at the Bob Pollock Meet.

Florida’s sophomore champion Jasmine Moore, in taking the victory, made some history herself as she erased the meet, facility and collegiate records with her leap of 47-9 3/4 (14.57m). Natricia Hooper was the runner-up with 45-10 3/4 (13.99m).

“I came in with a different mindset than Friday because it didn’t go as I expected in the hurdles and the long jump,” Taylor said.

“But that is track and field and you have to move on from disappointments and get ready for the next day, which I did. I focused on the task at hand, which was to get a medal in the triple jump, which I did with a new personal best and Bahamas national indoor record, so I’m proud of myself in that aspect,” she said.

In the 60m hurdles, Taylor was 12th place in in 8.07 seconds.

Florida’s sophomore Grace Stark took the victory in a personal best of 7.83 for a new facility record.

But Taylor ended up 15th in the long jump with her best of 20-2 1/4 (6.15m). Moore also got the victory with her leap of 21-6 3/4 (6.57m).

She noted that because of the hectic schedule on Friday, she was only able to take two jumps in the long jump before she had to report to the hurdles and was a little bit fatigued.

“In the hurdles, I got a pretty good start, but I hit the first hurdle and that threw off my whole race. So I was pretty much upset myself,” Taylor stated. “But like I said, I was upset for a while, but I knew I had one more event to do so I just shook it off and got ready for the next event, which was the triple jump.”

Having improved from fifth place last year to third this year in the triple jump, Taylor said she knows that God is with her and having qualified in three events, she’s just thrilled to enjoy the ride she is going through.

“I’m excited to put the indoor season in the past because it was a good one, but I’m just excited to continue my outdoor season and compete to the best of my ability,” she added.

Her first outdoor meet will be in Florida on April 1 where she’s expected to open up in the 100m hurdles and possibly the long jump. But she intends to push towards qualifying for both the World Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, July 15-24 and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, July 28 to August 8.

“I’m very excited about where this outdoor season is heading,” Taylor lamented. “I’m excited and very happy that I had a very healthy indoor season, but the best is yet to come.”

Grand Bahamian Terrance Jones, competing for Texas Tech in his freshman year, had a false start in the preliminaries of the men’s 60m on Friday. Jones ran a scorching collegiate leading personal best of 6.45 in Lubbock, Texas, on January 15, a race being reviewed for what appeared to be a false start as well.

Two Bahamians were expected to compete for their respective schools in the women’s 4 x 400 metre relay that was left under review. But Doneisha Anderson and the University of Florida didn’t get to start the event.

Sophomore Megan Moss was not on the University of Kentucky’s team as the quartet of Alexis Holmes, Abby Steiner, Karimah Davis and Dajour Miles held onto third place in the last of the heats in 3:28.77 for third place overall. Arkansas won in 3:27.23 for a facility record, erasing the previous mark of 3:28.27, set by Texas in 2016. Texas got second in 3:28.60.

Moss is now expected to head to Belgrade, Serbia with hurdler Devynne Charlton and two-time Olympic women’s 400m champion Shaunae Miller- Uibo for the World Athletics’ 2022 World Indoor Championships March 18-20.

Bahamian Rolando ‘Lonnie’ Greene, the head coach for both Moss and graduate assistant Charlton at Kentucky, will serve as the head coach in Belgrade.

Lance Brauman, Miller- Uibo’s coach with Pure Athletics Track Club, is also on the team that will be managed by Laura Pratt and assisted by Foster Dorsett and Dave Charlton.