Latario Collie-Minns is the latest Bahamian who has solidified his spot on Team Bahamas for Beijing, China this summer!

In a weekend that saw the triple jump event take care, the 21-year-old Texas A&M junior wasn't going to be left out. He proved that he is completely back from nagging injuries that plagued his progress over the past two seasons, as he popped a personal best 17.18 meters (m) - 56' 4-1/2". Collie-Minns finished second in the event at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships, in Starkville, Mississippi. His best jump on the day was actually 17.25m (56' 7-1/4"), but that attempt was wind-aided. The 17.18 mark was legal.

It was a new personal best for Collie-Minns, a school record for Texas A&M University, a new SEC record and a Beijing World Championships qualifying mark. It also solidified him as the third best triple jumper in Bahamian history, trailing just national record holder "Superman" Leevan Sands (17.59m - 57' 8-1/2") and former national record holder Frank Rutherford (17.41m - 57' 1-1/2"). Five have gone over 17 meters (55' 9-1/4") in Bahamian history including Steve Hanna (17.04m - 55' 11") and Norbert Elliott (17.02m - 55' 10-1/4"). Collie-Minns' big leap also has him ranked as the fourth best triple jumper in the world this year.

"I've been training really hard this season, so I wasn't really surprised by it. I'm just looking forward to better things now," said Collie-Minns yesterday. "I have no doubt that I could go further. I'm getting my strength back, so I'm looking forward to going 17.50 (57' 5") this season. I feel that I have it in me. My technique is almost where it needs to be. It feels good to qualify for the world championships with a better mark. I'm just looking forward to jumping well for the rest of the season."

It still wasn't enough to win the competition though. Florida's senior Marquis Dendy had a wind-aided performance of 17.35m (56' 11-1/4") to take the SEC title. Only one of his jumps was legal, an effort of 16.98m (55' 8-1/2"). Be that as it may, it didn't affect the standings. He carted off the SEC title, Collie-Minns was second, and Auburn's junior Shawn Johnson was a distant third with a best jump of 16.17m (53' 0-3/4").

Collie-Minns' performance topped the former SEC meet record of 17.15m (56' 3-1/4") which was set by Christian Taylor of Florida in 2011. The old Aggies school record was 16.98m (55' 8-1/2"). That was set by Julian Reid in 2009.

Bahamian Trae Carey, a sophomore at Arkansas, was 18th overall with a best jump of 13.64m (44' 9"), and Latario's twin brother Lathone, also a junior at Texas A&M, failed to get off a good attempt. He fouled his first attempt and passed on his final two.

Over in the long jump, Latario Collie-Minns finished fourth with a best jump of 7.68m (25' 2-1/2"). Dendy once again was victorious, taking the top spot with a huge jump of 8.19m (26' 10-1/2"). Arkansas' junior Jarrion Lawson was second with a jump of 8m flat (26' 3"), and University of Florida freshman KeAndre Bates finished third with a best leap of 7.97m (26' 1-3/4").

Bahamian Trae Carey was 18th overall with a best jump of 7.09m (23' 3-1/4") and Lathone Collie-Minns was 23rd overall with a best jump of 6.35m (20' 10").

While Latario Collie-Minns was flying through the air at the Mississippi State University complex in Starkville, Mississippi, Shavez Hart was burning up the track.

Hart finished first in the 100m and was second in the 200m. The second fastest Bahamian of all-time clocked 10.12 seconds in the final of the men's 100m to win that event in a photo finish over Mississippi's Jalen Miller. Florida's senior Dedric Dukes was third in 10.18 seconds. The other Bahamian in the field, Auburn's sophomore Teray Smith, ran 10.40 in the heats, and failed to qualify for the final. He was third in his heat. Hart, a senior at Texas A&M, won his heat in 10.15 seconds.

In the 200m, Hart had to settle for second behind Dukes, but ran a personal best time of 20.23 seconds which moved him to number five on Texas A&M's all-time list. The blazing time was also under the Beijing World Championships qualifying mark in that event. Hart qualified in the 100m earlier in the season with his career best of 10.10 seconds.

Dukes won the 200m SEC title in 19.99 seconds, Hart was second, and Louisiana State University's (LSU) sophomore Tremayne Acy was third in 20.52 seconds. Smith also made the final, and was sixth overall for Auburn, in 20.84 seconds. Hart qualified out of the heats in 20.94 seconds, and Smith qualified in 21.02 seconds.

In the men's 4x100m relay, Hart teamed up with Devin Jenkins, Elijah Morrow and Deon Lendore, and the quartet ran a collegiate leading time of 38.74 seconds for the title. It was Hart's third medal of the meet - two gold and a silver. LSU finished second in 38.78 seconds, and Alabama was third in 38.87 seconds. Smith anchored Auburn's team, and they finished eighth in 39.82 seconds.

In the men's 4x400m, Hart teamed up with Gregory Coleman, Deon Hickey and Deon Lendore, and the quartet ran 3:03.25 for fourth place. Florida won in 3:01.60, LSU was second in 3:01.63, and South Carolina finished third in 3:03.13.
Hart was outstanding as he earned the SEC Commissioner's trophy as the high-point scorer among the men. He totaled 21-3/4 points from his victory in the 100 (10.12), runner-up finish in the 200 (20.23), running on the winning 4x100 team along with a fourth-place 4x400 finish.

"This was my goal coming into the meet, to be honest, and I got it," said Hart on Texas A&M's website. "I was confident in all of my events, so I knew I was capable of having a great performance, but to actually do it was pretty awesome watching everything unfold."

Another Bahamian was in action over at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championships at the Mike Long Track in Tallahassee, Florida, the home of the Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles. University of Miami freshman Henri Delauze was 10th overall in the men's 400m, in 46.93 seconds. He failed to qualify for the final.

At the SEC Championships, the performances by Collie-Minns and Hart helped lead the Texas A&M Aggies men to a tie for second place in the team standings. The Aggies and Arkansas both finished with 95 points. Florida won the title with 130.5 points. The Aggies women also finished second. They accumulated 104 points to trail just Arkansas which finished with 127.5 points Kentucky was third with 99 points.

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