A total of six Bahamians are on their way to Eugene, Oregon, USA, set to compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in their specialty events. Carmiesha Cox, Tadashi Pinder, Pedrya Seymour, Tynia Gaither, Kaiwan Culmer and Dannielle Gibson all qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. A number of other Bahamians will run as members of their respective relay squads, as determined by the east and west preliminaries over the weekend.

Out of the six Bahamian individual qualifiers, Gaither was arguably the most impressive, qualifying for the NCAAs in both short sprints, posting Olympic qualifying times in both events even though she had already pre-qualified, and running a stunning personal best time in the women's 200 meters (m).

Gaither turned in times of 11.32 and 22.61 seconds in the 100 and 200m races at the west preliminary round at the University of Kansas' Rock Chalk Park, in Lawrence, Kansas. Gaither, a redshirt senior at the University of Southern California (USC), finished third overall in both events for the Trojans, easily qualifying for the NCAAs in a little over a week in Eugene as the top 12 finishers from both preliminaries qualified.

Oregon sophomore Hannah Cunliffe won the century at the west preliminary in 11.13 seconds, and San Diego State sophomore Ashley Henderson was second overall in 11.30 seconds. The 200m was taken by Oregon sophomore Deajah Stevens in 22.48 seconds, and Gaither's teammate at USC, sophomore Deanna Hill, was second overall in 22.60 seconds. Gaither was just a hundredth of a second behind for third.

Gaither got another third in the women's 4x100m relay, as she and the Trojans posted the third fastest time of 44.14 seconds. The Texas A&M Aggies recorded the fastest time of 43.74 seconds, and Oregon was second overall in 43.75 seconds.

What more could be said of young Pedrya Seymour. The University of Illinois junior continues to get faster and faster over the hurdles. To atone for her 12.92 national record-setting run at the Big Ten Track and Field Championships, she posted a qualifying time of 12.95 seconds in Lawrence. It was the fastest qualifying time in the field. Oregon freshman Alaysha Johnson had the second fastest qualifying time of 12.97 seconds, and Texas Christian University (TCU) senior Brianna McGhee posted the third fastest qualifying time of 13.01 seconds.

Over at the east preliminaries in Jacksonville, Florida, Cox was among the Bahamian athletes excelling on the track. She ran 23.34 seconds in the preliminary round of the 200m, and a wind-aided 22.75 seconds in the quarters, booking her ticket to Eugene where the semis and final will run. The University of Purdue junior qualified with the eighth fastest time.
Cox will also run on both relay teams in Eugene as her Purdue Boilermakers qualified 12th overall in the women's 4x100m in 44.72, and their women's 4x400m relay squad qualified eighth overall in 3:32.97.

Gibson was fantastic as well, finishing third overall in the women's triple jump at the east preliminaries to qualify for the NCAAs. The Penn State junior had a best jump of 13.63m (44' 8-3/4"). Georgia sophomore Keturah Orji had the best jump of 14.29m (46' 10-3/4"), and Auburn junior Marshay Ryan had the second best jump of 13.68m (44' 10-3/4").

Marshall junior Antonique Butler finished 38th in that same competition in 12.40m (40' 8-1/4"). Gibson came back and was 16th in the women's long jump with a best leap of 6.08m (19' 11-1/2"), failing to qualify in that event.

The final bahamian qualifier for the NCAAs came from the west preliminaries.

Kaiwan Culmer, a sophomore at Nebraska, had the eighth best jump in the men's triple jump competition. He finished with a best leap of 15.97m (52' 4-3/4"), qualifying for the NCAAs.

Jenae Ambrose, a freshman at Auburn, posted times of 23.43 and a wind-aided 23.03 seconds respectively, failing to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She finished 15th overall. She and the Auburn Tigers qualified in the women's 4x100m. The Tigers posted the ninth fastest time, 44.62 seconds.

Jermeka McBride, a senior at Northwestern State, ran 23.73 seconds in the opening round, and failed to make it to the quarters. She finished 28th overall.

Henri Delauze, a sophomore at Miami, was 31st overall in the men's 400m, running 46.93 seconds.

In the men's 200m, Auburn junior Teray Smith advanced to the quarters, running 20.91 seconds in his opening round heat, but he didn't start his quarter-final race. He didn't line up for the 100m, but Tadashi Pinder did. Pinder was amazing, finishing fifth in his heat and 10th overall in 10.38 seconds. The senior at Alabama is on his way to Eugene.

Smith and the Auburn Tigers qualified in the men's 4x100m relay, posting the 11th fastest time of 39.88 seconds, but Pinder and the Alabama Crimson Tide fell just outside of the qualifiers as they were 13th overall in 39.92 seconds.

Freshman Keanu Pennerman and the Purdue Boilermakers qualified 12th overall in the men's 4x100m relay, finishing in 39.89 seconds. Sophomore Kinard Rolle and their men's 4x400m relay team also posted a qualifying time, finishing 10th overall in 3:06.06.

Junior Delano Davis and LIU (Long Island University) Brooklyn recorded the seventh fastest time overall in the men's 4x100m relay in 39.54 seconds to qualify for Eugene.

Bahamian Kryshell Rolle, a senior at Nicholls State, finished 25th overall in the women's 400m hurdles, running 58.87 seconds. She failed to qualify for the quarters.

In the east preliminaries, Denzel Pratt, a freshman at Liberty University, was 17th overall in the men's javelin with a best throw of 65.27m (214' 1").

Racquel Williams, a senior at Pittsburgh, was 36th overall in the women's shot putt with a best throw of 14.70m (48' 2-3/4").

Also from the east preliminaries, Ashton Butler, a freshman at Florida State, competed in the men's triple jump. He finished 43rd overall with a jump of 14.60m (47' 10-3/4").

The NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be held June 8-11, at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

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