By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Steven Gardiner and Anthonique Strachan both showed that they are on track for the World Championships, while a couple of collegiate athletes, including Joel Forbes, Terrence Jones, Charisma Taylor and Denisha Cartwright, shined on the collegiate scene over the weekend.

Rabat DL

At the Rabat Diamond League, Gardiner sped to victory in a scorching time of 44.70 seconds to leave the rest of the field well behind. American Vernon Norwood was his closest challenger, but he ran 45.11.

Also at the meet, Anthonique Strachan sped to a personal best of 22.15 for second place in the women’s 200m as she trailed Jamaican Shericka Jackson, the winner in 21.98.

Both Gardiner and Strachan have qualified for the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in August.

NAIA Outdoor Championships

At the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Joel Forbes erased a 25-year-old record that Chris “The Fireman” Brown left on the books.

Forbes, a sophomore at Cumberland in Tennessee, ran 1:49.32 to remove Brown’s old mark of 1:49.54 that he established on August 17, 1998, at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Maracaibo, Venezuela.

NCAA West Regional

At the West First Round in Sacramento, California, Grand Bahamian Terrence Jones continues to post impressive numbers as a junior at Texas Tech.

Jones, who earlier this year tied the national record at 9.91, came close to duplicating that feat with his 9.93 clocking to guarantee his berth in the NCAA Championships at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Champiobships at the Mike Myers Stadium in Austin Texas.

Karon Dean, a junior at UTEP, was 44th overall in 10.55. Antoine Andrews, a freshman at Texas Tech, also booked his ticket to the NCAA Championships with a 14th place in the men’s 110m hurdles in 13.74.

NCAA East Regional

At the NCAA East Regional in Jacksonville, Florida, Tennessee’s senior Charisma Taylor led the way for the group of Bahamians as she skipped, hopped and jumped 45-feet, 9 1/4-inches or 13.95 metres to win the women’s triple jump and earned one of three berths into the NCAA Championships.

Taylor also secured her berth in the 100m hurdles where she placed fifth in 12.80 and she did it in the long jump with her leap of 20-5 1/4 (6.23m) for 11th overall.

Shaun Miller Jr of Ohio State soared 7-1/4 (2.14m) for second place to advance to the NCAA finals. Tony Jones, a senior at Mississippi State cleared the same height, but got the win on fewer knockdowns.

Anthaya Charlton, a freshman at the University of Kentucky, earned her berth inro the NCAA Finals with her sixth place in the women’s 100m in 11.08.

Javonya Valcourt, a freshman at Tennessee, clocked 52.31 for fifth place to advance to the NCAA Championships. Megan Moss, a junior st Kentucky, missed out after she placed 32 overall in 53.87.

Wanya McCoy also missed out on an individual spot in the men’s 100m after he clocked 10.07 for 12th overall for one of the fastest times ever ran by a Bahamian. He was consistent running 10.10 in the preliminaries.

McCoy also missed out in the 200m, coming much closer than in the century. He completed the half-lap race in 20.45 for 13th overall. The top 12 competitors moved on.

NCAA Division II Championships

At the NCAADivision II Track and Field Championships, Denisha Cartwright, a junior at Minnesota State, won the women’s 100m hurdles in 12.94, well ahead of her nearest rival Kiara Smith, a junior at Missouri Southern, who did 13.13.

Cartwright, however, had to settle for second in the 200m in 23.10 as Duvonne Franklin, a senior at California, w3as the winner in 22.77.

And in the 100m, Cartwright placed fourth in 11.13. The race was won by Franklin in 11.09.