By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Versatile Bahamian athlete Anthaya Charlton continued her impressive season with another spectacular feat at the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division One National Outdoor Track and Field Championships yesterday.

The University of Florida transfer junior, clocked a lifetime best of 10.87 seconds to win her semifinal heat of the women’s 100 metres to qualify for Saturday’s final in Eugene, Oregon, with the second fastest time overall. 

Improving on her previous personal best of 11.01 that she ran at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida on May 31, Charlton set a new UF school record and she was just shy of the Bahamas national record of 10.84 that Chandra Sturrup set on July 5, 2005 at the Athletissima Meet in Lausanne, Switzerland.

JaMeesia Ford, a sophopore at South Carolina, ran the fastest qualifying time in her lifetime best of 10.87 in winning heat three for  a new championship record.

Both Ford and Charlton are now sitting at number two and three respectively behind American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who has run the fastest this year of 10.73 on June 1 at the Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Without much time to recuperate or celebrate, Charlton was on the field where she contested the final of the women’s long jump. She soared 21-feet, 7 1/4-inches or 6.58 metres with her only legal mark on her second attempt for fifth place.

She scratched the other five attempts and watched s. Synclqair Savage, a senior at Louisiana, took the title with 22-3/4 (6.72m)  on her sixth and final attempt. 

Alyssa Jones, a junior at Stanford, was runner-up with 21-11 3/4 (6.70m) and Alexis Brown, a senior at Baylor, was third with 21-9 (6.63m).

Chalrton’s performance in the 100m also surpassed the qualifying standard for the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan in September.  The 21-year-old also did the feat in the long jump earlier this year. 

She currently holds the fifth best mark of 23-0 1/2 (7.02m) in the long jump, which she achieved on January 31 at the Randal Tyson Indoor Center in Fayetteville, Arnkansas.

The World Championship standard is 11.07 for the 100m and 22-6 3/4 (6.86m) for the long jump. It will be the second major championship this year for Charlton, who got her maiden voyage at the World Indoor Championships in March in Nanjing, China where she was sixth in the long jump with (6.57m).

Charlton, the younger sister of world indoor 60m record holder and repeat gold medalist Devynne Chrlton, is the only Bahamian to advance in a final of an individual event at the championships that concludes on Saturday.

Olympic mixed relay competitor Javonya Valcourt attempted to advance in the women’s 400m yesterday as well.

But the Tennessee junior finished fourth in her heat in 51.65 for 13th place overall.

The ninth and final qualifier was Kaelyaah Liburb, a sophomore of Florida State, who clocked 51.35. She got into Saturday’s final with the field that was led by Aaliyah Butler, a junior at Georgia in 50.16.

Prior to her achievement in the 100m and the long jump, Chrlton teamed up with fellow Bahamian Quincy Penn on Florida’s 4 x 100m relay team that ran a season’s best of 43.06 to advance to Saturday’s final with the eighth best time. 

On the men’s side, national record holder Keyshawn Strachan, a junior at Nebraska, ended up fifth in the javelin final with his best toss of 25-feet, 9-inches or 76.69 metres on his sixth and final attempt.

Deysel Devoux, a senior at Miami, threw 268-2 (81.75m) on his first attempt for the win. Leikel Cabrera Gay, a sophomore at Florida, was second with 250-4 (79.05m) on his third and Callan Saldutto, a senior at Missouri, was third with 252-8 (6.88m) on his first.

Strachan’s series of throws were 221-0 (67.37m) on his first, 246-2 (75.03m) on his second and 256-8 (72.15m) on his third before he fouled his fourth and did 235-5 (71.76m) on his fifth.

And Oscar Smith, a senior at Louisiana Tech, just missed making it to the final of the men’s 10m hurdles during the semifinals on Wednesday as well.

Competing in the first of three heats, Smith clocked 13.45 for third, but he was pegged at number ten overall, just one spot for advancing to the final that will be contested today.

The ninth and final qualifying spot went to John Adesola, a senior at Houston, in 13.43. The top qualifier was Ja’Kobe Thapp, a sophomore at Auburn, in 13.15.