After a pair of fifth place finishes over the last two seasons, Bahamian national record holder in the men’s javelin Keyshawn Strachan finds himself on the podium at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships this year.
Strachan, a junior for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cornhuskers, earned a second place finish, and an All-American honor, winning a silver medal for his school and his country on Wednesday. It’s The Bahamas’ first ever medal in the men’s javelin competiton at the NCAA Championships.
Strachan had a massive throw of 80.65 meters (m) — 264’ 7” — to win the silver medal. It was his second throw 80m (262’ 5”) or more, this year, and the sixth of his career. The championships are ongoing at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, and will wrap up on Saturday.
Throwing out of flight two of a combined 24 throwers, Strachan had his silver medal winning throw on his first attempt. He scratched his next three throws, and turned in a toss of 74.56m (244’ 7”) on his fifth attempt. Strachan scratched on his final attempt.
Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi, a senior for the Texas A&M University Aggies, won the gold with a throw of 82.26m (269’ 10”). Strachan was second, and Jack Larriviere, a senior for the Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers, won the bronze with a throw of 77.91m (255’ 7”).
The other Bahamian in the men’s javelin final, Kaden Cartwright, a freshman for the Mississippi State University Bulldogs, finished 19th overall with a heave of 68.02m (223’ 2”). It was just off his personal best effort of 68.78m (225’ 8”), which was done at the NCAA East Preliminary Round two weeks ago.
Strachan qualified second overall out of the west preliminaries with a best throw of 76m (249’ 4”). He has a season’s best effort of 81.86m (268’ 7”), done at the Big Red Classic in Lincoln, Nebraska, in April, and a personal best national record throw of 84.27m (276’ 5”), done at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays presented by Truist, in Austin, Texas, in 2023.
Both Strachan and Cartwright train locally with Corrington Maycock and Blue Chip Athletics. Their club teammate Calea Jackson, a junior for the University of Miami Hurricanes, will be in action in the women’s discus final on Saturday. She had a personal best throw of 58.26m (191’ 2”) at the east preliminaries.
Meanwhile, Zion Campbell and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers failed to finish their semifinal race in the men’s 4x100m relay on Wednesday, and they didn’t advance to the final.
The Gophers appeared to have a bad exchange going into the final leg. Campbell, a junior, led off the relay, and they appeared to be in good position until the mishap at the end. The team of Campbell, Wanyae Belle, Aaron Charles and Charles Godfred had a strong season, winning the Big Ten title for a second consecutive year and qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. They qualified second overall out of the NCAA West Preliminary Round in 38.71 seconds.
The Auburn Tigers ran an NCAA record of 37.75 seconds in the semis on Wednesday. The final is set for Friday.
The NCAA Track and Field Championships continue today in Eugene, Oregon.
A quartet of Bahamians will be in action in the women’s 400m today — University of Tennessee Volunteers’ senior Javonya Valcourt, University of Florida Gators’ junior Quincy Penn, Texas A&M University Aggies’ senior Lacarthea Cooper, and Texas Tech University Red Raiders’ senior Collinique Farrington.
Also, among Bahamians, Antone Smith, a freshman for the University of Arizona Wildcats, will compete in the men’s triple jump competition on Friday, and Troynelle Miller, a senior for the University of Central Arkansas Sugar Bears, will compete as a part of her school’s women’s 4x100m relay team on Saturday.
