Bermuda’s track stars are continuing to rack up medals at conference championships in the US.

Hot on the heels of Ryan Outerbridge’s success at the NE-10 Conference Championships two weeks ago, Shayla Cann picked up a bronze medal at the Coastal Athletic Association Indoor Championships and Caitlyn Bobb continued her good recent form with a silver medal in the 400 metres at the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships.

Cann capped her first full indoor season in fine style by making it on to the podium at the Virginia Beach Sports Complex, with the Elon University sophomore third across the line in a new personal best time of 2min 9.78sec, recording the third-fastest time in school history.

“This was my first full indoor season after missing most of last year due to injury,” an elated Cann told The Royal Gazette. “It’s been great to get back into racing and, with our new coach’s training, I’ve seen real progress.

“The goal was to work my way into faster heats each week, trusting that the times would come if I just focused on racing to race.”

The former Warwick Academy student was pumped up heading into the final and was blown away by her blistering time.

“I was fired up to score for my team, especially with us in a close second going into the final day,” she added.

“After a tight finish for third in the 800 final, I initially thought I had run a different time. It wasn’t until our assistant coach showed me the live results that I realised I had gone sub 2:10.

“I was in shock; overwhelmed by the moment, my team-mates’ support and the energy of the meet. I hadn’t even processed how fast we were going; all I knew was that I wanted to give everything for my team.”

Northeastern University student Nichole Dunbury won the gold in 2 mins 8.59sec with Hampton University’s Jordan Mozie claiming the silver in 2mins 9.70sec.

Cann, 19, and her Elon University team-mates were narrowly pipped for overall women’s honours by first-time winners Hampton University with Northeastern University, the defending champion, finishing third among the 12 teams competing. Hampton finished the meet with 110 points, Elon 105 and Hampton 94.5.

The standings all came down to the 4x400 relay as Hampton entered that event trailing Elon 104.5 to 102 in the team standings.

The Pirates were fourth heading into the final leg of the relay and sealed the deal after Brianna Charles came through with a blistering 53.28 anchor leg to help push her team to second. Cann's team finished sixth with a time of 3min 48.08sec.

“It was close up until the end and it proved that quite literally every point truly matters,” Cann said.

“Our team culture kept us proud despite finishing second; we held our heads high knowing we gave it our all. With multiple medallists and countless personal bests, everyone stepped up.

“Now, we’re looking ahead to Outdoor Conference with even more to fight for.”

Elon boasts an outstanding record at the championships having won the inaugural event in 2023 and finished second for the past two years.

Cann, who was a member of Bermuda’s 1600 metres relay team that won the bronze medal at the 2022 Carifta Games in Jamaica, missed most of last season after suffering a lower leg injury.

“I was definitely disheartened and frustrated at first but looking back I can continue to say there is a reason for everything,” she said.

“I was getting used to a new country let alone a new school, but he injury helped me settle into collegiate life.

“As for training, my former coach worked with me to keep my fitness good via cross training. I have had a fair share of intense bike workouts.

“The hardest part of coming back from injury was learning how to run properly once again. A lot of form improvement became a huge focus.”

Bobb recorded a personal best in the 400 metres on Monday when finishing second in Louisville, Kentucky. Bobb, competing for Virginia Tech, stopped the clock at 52.69 behind JeNyia Burton, who claimed the gold medal in 51.82.