HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana track and field graduate students Andre Colebrook and Ashley Riley will be spending their spring break in The Bahamas, competing for their home country at the third International Association of Athletics Federations World Relays Bahamas 2017.

    The IAAF World Relays are scheduled for April 22-23 at Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium in Nassau. Colebrook, a native of Eluthera, and Riley, a Nassau native, have been selected to the 10-man Bahamian 4x400-meter relay team.

    Southeastern Hall of Famer Christine Amertil, a three-time Olympian for The Bahamas, was also selected to the women's 4x400 relay.

    "It's a good feeling," Riley said. "It really feels like a lot is coming together. It's kind of like a dream come true."

    Southeastern head coach Sean Brady said it's a great honor for Riley and Colebrook to be chose to compete for their home country, especially for an event as the World Relays.

    "The World Relays is an opportunity for them not to see just the best kids in the NCAA, but to also see some of the best professionals in the sport," Brady said. "There really is no substitution for that, being able to run against the very best, not just in the country but in the world."

    Brady said the selection of the duo also benefits the Southeastern program.

    "It's exciting to have team members getting that experience," Brady said. "Any time they have that, they can come back and share those experiences with the other folks on the team. It's just getting a peek at the very best and it's coming at the perfect time. They are starting to get better and we're starting to come into the peaking season. Towards the end of this month is when we want to see our athletes be at their very best, two weeks out of the conference championships. I think's a big win for Southeastern and certainly for those two athletes."

    Both Riley and Colebrook are no strangers to the national team. Riley helped The Bahamas win the silver medal in the 4x400 relay at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in March of 2016, running the third leg in the preliminaries. He was also on the third-place 4x400 relay at the IX NACAC U23 Championships in July. Prior to Southeastern, he represented The Bahamas at the IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships in 2014.

    "I think I will be better prepared," Riley said. "I know what to expect. We want to execute as best as we can and use everything we've learned in practice and take it out there."

    Colebrook, meanwhile, came in seventh in the 400-meter hurdles at the NACAC U23 Championships.

    "It feels good to make the national team again," Colebrook said. "Getting as much experience as possible is good. You know which mistakes to correct from the previous race. I expect to go down there and compete to the best of my ability. So far I've been running really well this season so I expect to run fast."

    Southeastern assistant coach Bernard Newbold, a native of Nassau, has had a hand in the selection of team members in the past and said both Colebrook and Riley should have no problems adapting.

    "They are no strangers to top level competition," Newbold said. "They represented the Bahamas last year and they competed in the Texas Relays (this weekend) in front of a crowd of 50,000-plus. They are no strangers to pressure competition."

    Newbold added the pair will also get a chance to compete in front of their families and friends, an opportunity many international students do not get in college.

    "So they're definitely going to put on a show," Newbold said. 

    Both Colebrook and Riley are enjoying successful seasons at Southeastern. Colebrook shattered the school's 400-meter dash record at the Louisiana Classic last month and set a personal record in the 400-meter hurdles at the prestigious Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays this weekend. He is coming off an indoor season in which he received first-team All-Southland Conference honors in the 400 meters after capturing the conference championship. He also broke both the school's 600- and 800-meter indoor records during the campaign.

    Riley also passed his school record in the 400 meters at the Louisiana Classic and was second in the event at the Miami Hurricane Collegiate Invitational the following week. He opened the outdoor season with a victory in the 300 at the Tulane Early Bird Twilight. Both Riley and Colebrook also ran on the 4x400 relay which finished second at the Texas Relays in 3:07.25, a time that is the second-fastest in school history and currently ranks 20^th in the nation.

    "I feel like the work we have put in all season, from the fall and the indoor season, is paying off now," Riley said. "We're basically at the stage we expected to be and we expect a lot more as the season goes."

    Southeastern continues the season Saturday at the McNeese Spring Time Classic in Lake Charles on Saturday. The Lions are ranked 34^th in the first week of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Team Computer Rankings released on Monday, the highest ranking by a Southland Conference team.