Originally from the tropical islands of the Bahamas, redshirt senior hurdle jumper Indea Cartwright has packed a lot into her journey before arriving at Liberty University.
Cartwright described how the Bahamian lifestyle she grew up in greatly differs from that of kids in the U.S.
“A lot of things that I could’ve done as a child at home, I can’t really do here,” Cartwright said. “Me and my neighbors were also like family. So we would go outside and climb a tree and eat fruits in the tree … just for fun.”
Her mother’s side of the family came from the island of Jamaica before they immigrated over to the Bahamas. She grew up with six half siblings from her father’s side.
“We’re just a high energy and multicultural family,” Cartwright said.
Growing up, her mother would sing all the time, and she taught Cartwright about music. This experience resulted in Cartwright singing in her local church growing up. A collaboration came to fruition between her and Caspa, a local musician from the Bahamas, when they worked together on a cover of “Made For Me” while she was home in June 2024 for the Olympic trials.
“It was just crazy. I didn’t even expect nobody to even really listen,” Cartwright said. “He put it on Apple Music and Spotify, and it blew up on TikTok. … We did a little video, and people thought it was cute.”
Though Cartwright considered singing more of a hobby for herself, after gaining a little exposure, she decided that she would take it more seriously.
“Maybe not like my main career path; I’ll pursue it, but like it’s on the side,” Cartwright said.
Cartwright said competition and sports is extremely popular in the Caribbean countries. Many see sports as an outlet or as an opportunity to receive a higher education.
“It was always a part of my family,” Cartwright said. “My mom played sports; my dad played sports like all of my siblings and uncles and aunts. So it was a normal thing, and sports just had to be in the family.”
Before discovering that running hurdles was her forte, Cartwright played a multitude of sports including softball, volleyball, basketball, swimming, cheer and gymnastics. She eventually landed on running track and fell in love with the competitiveness.
“Track was … my last sport that I ever tried,” Cartwright said. “I think I really enjoyed the competitiveness compared to any other sport.”
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Although she holds both Liberty records for the 60-meter hurdles (8.16) and 100 hurdles (13.11), she did not start with hurdles right out of the gate. It was not until 2018 that she gave hurdles a try. From there, her passion for track blossomed.
“I was running track since I was in sixth grade going into seventh grade,” Cartwright said. “When I started running hurdles in 2018 is when I started really taking it seriously.”
The first year she started running hurdles, she made the Bahamian national team in 2018 for the CARIFTA Games for the 400 hurdles and the 100 hurdles where she placed second. Prior to shortening her hurdling distance, she would run the longer events such as the 1500, 1200, 800, 400 and 200 hurdles.
“I wanted to do something a little bit different, something I would enjoy,” Carwright said. “I kind of just died the whole time running those long races.”
Cartwright went to Oral Roberts University before transferring to Liberty. She knew many of her teammates at ORU prior to coming to the school through a track club in the Bahamas called SunBlazers. She was a member of this club from the time she started running until the time she graduated high school.
“The same athletes that were in that track club up until that point, we all just decided to go to ORU together,” Cartwright said. “So it was a fun time training with the same people I’ve been training with for years.”
Her relationship with her ORU coach, Joe Dial, had a positive impact on her life.
“I have a very personal relationship with my coach,” Cartwright said. “I could call him right now, and he’s there. I absolutely love my coach. They made it feel like home, and that’s probably the best part.”
The tables took a turn when Dial decided to resign from his position at ORU. Cartwright shared that he was the one that made the university a positive place for her, so his departure caused her to reevaluate her next steps.
“I didn’t know who was coming in, and my teammates that were a little bit older were graduating, so I would’ve just ended up there by myself,” Cartwright said.
This pushed Cartwright to enter the transfer portal and see what other opportunities awaited her. Dial was by her side and assisted her through the process as it was her first time transferring.
“I didn’t know how it was going to go besides a million schools emailing me, asking if I wanted to do campus visits and stuff like that,” Cartwright said.
Dial presented her with two schools that he knew would be a good fit, one being Liberty and the other being Kansas University.
“He knows the type of person I am. He knows the things that I believe in, and he knows the type of athlete I am,” Cartwright said. “I trusted his word over any offer and anything any other coach was saying.”
Dial knew both coaches at these schools and knew Cartwright would be well taken care of no matter which one she decided on. Dial coached Liberty’s associate head track & field coach and recruiting coordinator, Shawn Venable, when he attended ORU.
Cartwright went on a campus tour of Liberty which sealed the deal. She went to dinner with Liberty’s director of track & field and cross country, Lance Bingham, and they talked about the things Liberty could offer her.
“He was just talking, and I was just sitting there. It was like music to my ears,” Cartwright said. “I felt at peace, and my prayers were answered.”
Cartwright is committed to breaking her own records, holding herself and those who come behind her to a higher standard.
“I know that I represent not only myself, but I represent God, represent the school, represent my country and represent my parents at a high standard,” Cartwright said.
Schlösser is the asst. sports editor for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X.