HAMMOND, La. – Watching his teammates from The Bahamas run in the 4x400-meter relay finals at the 16^th annual International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Indoor Championships in Portland, Ore., on Sunday, Southeastern Louisiana senior Ashley Riley had one thought go through his mind.
   
    "Watching the guys in the finals, "I was thinking, 'Wow, I'm actually going to get a medal.' I can't explain it," Riley said.
   
    The Bahamas ended up finishing second behind the United States to earn the country's first world indoor medal in the relays. And Riley helped them get there after running the third leg in the preliminaries that Saturday, becoming the first Lion to win a world championship medal.
   
    "It's kind of an indescribable feeling, being there with all those great athletes and the atmosphere and everything," the Nassau native said of getting to compete with his national team. "It's a wonderful feeling."
   
    Riley was recently selected by The Bahamas track and field association as the sixth man for the 4x400 relay.
   
    "It was one the biggest races I've ever been in," Riley said of running in the preliminaries. "I was kind of nervous at first but I knew I had to get the job done so I had to focus and really go back to all my workout strategies and everything and I knew I would be OK."
   
    Riley helped The Bahamas qualify for the finals with a second-place finish behind Belgium in 3 minutes, 7.55 seconds. Riley then watched as his teammates ran a national indoor-record 3:04.75 to come in behind the United States' 3:02.45.
   
    "I never thought about it," Riley said of winning the silver medal. "I guess I was focused in on running a good race. Afterward, I was like, 'Wow, it was stunning.'"
   
    Riley has run in some big races for both his home country and for his college teams in the United States. He represented The Bahamas at IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships in 2014 and while at Colby County Community College, he was the 2014 National Junior College Athletic Association indoor 600-meter national champion and earned All-America status in both the 600 and the 4x800-meter relay.
   
    Riley transferred to Southeastern for the 2015 season. He finished eighth in the 800 at the Southland Conference Indoor Championships before taking fourth in the 400 at the Southland Outdoor Championships.
   
    "I always wanted to go someplace close to home as far as the environment and the culture and Southeastern also had a good program," Riley said of choosing to compete for the Lions.
   
    This past indoor season, Riley earned first-team All-Southland Conference as a member of the Lions' record-breaking 4x400-meter relay. He anchored the relay that set the school and Southland Championship meet record of 3:08.97 last month. He also helped the distance medley relay set a school record of 10:11.16 at the meet.
   
    Individually, Riley took fifth in the 400 at the Conference Championships and had victories in the event at the LSU Bayou Bengal, McNeese State Invite and South Alabama Jaguar Relays.
   
    "I had a very good indoor season," Riley said. "I did some things that were unexpected but I also trusted in my body and my coach and it turned out well."
   
    Riley is being red-shirted this outdoor season although he may run unattached in some events as he continues training with his eye on the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August. Riley will compete in the Bahamas national championships in June, hoping to earn one of the six spots again on the relay team.