Newly crowned NCAA champion Rivaldo Marshall has thrown his name into a growing pool of promising athletes in the 800m for Jamaica.

The 22-year-old University of Iowa Junior produced 1:46.96 to take gold at the NCAA Indoor Championships held in Boston from March 7-9.

Another member of that pool of promising Jamaican 800m runners, Clemson Senior Tarees Rhoden, ran 1:47.79 for fifth while Vincentian Penn State Sophomore Handal Roban ran 1:48.16 to finish seventh.

“I’m excited. Been working hard these past few weeks and my coach told me just come out here and do my thing,” Marshall said in a post-race interview.

Marshall entered the final lap of the final in second and produced an excellent display of both speed and strength to outlast his opponents and take the title.

“I told myself that once it’s the last lap, no one’s beating me. I train to go as hard as possible in the last lap,” he said.

His winning time was just outside his personal best 1:46.86 done to win at the Tyson Invitational on February 10.

Two weeks later, Marshall had a disappointing showing at the Big 10 Indoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio, running 1:49.32 for fifth.

He said that performance was motivation for him.

“At the Big10 meet, I didn’t run that well and I used that as motivation to work hard these past few weeks,” he said.

This wasn’t the first taste of success on the collegiate circuit for the former Calabar High star.

Before transferring to the University of Iowa ahead of this season, Marshall previously competed for Indian Hills Community College where he won gold at the 2022 NJCAA Outdoor Championships with 1:50.82.

That same year, Marshall took silver at the NJCAA Indoor Championships with 1:51.30. A year later, he took bronze in 1:48.10.