Excelsior High School star Ackera Nugent and Holmwood Technical High School’s Kavia Francis will both be attending Baylor University when the next academic year begins this Fall.

Nugent, who turns 18, on Wednesday, April 29, has been an outstanding athlete for Jamaica and her high school.

In February 2019, she set a World U18 world record in the 100m hurdles at the Youngster Goldsmith track meet at the National Stadium in Kingston breaking fellow Jamaican Yanique Thompson’s record set in 2013 at the World U18 Championships in Ukraine.’

Nugent also boasts a 100m personal best of 11.42, the seventh fastest U18 time in the world.

In October 2018, Nugent, then just 16, demonstrated her quality at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aries, Argentina. Running on a sprained ankle, the soft-spoken Jamaican won a bronze medal in the 100m hurdles.

Francis will join Nugent at Baylor as a prospect for the 400m, an event in which she has a personal best of 53.38, which ranks her seventh in the world for U20 athletes. She ran the time to win gold at the 2020 Central Championships in Jamaica in February. She was also a key member of Holmwood Technical's powerful 4x400m relay team.

Baylor has had a history of producing world-class athletes.

World and Olympic Champions Michael Johnson and Jeremy Wariner both attended Baylor. Trayvon Bromell, who won a bronze medal in the 100m at the 2015 World Championships also attended Baylor University.