Texas senior Julien Alfred added the 200m title to the 60m crown she already won at the Big 12 Indoor Championships at the Sports Performance Center in Lubbock Texas.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games 100m silver medallist, who ran 6.97, a new personal best and NCAA and national record, to win the 60m earlier on Saturday, showed the same awesome form to set a new meet record in the 200m as well.
The 21-year-old ran 22.26, another personal best, to win comfortably ahead of teammate Lanae Thomas (22.63) and Texas tech’s Rosemary Chukwuma (22.68).
Jamaican Texas sophomore Kevona Davis was fourth in 22.76.
Jamaican Texas A&M senior Lamara Distin continued her unbeaten run in the NCAA high jump in 2023 by winning the SEC Indoor title in Fayetville on Saturday.
Distin, gold medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, entered the Championships on the back of wins at the Razorback Invitational on January 27, New Mexico Collegiate Classic on February 3 and the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational on February 11.
The 22-year-old former Hydel High standout entered the competition at 1.80m and had a perfect card all the way through, eventually achieving a winning height of 1.95, a new meet record.
She also had three unsuccessful attempts at 2.00m which would’ve been a new personal best and broken her own national record of 1.97m.
Georgia sophomore Elena Kulichenko finished second with 1.92m while LSU junior Morgan Smalls cleared 1.80 for third.
St. Lucian Commonwealth Games silver medallist Julien Alfred and Jamaican sprint hurdler Demisha Roswell struck gold for Texas and Texas Tech, respectively, at the Big 12 Indoor Championships at the Sports Performance Center in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday.
Texas’ Alfred, who set a then-meet record of 7.03 in the heats on Friday, became the first woman in NCAA history to break the 7-second barrier by speeding to 6.97 to win Saturday’s final ahead of Texas Tech junior Rosemary Chukwuma (7.17) and Alfred’s Texas teammate Ezinne Abba (7.17). Alfred’s time.
The St. Lucian senior now owns the six fastest 60m times in NCAA history and 6.97 puts the 21-year-old in a three-way tie for eighth on the all-time list alongside the Ivory Coast’s Murielle Ahoure and the USVI’s Laverne Jones-Ferrette.
It also puts her second in the world in 2023 behind American Aleia Hobbs’ 6.94 at the US Indoor Championships in New Mexico on February 18.
Elsewhere, Jamaican Texas Tech senior Demisha Roswell produced a time of 8.04 to defend her 60m hurdles title. Kansas’ Gabrielle Gibson ran 8.11 for second while Iowa State’s Katarina Vlahovic ran 8.25 for third.
Former Kingston College standout Wayne Pinnock produced a personal best 8.31m to finish second in the Men’s long jump at the South East Conference (SEC) Indoor Championships in Fayetville on Friday.
The Arkansas sophomore, who transferred from Tennessee in the summer, only jumped twice in the competition producing 8.10m in the first round before achieving his personal best in round two.
The event was won by American Mississippi State senior Cameron Crump who achieved a personal best of his own with 8.39m, breaking US Olympian JuVaughn Harrison’s meet record 8.33m done in 2021.
Jamaican Arkansas senior Carey McLeod was third with 8.19m. McLeod produced distances of 8.09m, 8.19m and 8.17m in his series.
Pinnock’s distance puts him joint 32nd all time on the indoor long jump list and second among Jamaicans with only James Beckford’s 8.40m done in Madrid in 1996 ahead of him.
Trinidadian defending World Indoor 400m Champion Jereem Richards was the lone Caribbean winner at the 2023 World Indoor Tour Final at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on Saturday.
Richards, who ran a personal best 45.00 to win the World title in Belgrade in 2022, ran a season’s best 45.74 for victory in the Men’s 400m ahead of the USA’s Vernon Norwood (45.92) and Ireland’s Jack Rafferty (46.66).
This was the Trinidadian’s second win in a row after. He ran 45.84 to win at the Millrose Games on February 11.
Elsewhere, 2019 World Champion Tajay Gayle jumped a season’s best 8.13m for second in the long jump, won by the USA’s Marquis Dendy with 8.28m. American William Williams was third with 8.03m.
2022 World 200m Champion Shericka Jackson ran 7.18 to finish fourth in the 60m behind the British pair of Dina Asher-Smith (7.05) and Darryl Neita (7.12). The USA’s Destiny Smith-Barnett finished third in 7.15. Asher-Smith’s time broke her own British record.
Briana Williams has withdrawn from Saturday's 60m dash at the 2023 Gibson/McCook Relays currently ongoing at the National Stadium in Kingston.
According to insiders, the Olympic relay gold medallist was withdrawn as a precautionary measure after feeling some discomfort in training.
Williams was supposed to go up against Kemba Nelson, Tina and Tia Clayton, Kerrica Hill in a much-anticipated early season clash over the short sprint.
Williams opened her season at the Camperdown Classic two weeks ago winning the 60m dash in 7.22s.
In the most anticipated clash between several of Jamaica’s rising-star female sprinters - Briana Williams, Kemba Nelson and Tina Clayton- are set to compete over 60 metres and the 50th anniversary of the Gibson/McCook Relays at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.
US$10,000 in prize money has been guaranteed for the winner of the dash that will also include Jonielle Smith, Kerrica Hill, Tia Clayton and Amoi Brown in what promises to be a mouth-watering showdown of exciting young talent.
Since news emerged earlier this week about the potential starters, debate has raged over who will emerge the winner. Will it be Williams, the Tokyo 2020 relay gold-medallist, who boasts a personal best of 7.04 and who opened her season with a 7.22 clocking at the Camperdown Classic two weeks ago, or will it be Nelson, the 2021 NCAA Division 1 Indoor Champion, who is just 0.01 slower at 7.05?
Or, could it be the World U20 100m champion Tina Clayton, who has run 7.24 two weeks ago?
Noted track writer, author and pundit Hubert Lawrence, believes Williams, having already shaken off some of the rust this season, has the edge over her other celebrated rivals.
“Williams has run a 60 already and will be a little more ready for tomorrow’s race,” he opined while analyzing the line-up for Sportsmax.TV on Friday.
“Kemba hasn’t run any races this season and so is now coming back out onto the track since last year. So, it’s sort of a coming out party for her. The Claytons have run before but Williams is just about the best of them.”
Lawrence, who with Michael Grant recently co-authored 50 Days Afire, chronicling the exploits of several of Jamaica’s biggest track stars, says there are other women to look out for in that race. One, in particular, could be a potential dark horse.
“Also in that race is Kashieka Cameron, who ran a 7.3x and looked really good at the Western Relays at GC Foster a few weeks ago. She started out slowly but finished with a rush.
“When I spoke to her she told me she was training really well and even though she is slim she looked like she had a couple extra pounds of muscle compared to the girl who won the Class 1 100m for Edwin Allen at Champs in 2018. So that’s an X-factor.”
The men’s 60m dash could prove to be equaling thrilling with Jamaica’s three fastest men in 2022 -Akeem Blake, Yohan Blake and Oblique Seville – all expected to be among the starters.
The dash should also include Commonwealth Games 200m silver medallist Zharnel Hughes as well as upcoming talents Jeevan Newby and Nigel Ellis.
Lawrence believes that the men’s 60 could be somewhat open based on how well several youngsters have been performing this season.
“On the men’s side, the X-factor is Kadrian Goldson; at the same Western Relays ran 6.57, finished in a rush,” Lawrence said.
Turning his attention to the big guns, Lawrence remarked that there are questions surrounding Seville’s health, which could be a factor in how well he performs on Saturday.
“We know about Akeem Blake, young, fast. Oblique Seville is in the draw, he has not run a race since last year’s Eugene World Championships,” he said.
“If you look back, you saw him there with kinesio-tape on the back of his hamstring and that has caused Coach (Glen) Mills to hold him out of races until he was 100 per cent. Now, he is in the 60m at Gibson. That’s the watching point. Is Goldson the real thing this season and is Oblique Seville all the way back from his injuries and will he put up a performance in the 6.60’s.”
Lawrence added that young Newby could be someone to watch.
“At the Queen’s/Grace Jackson Invitational ran a 6.62 looking back at the end,” Lawrence said.
“He was second at Champs but chose not to go back to high school and has joined the Motorcade Track Club and the sounds I hear coming from them is that Newby is in terrific shape.
“So, Women’s 60, maybe Briana Williams has the edge because she a bit sharper and in the Men’s 60, is Oblique Seville ready to rock and roll in 2023 after a great 2022 season and is Newby going to continue speeding; he and Goldson are the X-factors.”
The St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) has delivered on its promise to provide a club grant of up to EC$25,000 to each member club as part of its mandate to raise the standard of football in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Dubbed SKNFA Grant 4.0 the largesse amounts to $EC650,000, the largest solidarity grant by any national sporting association to its membership in that country.
The SKNFA Grant program is a means for the SKNFA to provide financial support to all its member clubs to assist in the improvement of their technical developmental and administrative capabilities.
Through the program, the SKNFA aims to build a stronger foundation for the growth of the game in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The clubs will be responsible for reporting how the funds were spent during the football calendar.
Icelandic head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson is enjoying his time as head coach of Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz.
The 55-year-old former professional footballer was appointed as the head man for Jamaica in September last year after a four-year stint at Qatari club Al-Arabi from 2018-2021.
Before that, Hallgrimsson was a member of the coaching staff of his native Iceland from 2013-2018.
He was initially appointed as assistant coach to Lars Lagerback before being promoted to joint-head coach after the 2014 World Cup.
Hallgrimsson and Lagerback oversaw the most successful period in the country’s football history including a quarter-final berth at Euro 2016. He officially took over as head coach when Lagerback left to coach Norway after Euro 2016.
“The experience has been good,” stated Hallgrimsson to Sportsmax.TV at the JFF’s official Adidas kit launch at their headquarters on Tuesday about his first few months coaching the Reggae Boyz.
“There are a lot of things I need to learn first before I can really change things. It takes time. You’ll never know everything but it’s better to do the work in the beginning than to slowly learn,” added Hallgrimsson.
He says his focus, as of late, has been to try to learn about Jamaica’s football culture.
“I’ve been doing this. The first two camps I had in January were to get to know the players and the ones that were recommended or played before,” he said.
“In February, I’ve been focusing on the domestic league and domestic players, trying to learn the football culture in Jamaica, watching training sessions, talking to coaches and owners. Maybe, in one week, I will need to start to watch the players playing abroad because it takes a lot of time to do as well,” he added.
When questioned about immediate plans for the Reggae Boyz, Hallgrimsson mentioned that the next few games will give him and his staff an opportunity to see as many players play as possible.
“We play in Trinidad and Tobago on the 11th and the 14th of March. That is good preparation and I think that match will feature players from the domestic league. Then we have the game in Mexico at the end of March and there, we will have the ability to bring in all the players that we want because that’s a FIFA window. We then have a game against Guatemala in early April where we can, hopefully, get some of the players in the US that were not in the Mexico squad.”
“The purpose of all this is to try give as many players as possible a chance to play so we can have the best squad possible in the Gold Cup this summer.”
The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup is scheduled for June 24-July 16 in California.
The Reggae Boyz were beaten 0-1 by the USA in the quarter-finals at the 2021 edition.
Jesse Marsch and other American coaches have been "cursed" by the popularity of television series Ted Lasso.
That is the opinion of Jim Curtin, who led the Philadelphia Union to the MLS Cup final last year.
Curtin has spent his entire coaching career so far with the Union, but other Americans have sought to make strides in the European game – with limited success.
Marsch is perhaps the most high-profile example, leaving the New York Red Bulls for Salzburg and then RB Leipzig before landing a Premier League job with Leeds United.
He lasted less than a year at Elland Road, however, and Curtin feels he was hurt by the emergence of Ted Lasso.
Jason Sudeikis portrays the title character in the Apple TV show in which he is appointed as coach of a Premier League club despite having little knowledge of the sport.
"I have to say I like [Ted Lasso], because if I say I hate it, I'm some elitist coach," Curtin told The Athletic.
"I love the humanness of it. I watched the whole first season.
"I give them credit for being at least close to capturing the feeling in the locker room. They get that there are people from different cultures, a**holes, nice guys, there are wives who are annoying, who are problems.
"That's all real. He comes off as loveable.
"Do I think it's set back the American coach 20 years? Yes, I do. We worked so hard to get to Europe, and then Jesse breaks in and it's like what a curse to have that show break out at the same time he's there.
"You can feel it with [Marsch]. He seems so angry at it, but if you show that, they'll chew you up and spit you out."
MLS returns this weekend less than four months on from one of the most exciting MLS Cup finals in league history.
Plenty has changed since Los Angeles FC beat the Philadelphia Union on penalties in early November.
Gareth Bale, who scored the dramatic LAFC leveller in a 3-3 draw, has retired, the Seattle Sounders made an underwhelming MLS bow in the Club World Cup, and Josef Martinez has left Atlanta United.
That is even before considering the arrival of expansion side St Louis City for the new season.
Those factors all contribute to Stats Perform's preview of the most interesting MLS teams to watch this year.
Inter Miami
There were finally signs of progress from Miami last year as they finished sixth in the East, only to be routed by New York City FC in the first round of the playoffs.
That was Gonzalo Higuain's final match before retiring, but the club looked to have already recruited his replacement in Leonardo Campana, who averaged a goal every 145 minutes in his debut season.
Miami have not settled for that solution, however, instead trading for Martinez from Atlanta.
While Martinez was the Golden Boot winner, MVP, All-Star MVP and MLS Cup MVP in the same season back in 2018, more recent campaigns have been slightly tougher.
Quite how Miami fit Campana and Martinez together remains to be seen, but they will hope to be a real force – at least in attack – in 2023.
Atlanta United
With Martinez gone, Atlanta no longer resemble anything close to the team who dominated in 2018, yet that does not mean they could not also be in for a big year.
Giorgos Giakoumakis has been signed to supply the goals up front, having led the Eredivisie and the Scottish Premiership in scoring in his past two seasons.
Giakoumakis should get plenty of opportunities to hit the ground running, with Atlanta ranking fifth in expected goals last season (57.5) but no team underperforming their xG by a wider margin (9.5).
Atlanta, like Miami, may have issues elsewhere on the pitch, but there will be understandable optimism about the prospect of the new forward linking up with Thiago Almada.
Almada was the Newcomer of the Year in 2022 and ended the year by winning the World Cup with Argentina.
Los Angeles FC
The last season could scarcely have gone better for LAFC, who pipped the Union to the Supporters' Shield and again to MLS Cup.
But as Philly no doubt prepare to fight back in 2023, this could be a trickier year for the reigning champions.
Far more damaging than Bale's exit was the sale of top scorer Cristian Arango, who could now be an opponent in the CONCACAF Champions League with Pachuca.
LAFC are on a collision course with the Union again in that competition, but last year's hard-luck story might prefer to focus on ending their wait for an MLS Cup title.
If LAFC do go all out for Champions League glory, they will risk derailing their league campaign – as has happened so many times in the past.
Seattle Sounders
No team can provide a better example for LAFC than the Sounders – both in how to do it and how not to do it.
Seattle won the CCL last year, completing their trophy cabinet, but it came at the cost of an awful MLS season.
So consistent in reaching the playoffs in each of their first 13 years in MLS, the Sounders fell well short in 2022, hurt by Joao Paulo's ACL tear in the second leg of the Champions League final.
The midfielder returned in the Club World Cup earlier this month, but Seattle fell at the first hurdle against Al Ahly.
Joao Paulo rejoins a highly talented squad, yet the wonder will be if largely the same group can run it back after following four MLS Cup final appearances in five seasons with two down years.
St Louis City
St Louis arrive in MLS in 2023 with a squad that looks every bit as short as one might expect from an expansion franchise reluctant to spend big.
Led by sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel, St Louis have shopped the German market with some fairly underwhelming results.
Neither of their two Designated Player signings, forward Klauss and midfielder Eduard Lowen, look especially likely to tear up the league, while their biggest name recruit is former Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki.
That perhaps hints at a realistic approach, knowing a top-class keeper is required to stay competitive in their debut season, but Burki was hardly that by the end of his team at BVB.
He lost his place in the team in the 2020-21 season, having had the third-lowest save percentage in the Bundesliga (59.2) the previous year among goalkeepers with 10 or more appearances.
Cricket West Indies (CWI) has announced the squad for the West Indies Rising Stars Under 19s High-Performance camp being hosted at Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) in Antigua. This is the first activity to bring together the best Under 19s talent in the region and build towards the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup in 2024.
The squad of 29 includes two players who were part of the West Indies Rising Stars Under 19s squad at the 2022 ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup which was hosted in the Caribbean: left-handed batter Jordan Johnson, and right-arm fast bowler Isai Thorne. A third squad member, top-order batter Justin Jaggessar played two Youth ODIs on the West Indies Rising Stars tour of England in September 2021, but did not play in the World Cup.
Nathan Edward, a left-handed bowling allrounder, was originally selected in the squad but is currently representing St. Maarten in the Leeward Islands Senior Men’s Tournament being played in St Kitts. He will be available for future Rising Stars camps and tournaments.
The players were selected based on performances during the Rising Stars age-group tournaments in 2022. Later in the year, CWI will host the 2023 regional age-group Rising Stars presenting the opportunity for other players to compete for selection into the squad ahead of the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup.
The Rising Stars Under 19s High-Performance camp will feature targeted coaching sessions and physical preparations as well as sessions geared towards their off-field development. The camp started on 21 February and will run to 9 March. It will feature 50-over matches at the CCG on 25 February; 1, 5 and 8 March.
Robert Haynes, Lead Selector for the Men’s Youth Selection Panel said:
“This camp is all about the importance of the development of West Indies cricket and this is laying the foundation for the future of our game in the region. This is not just about playing in the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup next year, but also about developing the overall player on and off the field. We have some very talented players in this group and we know they will do very well. We still have the age-group tournaments later this year where more players can put in performances and earn selection.”
Rohan Nurse, has been named as CWI’s new Talent Pathway Manager. As part of his role, he will design and lead the programme for the players’ preparations leading up to the next ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup scheduled to be played in the Sri Lanka in early 2024.
The former Assistant Coach of the West Indies Rising Stars Under 19s will lead the day-to-day management of the development squad as part of his wider high-performance role managing our best young talent across the region.
During the camp he will be joined by Assistant Coaches Nikita Miller and Rohan Clarke; Nick Wilton, specialist wicket-keeping coach; Graeme West, CWI’s High-Performance Manager; Chris Brabazon, CWI’s Coach Development Manager; and Steve Liburd, West Indies Women’s Under 19 Head Coach.
FULL SQUAD
Jacen Agard
Jewel Andrew
Brian Barnes
Solomon Bascombe
Golcharan Chulai
Mavindra Dindyal
Joshua Dorne
Tarrique Edward
Reon Edwards
Justin Jaggessar
Deshawn James
Orlando James
Jordan Johnson
Devonie Joseph
Jaden Lorde
Micah McKenzie
Joshua Morris
Stephan Pascal
Jatario Prescod
Andrew Rambaran
Rampertab Ramnauth
Tamarie Redwood
Nathan Sealy
Isai Thorne
Devin Tyson
Yanique Watley
Steven Wedderburn
Adrian Weir
Trevaun Williams
The three-day tour match between the West Indies and a South Africa Invitational XI ended in a draw at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Thursday.
The tourists began their second innings facing a deficit of 34 after dismissing the South Africans for 317 to close out day two.
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who made 23 in the first innings, didn’t bat this time around as Raymon Reifer joined Tagenarine Chanderpaul at the top of the innings.
Chanderpaul reached a run-a-ball 12 before he was dismissed by Thando Ntini with the score on 13.
Three runs later, Devon Thomas was dismissed by Corbin Bosch for one. Reifer followed not long after for three as the Windies found themselves 18-3 in the eighth over.
Kyle Mayers and Jermaine Blackwood came together and orchestrated a recovery before Mayers went for a whirlwind 38 off just 24 balls with the score on 71 in the 15th over.
Blackwood was then joined by first innings half-centurion Joshua Da Silva and the pair put on a further 62 for the fifth wicket.
That fifth wicket came when Blackwood was dismissed by Irvin Modimokoane for 39 in the 31st over.
In the end, Da Silva followed up his first innings fifty with 44 while Jason Holder, who also got a first innings fifty, made 32 and Kemar Roach made 29* as the West Indies reached 208-8 off 49 overs before the match was declared a draw.
The West Indies will now turn their attention to the first Test against South Africa which bowls off on February 28.
Scores: West Indies 283-9 off 89 overs (Jason Holder 57, Joshua Da Silva 54*, Roston Chase 35, Raymon Reifer 30, Corbin Bosch 2-17, Irvin Modimokoane 2-39, Smangaliso Nhlebela 2-71) and 208-8 off 49 overs (Joshua Da Silva 44, Jermaine Blackwood 39, Kyle Mayers 38, Thando Ntini 2-10, Irvin Modimokoane 2-29)
South Africa Invitational XI 317 off 89.5 overs (Wihan Lubbe 71, Dewald Brevis 50, Ruan De Swardt 40, Akeem Jordan 3-32, Roston Chase 3-94, Shannon Gabriel 2-45)
Debutant Akeem Jordan and Roston Chase each took three wickets but that could not prevent a South Africa XI from taking a 34-run lead over the West Indies at stumps on Day 2 of their warm-up match at Benoni on Wednesday.
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