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• Beckford, Hibbert, Lemonious, end collegiate season with victories, but Jevaughn Powell’s Florida Gators takes Men’s Team title at NCAA Outdoor Champs

  Such is the impressive form of triple jump sensation Jaydon Hibbert that he only required two attempts to win the event and end his freshman year of college undefeated.

  In fact, it was on his very first jump that Hibbert cut the sand at the winning mark of 17.56m, in a negative 0.3 metres per second wind, on Friday's third and penultimate day of the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas.

  Hibbert representing University of Arkansas followed that with another big leap of 17.38m, but later pulled out of his run up for a third and fourth attempts, as he suffered what appeared to be cramps or some discomfort in his right leg.

  However, the damage was already done, as his initial mark which bettered the previous Facility Record of 17.13m and was just shy of the Meet Record of 17.57m, ensured that the former Kingston College stalwart added another accolade to his South-eastern Conference indoor and outdoor titles, as well as the NCAA indoor honours. The 18-year-old, also smashed a number of records, including the World Under-20 mark for indoor and outdoor, along the way.

  Hibbert won ahead of University of Miami's Russell Robinson (16.94m) and Florida State senior, Jeremiah Davis (16.67m).

  Owayne Owens (16.36m) of University of Virginia and Malik Cunningham (16.17m) of Villanova, were sixth and seventh, while Hibbert's Arkansas teammates Carey McLeod (15.99m), who won the long jump in a Jamaican sweep, and Ryan Brown (15.89m), finished 11th and 12th respectively.  Apalos Edwards of Louisiana State, did not turn up.

  On the track, Phillip Lemonious of Arkansas capped his college career in style with victory in the men’s 110m hurdles to claim his first individual national title and in the process became the first Arkansas athlete to win the event since 2006.

  Lemonious, who clocked a personal best 13.28 seconds in qualifying, lowered that time when he stopped the clock in 13.24s, running in a positive 1.8m/s wind. He maintained his composure over the 10 obstacles from a good break in lane five, to stave off the late challenge of De'Vion Wilson (13.26s) of Houston and Jaheem Hayles (13.28s) of Syracuse.

  Giano Roberts of Clemson was fifth in 13.31s.

  It was sweet redemption for the 24-year-old Lemonious, who endured a rough patch last season.

  "To be honest, I try so hard. Last year took a toll on me and coming back this year was also hard battling injuries, but I just had to trust my coach, who told me that this is my championship to win so I went out there and got it," Lemonious said shortly after the race.

  University of South Florida junior, Romaine Beckford, also showed good form on the night to win the men’s high jump and successfully complete the double, adding this outdoor championship to his indoor title. 

  Beckford soared to a new personal best height of 2.27m on his way to victory, denying Oklahoma senior, Vernon Turner, who also cleared 2.27m, but had to settle for second on the count back. Roberto Vilches of Missouri was third with a season's best leap of 2.24m.

  Former St George’s College student Zayne Palomino of Southern Mississippi finished down the pack after he only managed to clear 2.06m.

  Elsewhere in the field, Roje Stona of the University of Arkansas, who placed 14th in the shot put, produced a stronger showing in the discus, placing second behind the vibrant Turner Washington of Arizona State.

  Stona, launched the instrument to a big fourth round mark of 65.55m and seemed well on his way to the gold, before Washington snatched victory with his very last effort of 66.22m, a season’s best.

  Former Petersfield standout Kevin Nedrick of Liberty University was fifth with a mark of 61.93m, while Stona's Arkansas teammate Ralford Mullings was 16th at 57.68m.

  Meanwhile, Jevaughn Powell, finished seventh in the men’s 400m final in 45.32s, as his University of Florida teammates Emmanuel Bamidele and Ryan Willie both clocked personal best times of 44.24 and 44.25 in a close one-two finish. Emmanuel Bynum of Tennessee also clocked a personal best 44.49 for third.

  Powell later joined forces with Bamidele, Jacory Patterson and Willie to clinch victory in the 4X400m relay, to retain the Men’s Team crown.

  There were no signs of tired legs on display as all four athletes clocked blistering splits, with Powell on the third leg being clocked at 44.94s, passing to Willie, who closed in 44.28s to stop the clock in 2:57.74, a new Facility, Meet and Collegiate Record.

  Arizona State (2:57.78) and UCLA (2:59.82) were second and third respectively.

  The Mike Holloway-coached Gators tallied 57 points, four ahead of Arkansas, with Stanford (44 points) and Louisiana State University (43 points), placing third and fourth.

• Keely Hodgkinson sets new 800m British record at Paris Diamond League meeting

  Keely Hodgkinson lowered her personal best and British record with a brilliant performance in the 800 metres at the Diamond League meeting in Paris.

  Hodgkinson followed the pacemaker before striking for home 300m from the line, eventually clocking a time of one minute 55.77 seconds, taking 0.11secs off her previous best set in winning Olympic silver in Tokyo.

  “I am a little bit shocked that I ran so fast,” the 21-year-old said. “Paris next year, I will definitely be back.

  “The weather was really nice, so warm. I had heard good things about the track. With this full stadium and the great crowd, it was amazing. I am so happy.

  “Now the aim is to stay healthy, we still have to see, I want to keep running fast. The focus is on the summer, on Budapest (the World Championships).

  “What is next with such a fast time early in the season? Well, I do not know. Hopefully I will run even faster.”

  Hodgkinson’s record-breaking run came just half an hour after Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen smashed the two-mile world record by more than four seconds.

  Ingebrigtsen left the field trailing in his wake as he recorded a time of seven minutes, 54.10 seconds.

  The previous mark was set by Daniel Komen in 1997, three years before Olympic 1,500 metre champion Ingebrigtsen was born.

  Records continued to tumble as Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon set a new world’s best for the 5,000m, just a week after doing the same in the 1,500m in Florence.

  Kipyegon produced a blistering last lap to pull away from Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey and clock a time of 14:05.20, taking almost a second and a half off Gidey’s previous mark.

  The ideal conditions helped produce another world record in the penultimate event of the evening, Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma taking more than a second off the previous mark with a time of 7:52.11 in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase.

• With her final leap of 6.88m, Jamaica's Ackelia Smith wins long jump gold for Texas at NCAA Outdoor championships

  Ackelia Smith fouled her first two jumps and was in danger of not advancing to the finals but she then found her footing to advance to the final round. There, with her final jump of the competition, she won gold on day two of the 2023 NCAA Division 1 Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas.

  Smith, a sophomore at the University of Texas, uncorked a leap of 6.88m to take the lead late from Alyssa Jones of Stanford, who had earlier produced a lifetime best of 6.86m.

  Jones fouled her final jump and thus had to settle for second place.

  Jasmine Moore of Florida took the bronze with 6.66m.

  Smith’s victory came a day after fellow Jamaican Carey McLeod representing the University of Arkansas won the men’s long jump with a leap of 8.26m with Wayne Pinnock, his college teammate and fellow Jamaican, finishing second with 8.15m.

  A third Jamaican, Jordan Turner of the University of Kentucky (8.13m) was third.

  The final of the 100m barn burner as medal favourites Ackera Nugent, Alia Armstrong and Masai Russell all advanced to the finals. Razorback Nugent won her heat in 12.55, the second fastest time of the finalists. LSU’s Armstrong was only 0.01 faster having won her heat in 12.54.

  Russell won her heat in 12.76.

  Demisha Roswell, the 2022 Big 12 champion, failed to advance with her time of 12.99, the 11^th fastest time of the semi-finals.

  Having dominated the sprints all season, it was no surprise when Texas Longhorn senior Julien Alfred advanced to the final of both the 100m and 200m on Saturday.

  The St Lucian led a Texas 1-2-3-4 in the first of three semi-final heats winning in 10.99 with Kevona Davis finishing second in 11.04. Davis’ time was the third-fastest heading into the final as Texas Tech’s Rosemary Chukwuma, the last woman to beat Alfred, ran 11.01 to advance.

  An hour later, Alfred won her 200m semi-final heat in 22.33, the same time as Davis, who also won the first of the three semi-finals. Alfred (22.321), however, was the fastest having run 0.007 faster than Davis (22.328), who has been rounding into form throughout the season.

  The pair were running on tired legs after the 100m semis and a blistering 4x100m relay heat that Texas won in 41.55, a new meet, facility and championship record.

  Former Vere Technical runner, Nickisha Pryce, a junior at Arkansas, ran a lifetime best of 50.31 to advance to the final of the 400m. Only, the two gold medal favorites Britton Wilson also of Arkansas, who ran a new meet and facility record of 49.36 and Texas’ Rhasidat Adekele, who won her heat in 49.86 were faster.