Arkansas

Heading into the championships set for the Randall Tyson Indoor Track Centre, the 22-year-old Trinidadian, a Red Shirt Junior at Texas A&M, is the defending champion and perhaps favourite to win yet another pentathlon title.

So far this season, she has uncorked personal bests in three of the five disciplines – the high jump, long jump and 60m hurdles (8.34) - and is looking to follow up on her personal best score of 4612 points set at the Texas Tech Invitational in late January.

That score is the third-best collegiate performer score all-time and bettered her Texas A&M school record by 221 points.

“My season has definitely a good start to the new year I am not surprised at my performance. I have been working very hard over the summer. I have changed the way I trained, changed my mindset towards everything, including my training and I think that has created a great foundation for my season so far and the season I want to have in the future,” she told Sportsmax.TV on the eve of competition that runs from tomorrow until Friday.

“My PB in the high jump (1.91m) was definitely exciting. I love the pentathlon so I tend to do better. It’s a more relaxed environment so to be able to jump that in a pentathlon was definitely awesome.

“I have also done pretty well in the long jump; 6.62 is my PB and its definitely motivating. I feel this is just a really good start and this is just me transferring everything that I’ve learned and everything that I do in practice to competition. The only thing that changes is the people I competed against but my mentality towards everything is the same.”

Come tomorrow she has hopes of delivering another personal-best performance, one that will reflect the work she has been putting in in training.

“The shot put has also been going well training-wise but I have yet to show that in the competition so I am excited for tomorrow to get a big throw in there,” she said.

The former Excelsior High star runner, who won gold in the 100m hurdles at the world junior championships in Nairobi, Kenya in 2021, had attended Baylor for the past two seasons.

On Wednesday, Nugent, the World U-20 indoor record holder in the 60m hurdles, posted a photograph of herself on Instagram wearing a University of Arkansas shirt while clearing a hurdle with the word ‘Arkansas’ on it.

“Rule #3, forget ATTENTION and GROW in PRIVATE. I spoke less and God did the rest. (Psalms 27:1),” she captioned the post.

At Arkansas, she will join several Jamaicans including World Championships men’s long jump finalist Wayne Pinnock and Olympian Carey McLeod, who both transferred from the University of Tennessee; discus throwers Ralford Mullings, who transferred from Arizona State and Roje Stona who previously attended Clemson University.

Shakwon Coke also signed for Arkansas after leaving Barton County College along with World Under-20 triple jump champion Jaydon Hibbert, who had previously signed with Tennessee. Jamie Farr, Ryan Brown and sprint hurdler Phillip Lemonious are also on the men’s team.

Nickesha Pryce, formerly of Vere Technical and Iowa Western Community College, and Joanne Reid, formerly of St Jago High, are also on the women’s roster.

Nugent, who transferred to Arkansas from Baylor before the season, finished comfortably ahead of Leah Phillips of LSU (8.02) and Jayla Hollis of Florida (8.19). Phillips’ time was also a personal best.

Nugent’s 7.88 is the third fastest time in the world this year behind Masai Russell’s 7.75 and Alaysha Johnson’s 7.82.

In the Men’s equivalent, Nugent’s Arkansas teammate and former Jamaica College star Phillip Lemonious was third in the men’s 60m hurdles in 7.73 behind American World Championship 110m hurdles silver medalist Trey Cunningham (7.60 meet record) and Arkansas teammate Matthew Lewis-Banks (7.72).

Taylor is among a number of Jamaicans including Omar McLeod, Tyquendo Tracey and Senoj-Jay Givans, set to compete at the meet as they begin preparations for the Olympic Games in Tokyo from July 23 to August 8.

Taylor, 20, a Jamaican high-school phenomenon at Calabar High School, is the lone Jamaican in the field that includes World Championship 400m bronze medalist finalist Fred Kerley and Olympic and World Championship relay gold medalist Kyle Clemons.

According to Doyle, McLeod, Taylor’s training partner at Tumbleweed Track Club in Florida, Givans and Tracey will race over 60m.

Doyle said the start sheets for the meet are still being finalized.

The University of Texas sophomore set a Caribbean U20 record in the 200m and ran another fast time in winning the 60m dash in yet another outstanding outing this indoor season.

The 18-year-old St. Lucian sprint queen clocked 23.08s over 200m on Friday night that was good enough for second behind Thelma Davis of Louisiana State University who clocked a world-leading 22.96s for the win.

The St Lucian’s time broke her own national record of 23.50 set in January.

Alfred’s teammate at the University of Texas Simon Kennedy ran 23.44 for third.

On Saturday, Alfred went one better in the 60m dash, winning in 7.15s.

Briana Duncan of Oregon was second in 7.21 while Semira Killebrew of Florida was third in 7.29s.

“I’m pleased with my performance on the weekend,” she told Sportsmax.TV on Sunday.

“I wanted to go faster in both events but I’m satisfied nevertheless. What matters most right now is that I’m healthy.”

The young St. Lucian has also been experiencing a healthy boost in confidence.

“Setting records has definitely boosted my confidence,” she said. “I’m stronger than I was last season. Last year I started school in January and missed out on fall training, so I wasn’t as strong as I am now.”

However, the University of Arkansas junior remains unfazed by the pressure of expectations, emphasizing that she focuses solely on her own goals and well-being as an athlete. Nugent will be going up against Danielle Williams, the 2015 World Champion, Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper, and World U20 Champion Kerrica Hill among others battling for a place on Jamaica's team to the championships in Budapest next month. She remains unfazed by the unofficial 'favourite' tag that she now bears. 

"For me, I don't live up to the expectations of what people have for me," Nugent expressed during a recent Zoom call. "At the end of the day, they (the fans) don't know what I am going through as an athlete, the whole background plan that me and my coach have, and expectations from each other. I can only live up to my own expectations and, as I always say, to finish healthy."

Nugent's mindset revolves around her readiness and confidence. With one of the best coaches in Chris Johnson, guiding her, she prioritizes following his instructions and ensuring she completes each hurdle event without injury.

"The most important thing for me is that I know that I'm ready,” she declared.

“I have one of the best coaches there is, and the most important thing for me is to follow the instruction that he gives me and also finish the hurdles healthy.

"I'm not afraid to compete. I don't care what you have accomplished, what you have done. I know how good I am, and I have to remain confident in myself and just go out there to compete to the best of my ability."

Nugent's victory in the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas, where she ran a wind-aided 12.25, the fastest time ever run under all conditions on the American collegiate circuit, provided her with a significant confidence boost.

It came after a second-place finish at the SEC Championships, fueling her determination to prove herself in a highly competitive field.

In the women's sprint hurdles final, Nugent faced formidable opponents Alia Armstrong of Louisiana State, who beat her at SECs and Masai Russell of the University of Kentucky.

 However, Nugent's unwavering focus and belief in her abilities propelled her to victory.

"What I would have known since I've been hurdling, it just takes, no matter what lane you are in, no matter who you are up against, it just takes the person who's more focused on their lane," Nugent revealed.

"Going down that track, I was like, 'They will not beat me today. I'm the best in the field, and I'm going to prove that I am the best in the field.'"

Embracing the underdog role further fueled Nugent's motivation.

"I feel for me, going into the event as the least favorite to win was a little motivation... because I was like, 'I have accomplished so much.' I was like, 'I am better than these ladies.' And because I know, and because coach always tells me that it's good to have somebody behind you, and I'm like, 'I have people that are counting on me,' and it was just me against these hurdles."

Throughout the race, Nugent remained focused on her lane and executed her coach's instructions flawlessly. Her disciplined approach paid off, leading to a memorable victory.

As she prepares for Jamaica's national championships, Nugent's confidence remains unwavering, driven by her dedication, talent, and the support of her coach.

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 32^nd 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.

The 21-year-old former Kingston College star won the silver medal in the long jump with a personal best of 8.25m on Friday night and followed up Saturday with his personal best jump to win the triple jump. His 17.17m, was more than a half-metre better than second-place Christian Edwards of Alabama (16.64m).

Each mark is the third-best in the world this year and McLeod believes things are shaping up nicely for what he believes will be his first Olympic campaign.

“All my preparation is for the upcoming Olympic Games so it’s going to be special as we gear up for trials and the Olympics,” he said. “I’m a lot more technical and I am faster which I need down the runway.”

His improvement at Tennessee has been significant but he credits his time at Kingston College for providing him with the platform from which he now excels.

“Having the right foundation from high school to now has played a huge part in my development over these years and, of course, being a student of the events is key,” he said, still undecided about which event he favours.

“I can’t say which one I prefer because I love both just the same; the triple is just a little more fun than the long jump,” he said.

His world-class performances aside, McLeod said he is encouraged by the number of emerging young Jamaican jumpers.

Fellow Jamaican Ryan Brown, a junior at Arkansas, jumped 8.12 for third at the SECs while Virginia’s Owayne Owens jumped a season-best 16.48m to win the triple jump at the ACC Championships on the weekend.

Adding eight-metre jumpers, 2019 World Champion Tajay Gayle and Tennessee’s Wayne Pinnock to the mix, McLeod believes Jamaica is poised to do great things in the jumps in the future.

“We all are the younger generation coming up in the sport. We have goals of representing our country, so this is a very good look for the country as we could have multiple people on the podium,” he said.

“I can happily say we are on the rise to taking over in the jumps in the years to come.”

During the 2004 season, VCB won the Indoor 200m title and was a four-time All-American after transferring from Barton Community College. However, according to Harter despite her short time at the school, the now five-time Olympian had a lasting impact on their athletic programme.

"Veronica probably single-handedly put us on the map as far as becoming a program for sprinters," said Harter.

"I think we were stereotyped as a program that was heavy in the distances and the field events. Veronica immediately brought us legitimacy and world stature in the sprints."

Since those days in 2004, her legacy and her image have influenced some of the world’s best athletes to attend including fellow Olympian and Jamaicans Omar McLeod and Janeek Brown, who have both excelled there.

"There's a very large picture of Veronica on our office wall when you walk down the hallway, and she's holding a bunch of Olympic medals. It's obviously there to impress recruits so they know Veronica came to school here. That's a lot of credibility and notoriety for our program," said Harter, who has been with the programme for the past three decades.

Campbell-Brown, who will be hoping to compete at her sixth Olympic Games this summer, was on March 13, inducted into the 2020 Class of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame at the Statehouse Convention Centre in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Campbell-Brown, 37, graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2006 with a degree in marketing. 

“It feels like home. Just being here in the city and contributed so much to the athletics programme and graduated from the University of Arkansas, so it feels like home,” said the three-time Olympic gold medallist.

She would later post on her Facebook page that it was an honour to be recognized by the city.

“I am honoured to be inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and to join so many great inductees whose achievements and contributions brought honour, fame and prestige to the state of Arkansas,” she said.