Day one at the 2024 Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Friday saw a number of Caribbean athletes producing excellent performances.

Perhaps the best performance on the day came from 2022 Commonwealth 110m hurdles champion Rasheed Broadbell.

The 23-year-old produced a personal best 7.56 to take the men’s 60m hurdles ahead of countryman Tyler Mason who ran a personal best 7.65 in second. LSU Sophomore Matthew Sophia was third in 7.67, also a personal best.

The women’s 60m Open saw a Caribbean top three as Tina Clayton won ahead of twin sister Tia with Bahamian Anthonique Strachan finishing third. Tina’s winning time was a season’s best 7.25 while Tia’s time in second was 7.28 and Strachan’s in third was 7.30.

The men’s equivalent saw reigning Jamaican National 100m champion Rohan Watson run 6.76 to finish as runner up behind American Lawrence Johnson who ran 6.70. Another American, Tony Brown, ran a personal best 6.78 in third while Jamaica’s Michael Campbell ran 6.80 in fourth.

The College men’s 60m saw Bahamian Florida Sophomore Wanya McCoy produce a personal best 6.65 to finish second behind LSU Sophomore Myles Thomas (6.62). Thomas’s teammate, Godson Oghenebrume, also ran 6.65 in third.

The women’s College 400m saw Jamaican National champion Nickisha Pryce produce a personal best 51.04 to take the win. Her time also puts her #3 on the all-time Jamaican indoor list.

The Arkansas Junior finished ahead of her schoolmate Kaylyn Brown who ran a personal best 51.49 for second while Rosey Effiong completed the Arkansas 1-2-3 with 51.65 in third.

The women’s Open 400m saw Lanae-Tava Thomas and Stacey Ann Williams run 51.88 and 52.33 for second and third, respectively. American Alexis Holmes won in a meet record 50.80. Another Jamaican, Andrenette Knight, ran 52.68 in fourth.

In the field, 2019 World champion and national record holder, Tajay Gayle, opened his season with 8.15m to finish second in the men’s long jump. Gayle, who also took bronze at the World Championships in Budapest last year, also produced a 7.99m effort in his series on Friday.

The event was won by Florida Senior Malcolm Clemons with 8.17m while Bahamian Laquan Nairn produced 7.93m for third.

 

 

Louisiana State University (LSU) Sophomore Brianna Lyston gave fans a signal of what is to come from her this season with a personal best and collegiate leading 7.07 to win the women’s 60m at the Razorback Invitational at the Tyson Center in Fayetteville on Saturday.

The 19-year-old, who entered the meet with a personal best of 7.29 done last season, first produced an easy 7.14 in qualifying before returning to run her new personal best in the final to win comfortably ahead of Georgia’s Kaila Jackson (7.20) and Florida’s Grace Stark (7.21).

Lyston’s time is the third-fastest in the world this year, fourth-fastest in collegiate history and equals the LSU school record done back in 2018 by Aleia Hobbs.

The men's equivalent saw USC's Travis Williams run 6.63 for third behind LSU's Myles Thomas (6.62) and USC's JC Stevenson (6.61).

Jamaican World Championship 4x400m relay medallist Stacey Ann Williams ran 51.86 to win the women’s open 400m ahead of Americans Kendall Ellis (52.12) and Bailey Lear (52.49). World Championships 400m hurdles finalist Andrenette Knight ran 52.53 for fifth.

Arkansas Junior and reigning Jamaican National champion Nickisha Pryce ran 51.58 for third in the college women’s 400m behind schoolmate Amber Anning (50.56) and Georgia’s Aaliyah Butler (51.34).

Pryce was a semi-finalist in the 400m at the World Championships in Budapest last August.

Florida Senior Jevaughn Powell ran 46.28 for third in the college men’s 400m behind USC’s William Jones (45.24) and Texas A&M’s Auhmad Robinson (46.15).

2023 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor champion and World Championship 100m hurdles finalist Ackera Nugent ran 7.94 for second in the women’s open 60m hurdles won by the USA’s Tia Jones in 7.85. Christina Clemons ran 7.95 for third.

Jamaica’s Phillip Lemonious, who won the NCAA Outdoor title competing for the University of Arkansas last season, ran 7.68 for third in the men’s 60m hurdles. Interestingly, the top two finishers in the race, Texas A&M’s Connor Schulman and Jaqualon Scott, also ran 7.68. Their times when rounded up to the thousandths were 7.672, 7.673 and 7.675.

St. Vincent's Shafiqua Maloney ran 2:02.29 to take top spot in the women's 800m ahead of Sanu Jallow of Arkansas (2:02.60) and Gabija Galvydyte (2:02.82).

In the field, Arkansas high jumper Romaine Beckford, the defending NCAA Indoor and Outdoor champion, improved his indoor career best to 2.27m with his victory on Friday evening.

The winning height moves Beckford to No. 4 on the UA all-time list and No. 3 on the Jamaican all-time indoor list with the equal No. 4 performance.

Having won the competition, Beckford opted for the Olympic standard of 2.33m as his next height and had three attempts with his last try coming closest to clearing.

Mississippi State’s Sherman Hawkins and USC’s Elias Gerald both cleared 2.17m for second and third, respectively.

Elsewhere in the field, Jamaican Oklahoma Junior Nikaoli Williams produced 7.86m for second in the men’s long jump behind Florida’s Malcolm Clemons (8.06m). Clemons’ teammate Caleb Foster jumped 7.68m for third.

 

 

St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred ran a wind-aided 10.80 to win her heat at the NCAA West Regional Preliminary Round in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Saturday, to be the fastest qualifier to the Women’s 100m at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, from June 8-11.

Jamaica’s Kemba Nelson of Oregon and Alfred’s Texas teammate Kevona Davis also qualified for Eugene with times of 10.85 and 11.04, both also wind-aided, respectively.

Davis will also contest the 200m in Eugene after running 22.49 to qualify second fastest in the West Region behind teammate Kynnedy Flannel (22.40).

Jamaicans Stacey Ann Williams of Texas (50.66) and Charokee Young of Texas A&M (50.80) were the fastest qualifiers in the Women’s 400m.

Barbados' Jonathan Jones of Texas and Jamaica's Jevaughn Powell of UTEP ran 44.85 and 44.87, respectively, to be the top two qualifiers in the Men's equivalent. 44.87 is a new personal best for Powell, the former Edwin Allen and Kingston College standout.

Another Bajan, Rivaldo Leacock of New Mexico, ran a new personal best 49.63 to advance in the Men's 400m hurdles.

Texas Tech's Demisha Roswell was the second fastest qualifier in the Women's 100m hurdles with 12.78 while Baylor’s Ackera Nugent ran 12.93 to also advance.

Former Hydel High and current Texas A&M star Lamara Distin and Texas' Trinidadian Olympian Tyra Gittens both cleared 1.81m to progress in the Women's high jump while Gittens also produced 6.40 to advance in the long jump. Former Herbert Morrison athlete Daniella Anglin, now a freshman at South Dakota, also cleared 1.81m to advance in the high jump. 

 Bahamian Kansas State senior Kyle Alcine achieved a personal best 2.15m to advance in the Men's high jump.

On December 3, 2021, Lamara Distin opened her collegiate season at the Woo Pig Classic with a leap of 1.86m that was good for a comfortable victory at the Woo Pig Classic in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Ackera Nugent showed her class on Saturday night, winning the 2021 NCAA Indoor 60-metre hurdles title for Baylor University title on Saturday night.

Oregon’s Kemba Nelson ran a collegiate-leading 7.05 to win the 60m title on the final day of the 2021 NCAA Division I Nationals on Saturday night.

In a final where three Caribbean nations – Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada – were represented, Nelson stormed to victory, pulling away from the stacked field to produce a massive personal best that is both a meet and championship record, eclipsing the 7.07 held jointly by Oregon’s Hannah Cunliffe and LSU Aleia Hobbs.

The time, a school record, was also just 0.03 off the 7.02 facility record set by Tiana Madison (Bartoletta) in 2012.

It was also the second-fastest time in the world this year behind the 7.03 set by Switzerland’s AJla Del Ponte at the recent European Indoor Championships in Torun.

USC’s Twanisha Terry, the pre-race favourite, who went into the final with the fastest time, 7.09, won the silver medal in 7.14s.

It was a Jamaican 1-3 as former Jamaica national junior record holder Kiara Grant took third in 7.16.

Antigua’s Joella Lloyd, who two weeks ago set a new national record of 7.15 was sixth in 7.23 while Grenada’s Halle Hazzard, a senior at Virginia, was eighth on 7.27.

Nelson, 21, attended Mt Alvernia High School in Montego Bay, Jamaica and transferred to Oregon in October 2020, having spent her first three years of college at the University of Technology in Kingston.

In doing so, she became the first Jamaican-born female athlete to attend the University of Oregon, having expressed a desire to compete in NCAA-level athletics.

Having fulfilled her desire, she expressed her delight on Instagram afterwards saying, “What a way to close out the indoor season.”

 

 

 

Damion Thomas ran a collegiate leading 7.51 to win the 60m hurdles at the 2021 NCAA Division I Championships today.

Jamaica’s Carey McLeod jump a personal best in the long jump on Friday to win a bronze medal at the NCAA Division I Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas Friday night.

Two weeks ago, following her sixth-place finish at the SEC Indoor Championships, Texas A&M’s Tyra Gittens said she was coming for the NCAA pentathlon record.

“These two weeks are going to be very important. I have a lot to work on,” she said. “I am going to use it to train and just get consistent and I am coming for the NCAA record.”

She wasn’t kidding.

On today’s first day of the NCAA National Indoor Championships in Arkansas, Gittens smashed the collegiate, facility and meet records held by Kendell Williams to crown herself NCAA national champion.

 On March 11, 2016, Williams of the University of Georgia set the collegiate and meet records of 4703 points. She also held the facility record of 4678 points set on March 14, 2015. These are no more as the 22-year-old Trinidadian scored a personal best 4746 points to take gold and exact revenge on Georgia’s Anna Hall, who won the SEC title a fortnight ago.

Hall secured the silver with 4401 points while Erin Marsh of Duke scored 4344 points for third.

Gittens, who had set a personal best 4612 points on January 29, started out well-running 8.27s for the 60m hurdles, the second-best time overall behind Marsh’s 8.13s.

The time, though, earned Gittens 1068 points. She would then earn another 1145 points in the long jump after clearing a personal best and school record 1.93m.

Her worst score of the day came in the shot put when a mark of 13.86m earned her 785 points.

By then she had established a lead of 277 points over Hall going into the final two events. At the SEC’s, trouble with the long jump run up saw her struggle, only managing a mark of 4.11m. She had no such trouble today leaping to 6.58m, just four centimetres shy of her personal best of 6.62m.

With only the 800m to come, Gittens needed 673 points to break the collegiate record. Her time of 2:28.22 was the 15th best time of the competitors but it earned 715 points that took her past the previous records.

Danielle Williams won the 60mh hurdles at the final American Track League meeting this evening in the third-fastest time in the world this year.

Jamaica’s Kemba Nelson, a junior at the University of Oregon won the 60m dash at the Tyson Invitational held at the Randal Tyson Track Centre in Fayetteville, Arkansas earlier this evening.

Omar McLeod was a winner in the 60m hurdles at the American Track League meeting in Arkansas earlier today but his win was among several standout performances from several Caribbean athletes, who produced personal best or season-best times.

The 2016 Olympic champion ran 7.53 while holding off the challenge of American Michael Dickson who crossed in 7.58. Trinidad and Tobago’s Ruebin Walters was third in 7.68.

In the women’s equivalent, Great Britain’s Tiffany Porter won in 7.95 just managing to hold off a fast-finishing Brittany Anderson, who was 0.02 behind in 7.97. Gabbi Cunningham was third in 8.08. Rushelle Burton returning to competition from injury was fourth in 8.20.

For the second week running Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare managed to hold off Christania Williams in the 60m dash. This time, however, the Nigerian ran a personal best of 7.10 after separating from the Jamaican who equalled her personal best of 7.14.

Teahna Daniels of the USA was third in a season-best 7.17.

The winner of the Women’s 400m was determined over two heats by time trial and Shamier Little was easily the fastest winning Heat One in a personal best 51.33. Shakima Wimbley also of the US took second after winning Heat Two in 52.12.

Jamaica’s Shian Salmon ran a personal best of 52.85 for second in Heat One but was third overall.

In the men's event, Michael Cherry of the USA won heat one in a personal best 45.24 for the win. Second and third were determined by a battle between Deon Lendore of Trinidad and Tobago and Christopher Taylor of Jamaica. Lendore emerged as the second-place finisher after winning Heat 2 in 46.08 to Taylor' 46.09, which was good enough for third overall.

Laquan Nairn jumped a personal best and national record 8.16m in the Men’s Long Jump but had to settle for second as the USA’s Marquis Dendy won the event with a world-leading 8.21m on his final jump of the competition.

Charles Brown of the USA was third with a jump of 7.81m.

 

 

 

Shaunae Miller-Uibo and Jereem Richards pulled off impressive victories at the second meet of the American Track League this season in Fayetteville, Arkansas earlier today.

Christopher Taylor says he is glad to have got the chance to prove himself to the world once more following his impressive indoor debut in Arkansas on Sunday.

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