Coach Travis Geopfert of the University of Arkansas had every reason to be elated as his star jumpers, Wayne Pinnock and Carey McLeod, delivered outstanding performances at Jamaica's national championships on Saturday. Pinnock secured a remarkable victory with a leap of 8.32m, while McLeod claimed the third spot on the podium with a commendable mark of 8.20m. Both athletes showcased their exceptional talent and skills before their home crowd.

In a post-competition interview, Coach Geopfert expressed his satisfaction with the overall performance of his athletes. He acknowledged the challenging conditions caused by swirling winds but commended McLeod's ability to adapt and make adjustments to his approach, resulting in a solid jump.

"I was happy the way Carey worked on the transition of his approach and got a decent jump in at the end because it was a little all over the place," Geopfert shared.

"Turning his attention to Pinnock, Coach Geopfert couldn't contain his pride and admiration for the athlete's consistent excellence.

"I've been coaching for a long time, and I've never seen a 27-foot jump (8.23m) into a minus-two wind. I'm telling you, he's a special kid and really coachable," Geopfert remarked, highlighting Pinnock's exceptional abilities.

As both Pinnock and McLeod continue to impress with their performances, Coach Geopfert emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance between training and competition as they approach the World Championships in Budapest in August.

"If there's a good opportunity (to compete) half-way in between, we'll do something, you know? If there's not, I'm not going to force it. We'll try to mimic stuff in practice. I think we do a really good job of that," Geopfert explained.

Looking beyond the national championships, Coach Geopfert shared his aspirations for Pinnock and McLeod as they prepare for the upcoming World Championships. He emphasized that their participation in the national championships was merely a stepping stone towards their ultimate goal of winning medals on the global stage.

Former Kingston College stalwart Wayne Pinnock successfully defended his national long jump title with a massive leap of 8.32 metres in what was a fierce contest at the National Senior Championships at the National Stadium on Saturday.

Pinnock, 22, who has been in superb form this season, was just off his seasons and personal best of 8.37m. The Arkansas University athlete achieved the winning jump on his second attempt in a negative 0.4 metres per second wind reading.

That lead made things interesting, as it followed the 8.27m registered by 2019 World Championships gold medallist, Tajay Gayle, who had to settle for second place. Carey McLeod rounded off the top three spots, cutting the sand at 8.20m.

Meanwhile, Traves Smikle was crowned the men’s discus champion, following his fifth-round effort of 66.12 metres.

The event which took shape in terms of its competitive at the backend, saw Roje Stona finished second with an effort of 65.92m, which at one point, placed him in pole position. 

Five-time national champion and World Championships silver medallist, Fedrick Dacres, had to settle for third as his best effort was measured at 65.79 metres, well short of his personal best of 70.78m.

Standout Jamaican jumpers Jaydon Hibbert and Carey McLeod of the University of Arkansas are among the 10 semi-finalists for the 2023 Bowerman Award.

The Bowerman – collegiate track & field’s highest individual honor – will be awarded in December at the USTFCCCA Convention in Denver, Colorado. Only marks from the 2023 indoor or outdoor collegiate track & field seasons are to be considered for the award.

The 10 were selected from 41 athletes, who made the Bowerman men’s list.

Hibbert, who hails from Kingston, Jamaica, is the undisputed King of the Triple Jump in collegiate history. The Arkansas freshman phenom recently completed the NCAA title sweep with a victory at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships.

Hibbert only needed 12 jumps to win all six of his collegiate competitions this year and unified the indoor and outdoor collegiate records with a 17.54m effort indoors followed by a majestic 17.87m outdoors. This is the fourth year in a row that a first-year freshman has been a semifinalist for The Bowerman.

McLeod, who also hails from Kingston, Jamaica, doubled up on long jump crowns at the NCAA Championships this year.

The Arkansas standout spanned 8.40m to win the indoor title and move up to No. 5 in collegiate history in that venue. McLeod also contested the triple jump at both NCAA Championships this year, finishing sixth indoors and 11th outdoors. This is the first time that McLeod has been a semifinalist for The Bowerman.

On Wednesday, St Lucia’s super sprinter Julien Alfred and Jamaica’s standout sprint hurdler Ackera Nugent and long jumper Ackelia Smith were named among the women’s semi-finalists for the prestigious award.

Three women and men’s finalists will be announced on Tuesday, June 27.

Carey McLeod was crowned 2023 long jump champion as the 2023 NCAA Division 1 National Outdoor Track and Field Championships got underway in Austin, Texas on Wednesday.

 McLeod led a University of Arkansas 1-2 finish as Wayne Pinnock won the silver medal while Jordan Turner of the University of Kentucky made it a Jamaican 1-2-3 when he won bronze.

From a totally Jamaican perspective it was a Kingston College 1-2 with Calabar High third.

McLeod, the 2023 NCAA Indoor champion achieved the winning mark of 8.26m in the opening round equalling the facility record set by Steffin McCarter of Texas in 2021. Pinnock, the 2022 champion, followed leapt out to 8.15m for silver with Turner only two centimetres behind with 8.13m.

McLeod is the sixth Razorback to win a NCAA Outdoor long jump while Pinnock won the program’s sixth silver medal.

Meanwhile, Arkansas’ Phillip Lemonious was the fastest through to the finals of the 110m hurdles with a personal best 13.28. Fellow Jamaican Giano Roberts, representing Clemson University was also among the automatic qualifiers when he finished second in semi-final three with a personal best of 13.35.

Rasheem Brown of the Cayman Islands, a senior at the University of Tennessee also ran a personal best of 13.53 to advance to the finals that will be run on Friday.

It wasn’t all good news for Caribbean athletes however as Clemson’s Tarees Rhoden did not finish his 800m semi-final after leading at the end of the opening lap while Navasky Anderson struggled to a third place finish in his semi-final heat but his time of 1:48.79 was not fast enough to see him advance to the Friday final.

Rhoden will have a shot at a 4x400m relay medal after helping Clemson to a time of 2:59.78 that saw the advance to the final.

Barbados’ Rasheeme Griffith, a junior at Tennessee, ran 49.00, the third-fastest time going into the final of the 400m hurdles. He finished third in the last of three and fastest of the semi-final. Alabama Chris Robinson won the heat in 48.79 with Baylor University’s Nathaniel Ezekiel finishing second in 48.95.

Jamaica’s national 400m champion JeVaughn Powell is through to the final of the 400m with a time of 45.02. The University of Florida junior’s time was the seventh fastest to qualify.

Justin Robinson of Arizona State ran a time of 44.54 to lead all qualifiers into the final set for Friday.

Jamaican Arkansas junior Wayne Pinnock produced a personal best 8.37m to successfully defend his South East Conference (SEC) Championship long jump title at Louisiana State University (LSU) on Friday.

The 22-year-old, who jumped 8.05 to win the SEC title last year, also produced jumps of 8.15m and 8.02m in his series on Friday. His winning jump puts him number two in the world currently behind India’s Jeswin Aldrin (8.42m) and is the World Championships qualifying standard.

Pinnock’s countryman and Arkansas teammate, Carey McLeod, produced 8.14m for second while Mississippi State’s Cameron Crump was third with a best jump of 8.00m.

Bahamian Kentucky freshman Anthaya Charlton produced a personal best 6.74m for second in the women’s equivalent behind Florida star Jasmine Moore, who jumped 6.88 for victory. Moore’s teammate, Claire Bryant, was third with 6.68m.

On the track, Arkansas’s Ackera Nugent advanced to the finals of both the 100m and 100m hurdles.

The Jamaican ran 12.49 to advance third fastest in the 100m hurdles and returned to run 11.16 to advance third fastest in the 100m.

Anthaya Charlton, the runner-up in the long jump, produced another personal best, 11.11, to advance to the 100m final as well. Tennessee’s Jacious Sears advanced fastest with 11.08.

Jamaican Arkansas senior Carey McLeod is the NCAA Indoor men’s long jump champion after equaling James Beckford’s national indoor record in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Friday.

McLeod produced a personal best, collegiate leading and facility record 8.40m to win the title ahead of Mississippi State senior Cameron Crump (8.39m) and Florida State junior Jeremiah Davis (8.37m).

McLeod’s Arkansas teammate Wayne Pinnock also achieved a personal best, jumping 8.33m for fourth.

The 24-year-old McLeod produced a consistent series, jumping 8.03m, 8.22m, 7.80m, 8.04m and 7.95m in the first five rounds.

Entering the sixth and final round, the former Kingston College man found himself in fourth place before producing his national record-equalling 8.40m in round six for victory. James Beckford did 8.40 in Madrid in 1996.

On the women’s side, Texas freshman Ackelia Smith produced a personal best 6.88m for second while Florida junior Claire Bryant produced the same distance for third.

The event was won by Bryant’s Florida teammate, Jasmine Moore, with 7.03m. Her jump is a personal best, collegiate record, facility record, world lead and meet record.

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 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.

Texas A&M senior and Jamaican World Championship finalist Lamara Distin jumped 1.90m to win the high jump at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetville, Arkansas on Friday.

The reigning NCAA Champion won ahead of teammate Bara Sajdokova who recorded a new personal best clearance of 1.83m while Arkansas’ Sydney Billington cleared the same height for third.

Jamaican 400m hurdler Jaheel Hyde opened his 2023 season with a second-place finish in the 200m.

Hyde ran 21.40 to win section one of the Men’s open 200m ahead of Americans Grant Williams (21.86) and Ian Braxton (22.88). American 2019 100m World Champion Christian Coleman was the overall winner with a 20.64 effort to win section two ahead of fellow Americans Will London (21.45) and Khallifah Rosser (21.70).

The 25-year-old Hyde is looking to replicate an excellent 2022 season which saw him win 400m hurdles silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Hyde also got to the final of the event at the World Championships in Eugene, finishing sixth in a personal best 48.03.

Elsewhere, Jamaican Arkansas senior Carey McLeod jumped 8.09m for second in the long jump behind Florida State junior Jeremiah Davis’s personal best and meet record 8.21m. LSU senior Brandon Hicklin was third with 7.97m.

Jamaican long jump duo Wayne Pinnock and Carey McLeod will represent the University of Arkansas in the coming season of NCAA Track and Field.

Jamaicans Wayne Pinnock and Carey McLeod booked spots in the Men’s long jump at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships set for Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon from June 8-11 with good performances at the NCAA East Preliminaries held in Bloomington, Indiana, from March 25-28.

Pinnock and McLeod, both former Kingston College standouts, now competing for the University of Tennessee, jumped 7.93m and 7.63m, respectively, to advance. They were also the top two finishers at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Alabama in March with Pinnock jumping 7.92m for victory against McLeod's 7.91m.

Former Jamaica College and current Purdue jumper Safin Wills produced 15.89m to advance in the Men’s triple jump.

On the track, Jamaica’s Yanique Dayle and Antigua and Barbuda’s Joella Lloyd will both compete in the sprint double at the NCAA Championships after securing their spots.

Dayle, formerly of Hydel High and now competing for Ohio State, ran times of 11.24 in the 100m and 22.64 in the 200m while Lloyd, competing for Tennessee, ran the same time in the 100m and 23.01 in the 200m.

The Women’s 400m also saw two Caribbean competitors advance from the East Region with Bahamian Kentucky standout Megan Moss (52.07) and Bermudan UMBC athlete Caitlyn Bobb (52.40).

Trinidadian Olympian and Kentucky senior Dwight St. Hillaire ran 45.63 to advance in the Men’s equivalent.

Clemson senior Lafranz Campbell of Jamaica and Cayman's North Carolina A&T senior Rasheem Brown both ran 13.63 to advance in the Men’s sprint hurdles while another Jamaican Clemson representative, Trishauna Hemmings, ran 13.13 to advance in the Women’s 100m hurdles.

Barbadian and Tennessee sophomore Rasheeme Griffith and Jamaica and Kentucky senior Kenroy Williams ran 50.91 and 50.96, respectively, to progress in the Men’s 400m hurdles.

Trinidadian Olympian Tyra Gittens was a winner in the high jump at the LSU Invitational where some Caribbean athletes had podium finishes on Saturday.

Former Kingston College standouts Wayne Pinnock and Carey McLeod, now both competing for the University of Tennessee, finished first and second in the Men’s Long Jump on Day One of the NCAA Division One Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, on Friday.

Pinnock and McLeod jumped 7.92 and 7.91, respectively, to finish as the top two ahead of Georgia’s Matthew Boling who jumped 7.86 for third.

St. Lucian Texas Junior and former St. Catherine High sprinter Julien Alfred turned heads in the Women’s 60m preliminaries with a personal best, collegiate and national record 7.04 to be the fastest qualifier to the final.

Jamaicans Charokee Young and Stacey-Ann Williams were the two fastest qualifiers in the Women’s 400m. Young, formerly of Hydel High and now competing for Texas A&M, advanced fastest with 51.70 while Williams, formerly of STETHS and now competing for The University of Texas, ran 51.89 to qualify second fastest.

TLamara Distin and Carey McLeod were among the winners at the 2022 SEC Indoor Championships held at College Station, Texas from February 25-26.

Texas A&M junior Distin won the Women’s High Jump in 1.91m. The former Hydel High star, who recently set a new Jamaican indoor record of 1.92m, finished ahead of South Carolina sophomore Rachel Glenn (1.88m) and LSU senior Abigail O’Donoghue (1.88m).

McLeod, the University of Mississippi junior, won the long jump with a leap of 8.07m to defeat Georgia's standout sophomore Matthew Boling (7.90m) and Alabama sophomore Emmanuel Ineh (7.87m).

The former Kingston College man also finished third in the triple jump in 16.33m behind LSU freshman Sean Dixon-Bodie (16.64m) and Missouri junior Georgi Nachev (16.48m).

Distin’s Texas A&M teammate, Charokee Young, was fourth in the Women’s 400m in 51.28. The event was won by Kentucky’s Alexis Holmes in 50.77 while Arkansas freshman Britton Wilson ran 50.88 for second and Florida freshman Talitha Diggs ran 51.25 for third.

Young was a member of Texas A&M's 4x400m relay team that ran 3:25.43 while finishing second Arkansas that ran 3:24.09 for victory.

Learning from the mistakes made during the indoor season has resulted in a new personal best in the long jump for Carey McLeod this past weekend when he became the 2021 SEC Outdoor champion.

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