Reigning champion Ackelia Smith will get an opportunity to defend her NCAA Division I Outdoor long jump title after securing her spot at this year’s championships at the NCAA West First Round in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Thursday.

Smith needed only one legal attempt to produce 6.86m (3.4 m/s) and advance to the NCAA Championships set for June 5-8 at Hayward Field in Oregon.

The 22-year-old Texas junior produced 6.88m to win the NCAA title last year.

On the track, reigning national champion Nickisha Pryce ran 50.31 to secure her spot in Saturday’s 400m quarterfinals.

The Arkansas senior became the second-fastest Jamaican ever in the distance when she ran 49.32 to win the SEC Outdoor title on May 11.

Jamaican San Diego State sophomore Shaquena Foote (51.35), Jamaican Arkansas junior Joanne Reid (52.54) and Guyanese Kansas junior Deshana Skeete (52.70) also made it through to the quarters.

A pair of Jamaican Texas standouts, sophomore Dejanea Oakley and senior Kevona Davis, advanced to the quarterfinals in the 200m.

Oakley, who recently won the SEC 200m title, ran 22.73 while Davis ran 22.97.

Reigning NCAA Indoor and Outdoor champion Ackera Nugent opened her 2024 season with a 60m win at the Arkansas Invitational in Fayetteville on Friday.

Nugent was able to get through three rounds of the women’s 60m on her way to victory.

First, she ran 7.38 to get through the first qualifying round before running 7.34 in the preliminaries to advance to the final. She was the fastest qualifier from both rounds.

The 2023 World Championship 100m hurdles finalist then produced 7.35 to narrowly outrun American Jada Baylark who was second in 7.36.

Arkansas senior Rosie Effiong ran 7.45 for third, the same time as a pair of Jamaicans, Louisiana Tech freshman Tonie-Ann Forbes and Arkansas junior Joanne Reid, in fourth and fifth.

Effiong and Reid were also the top two finishers in the 200m in 23.17 and 23.44, respectively. Their schoolmate Rachel Glenn ran 23.52 in third.

On the men’s side, Barbadian Louisiana Tech junior Julian Forde ran 6.74 to win ahead of Texas A&M-Commerce sophomore Ibrahim Fuseini (6.75) and Little Rock freshman Gabriel Torres (6.77).

Moving to the 800m where St. Vincent & the Grenadines’ Shafiqua Maloney ran 2:02.70 to win ahead of the USA’s Raevyn Rogers (2:03.73) and Arkansas senior Amber Anning (2:05.05).

St. Lucian and Texas senior Julien Alfred produced another amazing performance to advance to the final of the Women’s 60m at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Friday.

The 21-year-old defending champion ran a new personal best and championship record 6.96, the joint-fourth fastest time ever, to win heat one and advance to Saturday’s final as the fastest qualifier.

The Commonwealth Games 100m silver-medallist entered the championships as a massive favorite to retain her title as she is unbeaten in the event this season with winning times of 7.05, 7.02, 7.05, 7.00, 7.03 and 6.97.

Alfred, now the joint-fastest Caribbean woman of all time in the event alongside Jamaican legend Merlene Ottey, will be joined in the final by Jamaican Clemson senior Kiara Grant who wan 7.14 for third in the first heat.

Later, Alfred also ran 22.38 to advance to the final of the 200m. LSU's Favor Ofili was the fastest qualifier with a spectacular 22.11, the third fastest time ever behind Merlene Ottey's 21.87 and Abby Steiner's 22.09.

Elsewhere, Jamaican Arkansas sophomore Joanne Reid ran 51.98 to advance to the final of the Women’s 400m.