Shericka Jackson, Julien Alfred and Anthonique Strachan have made it through to the final of the Women’s 200m final at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Thursday.

The fastest of the three, Shericka Jackson, threw down the gauntlet to the 100m champion, the USA’s Shacarri Richardson, with a confident run to win her semi-final heat. Jackson ‘jogged’ to a time of 22.00 to leave the American 100m champion behind in 22.20. Marie Jose Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast who was third in 22.26 is also qualifier in a non-automatic spot.

However, the fastest overall heading into the final is the USA’s Gabby Thomas, who won the opening semi-final heat in 21.96. Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith also made it through to the final when she finished second in 22.28. However, it was the end of the campaign for Jamaica’s Natalliah Whyte who was third in 22.52.

Alfred of St Lucia had to briefly turn on the jets after Great Britain’s Daryll Neita who got out well in lane eight. However, the NCAA champion surged ahead down the home straight to win the heat in 22.17 with Neita close behind in 22.21. Strachan was third in 22.30 to take her place in the final.

Both Kayla White of the USA and Kevona Davis were fourth and fifth, respectively, in 22.34 and miss out on the final.

Six Caribbean ladies will line up in Thursday’s 200 metres semi-finals, following contrasting performances in their respective heats on day five of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Wednesday.

The six, a Jamaican trio of reigning champion Shericka Jackson, Kevona Davis and Natalliah Whyte will be joined by Bahamian Anthonique Strachan, St Lucian Julien Alfred and young British Virgin Islands sensation, Adaejah Hodge. Another Jamaican Ashanti Moore was the only Caribbean athlete to miss out.

Strachan, running from lane nine, got the show going in the first heat, where she was comfortable from start to finish, stopping the clock in 22.31s, ahead of Great Britain’s Daryll Neita (22.39s), with Jael Betsue (22.58s) of Spain taking the third automatic spot.

Moore, who was giving the opportunity to run the event following Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s withdrawal, found herself in a tough second heat. Though she went out hard, Moore had to settle for fifth in 23.12s, which was not good enough for one of the six non-automatic qualifying spots.

The heat was easily won by newly minted 100m champion American, Sha’Carri Richardson in 22.16s, ahead of Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou, who clocked a season’s best 22.26s. Olivia Fotopoulou of Cyprus clocked a new personal best 22.65s for the third spot.

Jackson, the reigning 200m champion, expectedly made light work of rivals in heat three, as she cruised to 22.51s. Singapore’s Veronica Shanti Pereira, was second in a national record 22.57s, with Jessika Gbai (22.78s) of Ivory Coast in third.

Though Hodge was fourth, her time of 22.82s, was good enough to progress as one of the non-automatic qualifiers.

St Lucia’s Alfred was tops in heat four, as she powered her way to 22.31s, ahead of Jamaica’s Whyte 22.44s, with Great Britain’s Bianca Williams (22.67s) in third.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw another young Jamaican Davis (22.49s), also booking her semi-final spot with a second-place finish behind American Gabrielle Thomas, who clocked 22.26s.

Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith justified favouritism in the final heat which she won in 22.46s.

 

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University of Texas at Austin Coach Eldrick Floreal is confident that sprinter Kevona Davis will be a strong contender at Jamaica's national championships next month. Despite facing criticism and doubts from fans, Coach Floreal believes in Davis's progress and her ability to overcome past challenges.

Davis, who ran wind-aided times of 10.98 and 22.02 at the recently concluded NCAA Division 1 National Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas, is expected to vie for a spot on Jamaica’s team to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August and Coach Floreal believes that after prior failures the former Edwin Allen High School star will be ready to compete this year.

 I think Kevona is going to be ready. The goal this year is to go to the Jamaican championship and compete. She has not competed (previously). She's showed up and participated. She's going to compete,” Floreal said of his athlete who boasts personal bests of 10.95 and 22.23, in the 100m and 200m, respectively.

“She's going to actually run what she's running now in the (NCAA) championships, and its maturity.”

Coach Floreal acknowledged the skepticism surrounding Davis's development but dismissed it considering the clear steps forward she has been taking. He addressed concerns by highlighting the unique approach they have taken to accelerate her progress, acknowledging that it didn't always go as planned.

"I've taken quite a bit of flak from Jamaica, and in true Jamaican fashion, I said, 'Me no care. I don't care.' My job is to help this young woman," Coach Floreal explained, emphasizing his commitment to supporting Davis.

The coach recognized that Davis had struggled with confidence issues and made mistakes in previous competitions. However, he emphasized that these were normal errors and not indicative of a lack of talent. Coach Floreal attributed them to a lack of self-belief and the pressure of competition.

"One of the most difficult things is to identify a step process that goes backward. Most people coach forward. I coach backwards," Coach Floreal explained his coaching philosophy. He shared that he envisions Davis reaching her full potential and then works backward to determine the necessary steps. This method, although unconventional, aims to ensure a solid foundation for sustained growth.

Davis's lack of confidence and occasional mistakes in competitions are areas Coach Floreal has been focused on. He believes that her experiences in the NCAA and Jamaica have impacted her mental state, and his role as a coach is to rebuild her belief in herself.

Reflecting on Davis's progression, Coach Floreal highlighted the ups and downs she has faced throughout her career. He mentioned specific instances where her confidence took a hit, such as false starts and disappointment in previous races. Despite these setbacks, he emphasized that Davis has shown resilience and an ability to bounce back, slowly improving over time.

The coach shared some behind-the-scenes efforts to nurture Davis's mental strength, such as dedicating additional training sessions and reassurance to rebuild her confidence. He stressed the importance of taking the necessary time to help athletes mature, comparing it to shifting gears in a car, where skipping steps can lead to stalling.

“No matter how bad Kevona's had a rough road, she's always come back. She's always comes back every year, done a little bit better, a little bit better, a little bit better,” he said emphasizing that Davis is making the steps necessary to be the best she can be.

“If you have ever driven a car, a stick shift. If you go from the first gear to the third gear, everybody knows what happens. The car starts and cuts off. You have to go to the second gear. You have to match up the second gear and then shift to the third gear. And sometimes these gears take time because they have been unable to comprehend what the coach wants.

“But she has to develop. Everybody wants 10.7 now. You're not getting that right now because there's a lot of things I need to fix before I even get there.  If you're a really qualified coach, you understand that you're going to have to take time and sometimes go backwards to come back forward. It's not like instant oatmeal, some of this stuff takes time.”

Coach Floreal expressed his satisfaction with Davis's progress and is optimistic about her readiness for the upcoming Jamaican national championships.

In conclusion, Coach Floreal acknowledged that talent alone is not enough to succeed in the highly competitive world of athletics. He emphasized the importance of mental fortitude and the ability to handle the pressures of the sport independently. With Davis's continuous growth and unwavering determination, Coach Floreal believes she has what it takes to make her mark at the national championships and beyond.

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 11th 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.

 

 

 

 

 

Texas’s Julien Alfred will have a chance to defend her NCAA Outdoor 100m title after securing her spot in the field on the final day of the NCAA West Regionals in Sacramento on Saturday.

The 21-year-old St. Lucian, who won the NCAA Indoor 60m and 200m double earlier this season, sped to a meet record and collegiate leading time of 10.83 to comfortably be the fastest qualifier to the Championships set for June 7-10 on her home track at the University of Texas's Mike A. Myers stadium.

Her Jamaican teammate, Kevona Davis, also made it through the preliminaries with an 11.06 effort.

The Texas duo also made it through in the 200m with Davis running a season’s best 22.33 and Alfred running 22.45.

Arkansas’s Ackera Nugent, a two-time NCAA Indoor Champion, ran 12.69, a new meet record to advance fastest in the sprint hurdles. Her countrywoman, Texas Tech’s Demisha Roswell, also made it through with a season’s best 12.77.

Arkansas’s Nickisha Price and Joanne Reid both advanced in the one-lap event with personal best times of 50.49 and 51.49, respectively.

In the field, defending NCAA high jump champion, Lamara Distin of Texas A&M, easily cleared 1.85m to secure her opportunity to defend her title. Texas’s Ackelia Smith, world leader in the long jump, also booked her spot in the field for the triple jump with 13.96m.

Meanwhile, at the East Regionals in Jacksonville, Ohio State’s Yanique Dayle and Kentucky’s Anthaya Charlton made it through in the 100m.

Dayle, the Jamaican Senior, produced a big personal best 11.05 while Charlton, the Bahamian Freshman, produced 11.08 (2.3 m/s) to advance.

Dayle also advanced in the 200m with a season’s best 22.58 while LSU’s Brianna Lyston also made it through with 22.92.

In the field, Georgia’s Vincentian Junior, Mikeisha Welcome, jumped 13.50m to make it through in the triple jump.

 

Julien Alfred was crowned 2023 Big 12 Outdoor 100m champion on Sunday after winning the blue-ribbon dash in 10.84, a new facility record.

Alfred was part of a Texas 1-2-3 as Kevona Davis and Ezinne Abba were second and third, respectively in 11.04s. Davis, however, was clocked at 11.031 to Abba’s 11.035.

Aldred copped a second gold medal when she teamed up with Davis, Abba, and Rhasidat Adekele to win the 4x100m relay in 41.89. The time was a new collegiate, Big 12 and Facility record.

Baylor was a distant second in 43.75. They just managed to hold off Oklahoma that finished third in 43.84.

Bahamian Terrence Jones finished second in the men’s equivalent in a time of 10.08, the same time as his Texas Tech teammate of Courtney Lindsay. Lindsay clocked 10.076 to Jones’ 10.080.

Marcellus Moore of Texas ran 10.17 for third place.

Jones would later anchor Texas Tech to victory in the men’s 4x100m in a new Big 12 and facility record 38.24. It was also the fastest time in the NCAA this season. Texas and Baylor ran 38.89 and 39.12 for second and third, respectively.

Meanwhile, Texas Tech’s Demisha Roswell, successfully defended her 100m hurdles title but was not nearly as fast as she was last season when she ran 12.44 to hold off a game Ackera Nugent who was then at Baylor University.

Roswell, who is in her final year at Texas Tech, clocked 13.02 to end her collegiate career as Big 12 champion.  Kaylyn Hall of Iowa State finished the race in 13.17 for second place while Roswell’s teammate Naomi Krebbs clocked 13.33 for third place.

Roswell was also a member of the Texas Tech sprint relay team that finished fourth in 43.85.

 

 

 

Texas’s Ackelia Smith continued her excellent 2023 season with a personal best 7.08m for victory at the 2023 Big 12 Outdoor Championships at John Jacobs Field in Oklahoma on Saturday.

The 21-year-old had jumps of 6.74m and 6.61m in the first two rounds before jumping out to her massive new personal best and world leading jump in the third. She subsequently passed on her next three jumps.

Oklahoma’s Pippi Lotta Enok produced 6.65m for second while Kansas State’s Shalom Olotu jumped 6.41 for third.

On the track, St. Lucians had an excellent day. First, Kansas’s Michael Joseph ran a personal best 44.77 to advance fastest into the men’s 400m final. Texas’s Jonathan Jones also advanced to the final with 45.70.

Then, Texas’s 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Julien Alfred, produced 10.74, albeit with a 3.4m/s wind, to advance fastest to the women’s 100m final.

Texas also had the second and third fastest qualifiers to the women’s 100m final through Kevona Davis (10.93) and Ezinne Abba (10.93).

Bahamian Terrence Jones ran 10.35 to advance third fastest in the men’s equivalent.

The 100m hurdles saw Jamaican Texas Tech senior Demisha Roswell advance fastest with 12.92.

Roswell’s Bahamian Texas Tech teammate, Antoine Andrews, ran 13.57 to advance in the men’s 110m hurdles.

Defending NCAA 100m champion Julien Alfred stormed to victory in the 100m at the Texas Invitational at the Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas on Saturday when O’Brien Wasome produced a dominant performance to win the triple jump.

Alfred, the University of Texas senior, who dominated the NCAA Indoor season and was named USTFCCA Indoor Athlete of the Year, has taken her outstanding form outdoors, running 10.95 to win the blue-ribbon dash over Texas teammate Kevona Davis who edged Ashanti Moore by 0.004 to take second. Both women were credited with 11.14.

American Gabby Thomas, the Tokyo Olympics 200m bronze medallist demonstrated her strength in the 400m which she won in a personal best 49.68.

Lynna Irby-Jackson finished second in 50.40 while first-year pro Charokee Young was third in 50.64.

Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles silver medallist Shiann Salmon was fifth in 51.99.

Texas senior Johnathan Jones was third in the 400m clocking 46.50 while finishing behind Texas State’s Dominic Yancy who ran 46.39 and winner Brian Herron of Texas, who crossed the line in 46.14.

Wasome, meanwhile, was winning the triple jump with a jump of 16.80m.

Jeremiah Davies of Florida State University’s 16.01m gave him second while Jemuel Allen of the University of Texas at San Antonio jumped 15.50m for third.

 

 

Julien Alfred took her incredible indoor form outdoors on Friday, running a world-leading 21.91 to win the College Women 200m at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Florida.

Alfred, the Texas Longhorn senior who ran a NCAA record 22.01, the second fastest time ever indoors to win the NCAA Indoor Nationals last month, also established a new national record in the event that was contested over two heats.

Lenae Thomas also of Texas was second overall in a wind-aided 22.30 (+3.1m/s) that won the second heat.

MacKenzie Long of Ole Miss, second in Alfred’s heat, was third overall in 22.31. Kevona Davis, who was third in Alfred’s heat ran 22.47 for fifth overall.

In the Women Olympic Development 200m, World Championship 100m bronze medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah, running her first 200m of the season, finished in second place in her heat in 23.23, a time good enough for second overall.

Melissa Jefferson of the USA, who won Thompson-Herah’s heat, was the fastest with a time of 23.02.

St. Lucian senior Julien Alfred and Jamaican junior Kevona Davis were part of the Texas quartet that set the Mike A. Myers Stadium track on fire on their way to setting a new collegiate record at the 2023 Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays on Saturday.

Alfred, the 2023 NCAA Indoor 60m and 200m champion and record holder, ran the opening leg for the Longhorns before passing to Ezinne Abba who then passed to Lanae Thomas before Davis anchored the team to a time of 42.00, breaking the previous collegiate record 42.05 set by LSU in 2018.

Earlier in the day, Alfred, Davis and Thomas combined with Rhasidat Adeleke to set a new collegiate record 1:28.05 in the 4x200.

On Friday, Alfred was also a part of the quartet that set a collegiate record in the sprint medley.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist split 22.4 in the first 200m leg of the relay and combined with Rhasidat Adeleke, Kennedy Simon and Valery Tobias to run 3:36.10 and break the previous record 3:38.93 set at last year’s Texas relays by Texas A&M.

Individually, Jamaican Ashanti Moore ran 11.23 for second in the Women’s Invitational 100m behind Olympic 200m bronze medallist Gabby Thomas (11.09) while Lynna Irby-Jackson was third in 11.31.

 

 

 

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson all safely advanced to Sunday’s Women’s 200m final as action continued on day three of the 2022 Jamaican National Senior Athletics Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

The three 100m medalists from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics all looked extremely easy to win their semi-finals in 22.54, 22.68 and 22.85, respectively.

Jackson, who secured the 100m title on Friday, looked especially easy, completely shutting down in the last 100m of the race.

Natalliah Whyte (23.05), Ashanti Moore (23.21), Kevona Davis (23.33), Jodean Williams (23.21) and Dominique Clarke (23.29) will join them in the final.

Meanwhile, 100m Champion Yohan Blake led all qualifiers to the Men’s final with a season’s best 20.20 to win his semi-final ahead of Andrew Hudson (20.23).

2020 Olympic finalist Rasheed Dwyer will also contest Sunday’s final after producing 20.35 to win his semi-final ahead of Nigel Ellis (20.45).

Mario Heslop (20.52), Riquan Graham (20.66), Jazeel Murphy (20.67) and Antonio Watson (20.74) complete the line-up for the final.

NCAA Championships silver medalist Charokee Young (50.19), 2020 Olympic finalist Candice McLeod (50.85), Stacey-Ann Williams (50.87) and 2013 World Championship bronze medalist Stephenie Ann McPherson (50.67) led all qualifiers to the Women’s 400m final.

The men were led by Jevaughn Powell (45.38), Anthony Cox (45.43), Nathon Allen (45.52) and Akeem Bloomfield (45.59).

The qualifiers for the Women’s sprint hurdles final were led by Britany Anderson (12.45), Megan Tapper (12.61), 2015 World Champion Danielle Williams (12.59) and Demisha Roswell (12.84).

Reigning Olympic Champion Hansle Parchment (13.24), Orlando Bennett (13.27), Rasheed Broadbell (13.29) and 2016 Olympic and 2017 World Champion Omar McLeod (13.36) led the qualifiers to the Men’s 110m hurdles final.

In the field, 2019 World Championship silver medalist Danniel Thomas-Dodd threw 18.79m to win her seventh national title ahead of Lloydricia Cameron (16.96m) and Danielle Sloley (15.98m).

Wayne Pinnock added to his NCAA Indoor and Outdoor titles earlier this season with a personal best 8.14m to win the Men’s long jump ahead of defending World Champion Tajay Gayle (7.97m) and Shawn-D Thompson (7.88m).

 

 

Texas duo Julien Alfred and Kevona Davis as well as Syracuse’s Joella Lloyd and Oregon’s Kemba Nelson will all be present in Saturday’s 100m final, at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships, after advancing from the semi-finals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Thursday.

Alfred, the St. Lucian national record holder in the event, won her semi-final in 10.90 to be the joint-fastest qualifier to the final. Nelson also dipped below 11 seconds, running 10.97 to win her semi-final.

Jamaica’s Davis finished third in her semi-final with a time of 11.11 to advance while the Antiguan Lloyd finished second in her semi with 11.08. Davis and Lloyd also advanced in the 200m with times of 22.38 and 22.66, respectively.

The Jamaican pair of Stacey Ann Williams of Texas and Charokee Young of Texas A&M will both be in the 400m final. Williams ran 50.18 to finish second in her semi-final while Young won hers in a time of 50.46.

Texas Tech’s Jamaican junior Demisha Roswell ran 12.93 to finish second in her semi-final of the 100m hurdles and progress.

Texas senior and Trinidad and Tobago Olympian Tyra Gittens jumped 6.57m for third in the long jump behind Florida’s Jasmine Moore (6.72m) and Texas A&M’s Deborah Acquah (6.60m).

 

 

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.

Julien Alfred, Demisha Roswell and Johnathan Jones pulled off impressive victories as the Big 12 Conference Championships concluded in Lubbock, Texas on Sunday.

Charokee Young ran a massive lifetime best and world-leading time to win the 400m over fellow Jamaican Stacey-Ann Williams at the Texas A&M vs Texas Dual Meeting at Bryan-College Station in Texas on Saturday.

Young, who had mixed results running indoors, has been a lot more assured outdoors as a week after running a 48.98 relay split at the Texas Relays, the 21-year-old Texas A&M sophomore stormed to victory in 50.00, obliterating Williams’ meet record of 51.34 set last year. It also moved her closer to Athing Mu’s facility record of 49.68 also set last year.

It was also a significant improvement over her previous best of 50.85 set last year May.

A fast time was clearly on the cards when Young took control mid-race surging past Texas’ Kennedy Simon to take the lead. Williams, the Texas Junior, responded to Young’s move and stormed past her teammate to challenge Young for the lead.

However, the former Hydel High 800m star never looked likely to yield and pulled away to win in the world-leading time.

Williams broke her own meet record clocking 50.56, the second-fastest time in the world for 2022 while Simon was third in a personal-best 50.68.

 Young moves up to number two all-time on the Texas A&M Aggies women’s 400m list and jumped to number five among the collegiate performers on the all-time chart.

Johnathan Jones won the men’s race in a conference-leading and meet record 45.07. The Barbadian quarter-miler broke his own meet record of 45.82 that was set last year.

Texas A&M’s Emmanuel Bamidele finished second in 45.25 with Jones’ teammate Willington Wright taking third in 45.64.

Meanwhile, in the Women’s 100m, St Lucia’s Julien Alfred ran a personal best of 11.07 to take the victory over teammates Kynnedy Flannel 11.34 and Kevona Davis 11.37. Alfred’s time was a new meet record eclipsing Flannel’s record of 11.23 set last year.

Alfred was third in the 200m in 23.10. The race was won by A&M’s Laila Owens in a personal best and conference-leading 22.57. However, she just managed to hold off Texas’ Rhasidat Adeleke, who was second in 22.59.

In one of the more epic clashes of the day, former Texas A&M multi-sport star Tyra Gittens, now a senior at Texas equalled her personal best of 1.95m to win the high jump over former teammate, the in-form Lamara Distin (1.93).

Distin, who defeated Gittens at last month’s NCAA Indoor Nationals, led when she cleared 1.91m but a fired-up Gittens cleared 1.93 at her first attempt, snatching the lead from her former teammate. Distin managed to clear 1.93 on her third attempt.

However, the Trinidadian Olympian cleared 1.95m, a new meet and facility record, to secure victory after Distin failed all three attempts at that height.

Marleen Guerrero was third with her best clearance of 1.80m.

Gittens enjoyed further success on the day as she soared out to 6.58 to be second on the long jump won by Deborah Acquah of A&M with a new personal best, conference-leading and meet record 6.89m.

Ackelia Smith jumped 6.46m for third.

 

 

 

 

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