The second day of the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, Thursday proved to be a day of mixed fortunes for Caribbean athletes. While there were moments of triumph, disappointments also marked the day.

Leading the way for the Caribbean contingent was Jamaica’s Ackelia Smith, a junior at the University of Texas in Austin, who successfully defended her long jump title. Smith soared to a distance of 6.79m, fending off a strong challenge from the University of Florida’s Claire Bryant, who took silver with a leap of 6.74m. Stanford’s sophomore Alyssa Jones secured third place with a jump of 6.64m.

In the sprints, Louisiana State University (LSU) sophomore Brianna Lyston showcased her prowess in the 100m. Lyston, the reigning NCAA 60m champion, cruised to victory in her heat, clocking an impressive 10.99 seconds, the second-fastest time of the semifinals. Only Ole Miss's McKenzie Long was faster, winning her heat in 10.91 seconds. Unfortunately, Lyston's luck did not extend to the 200m, where she finished fifth in her heat with a time of 22.76 seconds, missing out on a spot in the final.

Similarly, Tennessee’s Joella Lloyd, Antigua's fastest woman, fell short of her own expectations in the 100m. Aiming to break the 11-second barrier, Lloyd clocked 11.19 seconds, the 11th fastest time in the semifinals, and thus did not advance to the final.

There was another setback 200m, where Texas' Dejanea Oakley failed to make it to the final. Oakley finished sixth in her heat with a time of 22.82 seconds.

On a brighter note, Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce delivered a stellar performance in the 400m semifinals. The University of Arkansas senior, who recently etched her name into Jamaica’s track and field history with a personal best of 49.32 seconds, continued her impressive form by winning her semifinal heat in 49.87 seconds. This was the second-fastest time advancing to the final, bested only by her teammate Kaylyn Brown, who clocked 49.81 seconds. Notably, the University of Arkansas dominated this event with four women advancing to the finals.

Antigua and Barbuda sprinter Joella Lloyd is setting her sights high as she begins her campaign at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Thursday. The 22-year-old, representing the University of Tennessee, aims to break the sub-11 second barrier in the 100m, a goal she is confident in achieving after recently establishing a new lifetime best.

Lloyd qualified for the nationals with a lifetime-best 11.06 seconds, securing a third-place finish in her heat at the NCAA Division I East First Round on May 25 at the University of Kentucky Outdoor Facility in Lexington. This impressive time not only marked a personal milestone but also set a new national record for Antigua and Barbuda, officially earning her a spot at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.

When asked about her ambitions for the NCAA Nationals, Lloyd did not hesitate. "Oh yes, sub-11 is the goal for nationals!" she affirmed, highlighting her determination to continue improving her times on the track.

Lloyd's aspirations extend beyond the collegiate championships. Having recently graduated with a Master’s in Sports Psychology and Motor Behaviour, she is also focused on representing Antigua and Barbuda in both the 100m and 200m at the Olympic Games in Paris.

This dual qualification would mark a significant achievement for the young sprinter, who competed in the 100m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but did not advance past the preliminary round, finishing with a time of 11.54 seconds.

"I’m trying to do both 100 and 200m, but I haven’t run the 200m as much this season," Lloyd explained in an interview with Sportsmax.TV. "Hopefully, with some meets this summer, I’ll be able to qualify for the 200m as well and run it in Paris."

Lloyd's lifetime best in the 200m stands at 22.66 seconds, a time she set in Oregon in June 2022. This season, her best effort in the 200m has been 23.36 seconds, recorded in Baton Rouge in March. Despite not competing frequently in the 200m this year, Lloyd is optimistic about her chances of qualifying and competing in both sprint events at the Olympics.

As she steps onto the track at Hayward Field, Joella Lloyd carries the hopes of a nation eager to see her break new ground. Her journey through the NCAA Championships is not just about individual glory but also about preparing for the ultimate stage in Paris.

Nickisha Pryce has become the latest collegiate athlete from Jamaica to sign a NIL deal. The 22-year-old Pryce, now a junior at the University of Arkansas, has signed a deal with Puma, according to her announcement on Instagram on Tuesday evening.

A NIL deal is an agreement or arrangement between a student-athlete and a third party, such as a brand, company or individual, where the student-athlete receives compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness.

“New level unlocked. Very excited to be a part of the Puma family. It gives me great pleasure to share that I am now an officially recognized Puma NIL athlete. God’s timing is the right timing,” she said in her Instagram post.

The opportunity to earn while still competing at the collegiate level has come on the back of an outstanding season during which Pryce won a bronze medal in the 400m final at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor final at the Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas, in a then personal best time of 50.23 in June when she was also a member of the Razorback’s gold-medal winning 4x400m relay team.

She would go on to claim her first Jamaican national title at Jamaica’s national championship in Kingston in a new lifetime best to 50.21 in July.

At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Pryce helped Jamaica to the 4x400m silver medal. Jamaica lost the gold medal at the death to a fast-finishing Netherlands team anchored by the incredible Femke Bol.

Pryce joins fellow Razorback student-athletes Wayne Pinnock and Jaydon Hibbert who have signed NIL deals with Puma. Pinnock, a two-time Jamaica national long jump champion, won the silver medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August while Hibbert, the 2023 world leader in the triple jump at 17.87m, won NCAA Division SEC and NCAA national Indoor and Outdoor titles last season.

Birthday girl Julien Alfred celebrated with three gold medals and a national team title as the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships concluded in Austin, Texas on Saturday night.

Within a span of just over 90 minutes, the St Lucian track star, who turned 22, won gold in the 4x100m relay, 100m and 200m to close a stellar collegiate career and make the case of being the greatest female sprinter in NCAA Track and Field history, according to winning coach Eldrick Floreal.

“Without a doubt the greatest sprinter in NCAA history,” said Floreal, who guided the Longhorns to their first title in 18 years.

It would be difficult to dispute Floreal’s declaration considering what Alfred, who has lost once this season, managed to accomplish on Saturday.

She began the evening by leading the Texas Longhorn 4x100m relay gold in 41.60, the second fastest in NCAA history. Only the 41.55 they ran in the semi-finals on Thursday night is faster.

The University of Kentucky was almost a second behind in 42.46 with LSU third in 42.52.

Approximately, 50 minutes later Alfred stormed to victory in the 100m in a fantastic time of 10.72s that was only ‘ruined’ by a trailing wind that was at 2.3 m/s, slightly over the maximum allowable limit of 2.00 m/s.

Oklahoma’s Kennedy Blackmon ran 10.87 to take the silver medal while Tennessee’s Jacious Sears clocked 10.94 to win the bronze medal.

Alfred’s Texas teammate Kevona Davis was fifth in 10.98s.

Forty-five minutes later, Alfred was at it again pulling off a dominant performance to win the 200m in 21.73, which was again blighted by a trailing wind of 2.5m/s.

Finishing in her wake was Ole Miss’ McKenzie Long who stopped the clock at 21.88s and Davis, who was third in 22.02.

Afterwards, Alfred showered praise Coach Floreal, who helped her achieve success in her time at Texas.

"My coach has been my biggest influence in my life, my five years here at Texas," she said. "Prior to beginning the championships, I went to speak to him, and he said let’s not focus on myself, focus on the team. That changed the pressure. It made a huge difference."

Alfred wasn’t the only standout during these championships for Texas. While the St Lucian was busy tearing up the track, Ackelia Smith, who Floreal also singled out for praise, followed up her victory in the long jump on Thursday night with a personal best 14.54m in the triple to win silver behind Florida’s Jasmine Moore.

The Florida freshman produced an NCAA meet record of 14.78m, a new lifetime best as well as facility record.

Ruta Lasmane of Texas Tech was third with 14.21m.

Perhaps, the race of the night was the 100m hurdles that featured the three best collegiate hurdlers this season – Arkansas’ Ackera Nugent, LSU’s Alia Armstrong and Kentucky’s Masai Russell.

With a strong wind of 3.8m/s behind their backs, a condition that usually makes it difficult for sprint hurdlers, the three women running next to each in other in the centre of the track unleashed an epic battle that saw the Jamaican Nugent emerging victorious in 12.26s even after clipping the final hurdle.

Russell hit a hurdle early but managed to compose herself and storm past Armstrong and into second in 12.31. Armstrong, the fastest of the three, hit a hurdle mid-race, lost her momentum but managed to right herself and take the bronze in 12.49.

All season long Arkansas’ Britton Wilson dominated the 400m and was favoured to win gold, especially after dropping a lifetime best of 49.13 to win the SEC title in May.

On Thursday, she ran a fast 49.36 to win her semi-final, solidifying her position of gold-medal favourite. However, someone forgot to tell Texas’ Rhasidat Adeleke, who produced a powerful surge down the home stretch to take victory in 49.20, a massive personal best which broke Wilson’s two-day-old facility and meet record.

Wilson was second in 49.64. Her teammate Nickisha Price, who is from Jamaica, ran a personal best 50.23 for third place. Price later helped Arkansas win the 4x400m title in 3:24.05 in a dominant performance over Texas A&M (3:26.12) and Ohio State (3:26.72).

In 2022, Lamara Distin dominated the high jump in Division 1, winning both indoor and outdoor titles while soaring to new height of 1.97m outdoors, a national record.

However, after equaling that height indoors earlier this season, Distin was unable to replicate that performance on Saturday and it proved costly.

The Texas A&M senior could only muster 1.87m, a height not good enough to successful defend her title that went to Charity Griffith of Ball State who sailed over a personal best 1.93m.

Elena Kulichenko of the University of Georgia took the bronze having also cleared 1.87m but Distin was better on the count back.

At the end of it all and thanks mainly to Alfred’s 30 points, Texas amassed 83 points, 32 more than Florida (51) with Arkanas third with 46 points.

Oregon (44) and Texas A&M (36) rounded out the top five schools.

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 11^th 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.

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.

Texas A&M’s Charokee Young plans to arrive at Jamaica’s national championships next week refreshed and ready to secure a spot on Jamaica’s team to the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Texas A&M’s Lamara Distin, fresh from her silver medal performance in the high jump at last weekend’s NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, is targeting the Olympic standard of 1.96m when she competes at the Jamaica National Championships beginning June 26.

Kemba Nelson has characterized her first season competing on the American collegiate circuit as ‘incredible’ after her fourth-place finish in the 100m at the NCAA Division I Outdoor season that concluded in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday.

Jamaica’s collegiate athletes experienced mixed fortunes over the final two days of the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships that concluded at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday.

Texas A&M’s Lamara Distin and Clemson’s Roje Stona were among the most successful and Baylor freshman Ackera Nugent experienced how unforgiving the scheduling can be.

Distin, who turned 21 in March, cleared a personal best of 1.90m to win the silver medal in the high jump completion. It took a personal best of 1.93m from South Carolina freshman to deny her the victory in the contest that Distin’s Texas A&M teammate Tyra Gittens finish third having cleared 1.87m.

On Friday, Stona threw a personal best of 61.94m to claim the silver medal for Clemson University. Turner Washington won the event with a throw of 63.42m. University of Virginia freshman Claudio Romero threw 61.36m for the bronze medal.

Ackera Nugent had a rough time of it Saturday because after finishing third in the 100m hurdles in a relatively modest 12.84, immediately she had to line up for the final of the 100m. She was still breathing heavily from the exertions of the hurdles race when they were called to their blocks in the 100m.

Unsurprisingly, she finished ninth in 11.37.

USC’s Anna Cockrell ran 12.58s to win sprint hurdles over Rayniah Jones, who ran 12.82.

North Carolina A&T’s Cambrea Sturgis won the 100m in 10.74 with the aid of a trailing wind of 2.2m/s. USC’s Twanisha Terry (10.79), Alabama’s Tamara Clark (10.88), were second and third, respectively.

Kemba Nelson, meanwhile, was fourth in 10.90.

Cockrell later won the 400m hurdles in a new personal best and collegiate-leading time of 54.68. Arizona’s Shannon Meisberger stormed by Virginia’s Andrenette Knight late to take the silver medal in 55.70 forcing the Jamaican, who ran 55.81, to settle for the bronze medal.

 Texas A&M freshman Charokee Young and Texas sophomore Stacey-Ann Williams were the two Jamaicans in the final of the 400m and finished fifth and sixth in 51.13 and 51.34, respectively. They, like everyone else, were no match for Young’s teammate Athing Mu, who ran a personal best 49.57 for victory.

Mu’s winning time was also a collegiate-leading, meet record and facility record.

Florida freshman Talitha Diggs ran a personal best 50.74 for the runner-up position while USC’s Kyra Constantine clocked a personal best 50.87 for the final podium spot.

Young and Mu would run splits of 49.7 and 48.8, respectively to lead Texas A&M to a record-shattering time of 3:22.34 to win the 4x400m relay. A&M’s season-best time was also a collegiate leading time as well as a meet record, facility record and championship record.

USC was second in a season-best 3:24.54 and UCLA was third in their season-best time of 3:25.01. The first eight teams across the line all ran season-best times.

Other than Stona, former Jamaica College athlete Phillip Lemonious was perhaps the best male performer for Jamaica. The Arkansas freshman ran a personal best 13.39 to take the bronze medal in the 110m hurdles that was won by Alabama’s Robert Dunning in 13.25.

Iowa’s Jaylan McConico ran 12.38 to edge out the Jamaican for the silver medal.

Six days after her 23^rd birthday, Tyra Gittens gifted herself the heptathlon title on what was for her a bittersweet final day of the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

In what she described as the hardest meet of her life, the Texas A&M junior topped the heptathlon high jump (1.84m), long jump (6.64) and 200m (23.79) on the way to her second-best score of 6285 points that was more than enough for victory but 135 points off the Olympic qualifying standard of 6420.

It was, however, 218 more of the University of Miami’s Michelle Atherley. The Miami senior, who was the fastest in the 100m hurdles (13.15), scored 6067 points for the silver medal. University of Texas freshman Kristine Blazevica scored 5984 points for the bronze medal.

Putting it simply, after three days of gruelling competition, Gittens just ran out of gas. She literally fell across the finish line to complete the heptathlon 800m in which she was 19^th overall, scoring 707 points for her time of 2:28.88.

Her legs were sapped because after the long jump on Thursday in which she won a silver medal, Gittens then had four events in the heptathlon on Friday before completing the other three on Saturday even while contending for individual honours in the high jump.

She just managed to complete the high jump 10 minutes before competing in the heptathlon 800m, her final event of the meet.

The athlete, who has a season-best of 1.95m was only able to clear 1.87m, good enough for third place behind A&M teammate, Jamaica’s Lamara Distin, who cleared a personal best 1.90m to win the silver medal. The gold medal went to South Carolina freshman, Rachel Glenn, who cleared a personal-best 1.93m.

Gittens just missed out on long-jump gold on Thursday when she soared out to 6.68m, two centimetres shy of the winning mark of 6.70m by Texas sophomore Tara Davis.

 Jasmine Moore of Georgia jumped 6.65m for the bronze medal.