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 quarter-miler Anthony Cox prepared for his stint at the upcoming World Championships in Eugene, Oregon by winning the Men’s 400m gold medal at the Caribbean Games at the Stade du Gosier in Guadeloupe on Saturday.

Cox, who ran 45.65 for third at the Jamaican National Championships in Kingston on June 26, produced 45.48, his second fastest time, to win ahead of Barbados’ Kyle Gayle (46.23) and Cuba’s Lenord Padilla (46.24).

The Women’s equivalent was won by the Dominican Republic’s Fiordaliza Cofil Mendez in 51.31 ahead of the Bahamas’ Megan Moss (52.53) and Cuba’s Suan Rodriguez Mauricio (53.70).

Rasheem Brown of the Cayman Islands ran 13.72 to win the Men’s 110m hurdles ahead of the Bahamas’ Oscar Smith (13.96) and Guadeloupe’s Erwann Abenaqu (14.00).

Trinidad and Tobago’s team of Tamia Badel, individual 100m champion Akilah Lewis, Naomi Campbell and Leah Bertrand ran 45.19 for gold in the Women’s 4x100m relay ahead of Cuba (45.47) and the Dominican Republic (46.21).

Their Men’s team of Jayden Moore, Kion Benjamin who won the individual 100m title on Friday, Che Lara and Lorenzo Luces ran 41.64 for second in the Men’s sprint relay behind the Dominican Republic (41.31).

The British Virgin Islands quartet of Mikkel Bassue, Vadley Sylvester, Malik John and Ke’andrae Campbell ran 42.24 for bronze.

In the field, Barbados took silver and bronze in the Men’s triple jump through Jemuel Miller (16.28m) and Nathan Crawford-Wallis (16.11m). The event was won by Cuba’s Andy Salazar with a 16.40m effort.

The BVI’s Dijmon Gumbs threw 17.99m for silver in the Men’s shot put behind Cuba’s Juan Gomez (18.09m). Puerto Rico’s Jorge Nazario threw 17.60m for bronze.

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.