Former Edwin Allen standout Rushana Dwyer will be competing on the NCAA Division 1 circuit next season after transferring to the University of South Florida (USF).

Dwyer competed on the NJCAA circuit for the last two seasons for South Plains Community College in Texas.

In 2023, Dwyer ran 2:10.63 to take top spot in the 800m at the NJCAA Championships in New Mexico while also running as part of South Plains’ title-winning 4x400m relay quartet.

This year, Dwyer established new personal best in the 400m both indoors and outdoors.

Her outdoor personal best of 53.68 came in a winning effort at the Texas Tech Corky/Crofoot Shootout in Texas in April while her indoor mark of 55.64 came in a third-place finish at the Jarvis Scott Open, also in Texas, in February.

Her 800m personal best 2:08.27 came back in 2022.

Tyrice Taylor, Rushana Dwyer and DeSean Boyce were among the winners at the 2023 National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Outdoor Championships that concluded at the New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, New Mexico on Saturday.

Representing Indian Hills Community College, Taylor, the former Enid Bennett High School student- athlete, ran 1:46.934 to defeat Kimar Farquharson of South Plains Junior College, who crossed the line in 1:47.25.

Former Calabar High School runner, Rivaldo Marshall, Taylor’s teammate at Indian Hills was third in 1:48.095.

Dwyer, a freshman at South Plains won the Women’s 800m in 2:10.63 ahead of Mesa’s Taylor Jacobs (2:11.92) and Letlhigonolo Magoro of New Mexico who was third in 2:11.99.

Meanwhile, Barbadian and Western Texas freshman Boyce won the Men’s 400m in a smart 44.85 while outpacing Iowa Western sophomore Tahj Hamm, the former Holmwood Technical High School runner, who nabbed second place in 45.42.

New Mexico’s Aymane El Haddaoui was third in 45.59.

Interestingly, South Plain’s Gregory Prince and Jeremy Bembridge were sixth and seventh in 45.85 and 45.95, respectively.

Iowa Western’s Jayden Brown finished second in the 400m hurdles in 51.13 losing out to Eysias Banks o Glendale who ran 51.05 to take gold in a close finish.

South Plains’ Caio Almeida was third in 51.24.

South Plains, with an all-Jamaica team of Evaldo Whitehorn, Bembridge, Prince and Farquharson won the 4x400m relay in 3:03.31. Indian Hills grabbed the silver medal in 3:03.96 with Meridian ‘A’ finishing third in 3:07.19.

South Plains’ Women’s team of Safhia Hinds, Success Umukoro, Leticia Quingostas and Dwyer won the 4x400m relay in impressing fashion clocking 3:35.72. New Mexico ‘A’ 3:39.11 and Cloud County ‘A’ 3:40.20, were second and third, respectively.

Seventeen-year-old Adaejah Hodge set a new national 100m record and won the 200m dash at the 2023 Corky/Crofoot Shootout in Lubbock, Texas on Saturday when Jamaica’s Demisha Roswell, Bahamian Antoine Andrews and the Virgin Islands’ Michelle Smith enjoyed victories.

It is not often that Hodge, the BVI’s sprint phenom, loses a race but even so still found a silver-lining when she finished second in the 100m behind Oklahoma’s Kennedy Blackmon, who took gold in 11.06.

Hodge’s 11.11 for second was a new personal best and a national record, eclipsing the 11.12 set in June 2011 by Tahesia Harrigan.

Success Umukoro of South Plains Junior College was third in 11.29.

Hodge would turn the tables on Blackmon in the 200m which she won in 22.31, which would have broken Harrigan’s national record of 22.98 had it not been for the five-metre-per-second trailing wind. Hodge, by the way, owns the World U20 200m indoor record of 22.33 set in Boston in March.

Blackmon finished second in 22.56 while Serena Clarke of Texas Tech was third in 23.07.

Anderson of the Bahamas ran out a comfortable winner in the 110m hurdles. The Texas Tech freshman clocked 13.46 as Justin Guy of South Plains and Taylor Rooney of Texas Tech ran 13.57 and 13.88 for second and third, respectively.

Roswell, the 2022 Big 12 100m hurdles champion Roswell was the only competitor under 13 seconds in the 100m hurdles taking the event in 12.89.

Her Texas Tech teammate Naomi Krebs, a freshman was second in 13.25. Nex Mexico’s Ese Awusa ran 13.57 for third place.

Smith, the 2023 Carifta Games U20 400m champion, had a battle on her hands but found enough to hold off Daneesha Davidson, clocking 56.66 to Davidson’s 56.69 in the blanket finish. Sylvia Schulz was third in 57.08.

Grace Obour of Western Texas College, by a wide margin, won the 400m in 52.71 over New Mexico’s Deshana Skeete, who took the runner-up spot in 54.02. Jamaica’s Rushana Dwyer who attends South Plains Junior College finished third after crossing the line in 54.43.

Zarik Brown of Oklahoma ran 45.38 for a comfortable victory in the men’s one-lap race with DeSean Bryce of Western Texas finishing in second place in 46.19. The South Plains duo of Kimar Farquharson and Jeremy Bembridge were third and fourth, respectively, in the same time of 46.28.

Edwin Allen was once again in dominant form to win the Championship of America High School Girls 4x100m at the 2022 Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Friday.

The team of Serena Cole, Tina Clayton, Brandy Hall and Tia Clayton were flawless in speeding to a new meet record 43.18, smashing their own 43.62 which they set in 2019.

Hydel (Alana Reid, Brianna Lyston, Kerrica Hill and Oneka Wilson) ran 43.69 for second while St. Jago (Makada Linton, Shenese Walker, Abigail Martin and Breanna Clarke) ran 46.09 for third.

Lyston and Hill then returned to help Hydel take the win in the Championship of America 4x400m alongside Alliah Baker and Onieka McAnuff.

The quartet ran a new record 3:32.77 to eclipse their own mark of 3:39.99 set back in 2017.

Edwin Allen with Amoya Jamieson, Tonyan Beckford, Kacian Powell and Natasha Fox were second in 3:39.76 while Bullis School from Maryland were third in 3:40.88.

Edwin Allen got their second win of the day in the Championship of America 4x800m with Rickeisha Simms, Leanna Lewis, Rushana Dwyer and Jessica McLean combining to run 8:54.58 for victory.

Cuthbertson High School from North Carolina was a distant second in 9:04.67 while Union Catholic Regional High School from New Jersey was third in 9:06.14.