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.

Olympic and World triple jump champion, Mike Conley Sr, has described Jamaican Arkansas freshman Jaydon Hibbert as “special” and said he was “born for the sport.”

Conley Sr, the 60-year-old Arkansas alum who won Olympic gold in 1992 in Barcelona with a wind-aided 18.17m jump as well as a World Championship title in Stuttgart with a 17.86m effort a year later, was speaking in an interview on his alma mater’s Instagram page on Saturday.

“He’s special. I got a chance to see him when they recruited him. I saw some video of him from the World Juniors and got a chance to meet him and talk to him. He’s a way better jumper than I ever was technique-wise. It took me almost a lifetime to look like he looks as a freshman so he’s a special guy,” said Conley Sr.

At those World Juniors in Cali in 2022, Hibbert produced a personal best and championship record 17.27m to take gold.

“It’s amazing. When I saw him at the juniors I just said ‘wow.’ For his form and technique to be advanced as it is, he was born to do it and he puts in the work on top of it. That’s usually the recipe for greatness,” said Conley Sr.

Hibbert has enjoyed an excellent debut season at Arkansas. The 18-year-old has, so far, gone unbeaten in three competitions indoors and two outdoors.

At the NCAA Indoor championships in Albuquerque in March, Hibbert made history with a leap of 17.54m, a new World Under-20 record, to win the title. Hibbert’s jump also broke Conley Sr’s collegiate record 17.40m.

Outdoors, he followed up a gold medal at the Carifta Games in Nassau on April 10 with a 17.17m effort to win at the LSU Invitational on April 29.

He is also a heavy favorite to win the title at the SEC Outdoor Championships which are currently being held at LSU.

“He seems humble, eager to learn and he works hard. Like I said, that’s a good recipe for success,” Conley Sr added.

Conley Sr’s personal best 17.87, done in June 1987, places him 13^th on the all-time list for the event.

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.

Kiara Grant, Oneka Wilson and Ockera Myrie accounted for more than half of Clemson University Women's 68 points at the Atlantic Coast Conference championship that concluded in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday night.

In her first conference championships since she transferred from Baylor in the Big 12, Ackera Nugent set a pair of new personal bests in the 60m hurdles and 60m dash as Arkansas crowned themselves SEC champions on Saturday.

Nugent, who holds the U20 60m world record of 7.92, stormed to a personal best 7.81 to win the silver medal behind NCAA record holder Masai Russell, who took gold in 7.77s.

The winning time was just outside Russell’s collegiate record of 7.75 run earlier in the season.

Russell, a senior at Kentucky, broke the previous meet record of 7.89 set by LSU’s Tonea Marshall in 2020 and facilities record of 7.79 that had been held by Clemson’s Briana Rollins since 2013.

Nugent, who was also under the previous meet record, eclipsed her previous best of 7.88 set in January.

Tennessee’s Charisma Taylor ran 8.03 for the bronze medal.

Nugent would have gone into the hurdles final with a boost in confidence after winning the bronze medal in the 60m dash in a personal best of 7.20, finishing just behind silver-medallist Georgia’s Kaila Jackson who clocked 7.17.

Tennessee’s Jacious Sears ran a personal best 7.11 to win the gold medal.

Arkansas’ women topped the table with 130.5 points. Florida was second with 84 while Tennessee finished third with 56.33 points.

Alabama and Ole Miss shared fourth place with 54 points each.

Meanwhile, Arkansas' men also wrapped up the men's title scoring 102.25 points, some of which were contributed by Clemson's Roje Stona.

The former St Jago thrower hit a brand new personal best of 19.96m that won him the bronze medal in the men's shot put.

The top three men all produced personal bests as silver-medallist Jordan West of Arkansas hit his best throw ever of 20.29m. 

The winner, John Meyer of LSU, had the winning mark of 20.37m.

Florida finished second in the men's standings with 73 points while Alabama's 63 points put them third.

Georgia (59) and Tennessee (54) rounded out the top five.

The Caribbean was well represented at Friday’s University of South Carolina Indoor Open in Columbia, South Carolina.

Guyana's Lloyd McCurdy and Jamaican Sadiki Marsh were among the winners on the men’s side.

The 23-year-old McCurdy, competing unattached, jumped a personal best 16.04m to take the win ahead of Jamaicans Shemar Miller, who did 15.27m, and Rajaun Ricketts who did 14.99m. Both Miller and Ricketts attend Benedict College.

Marsh, also a student at Benedict College, won the 800m in 1:55.86 ahead of the Wingate University pair of Ben Aris (1:57.53) and Jakob Rettschlag (1:57.80).

Trinidadian Limestone College senior Che’ Lara ran a personal best 47.68 for second in the 400m behind South Carolina’s William Spencer Jr who ran 47.38 for the win. South Carolina’s Edward Richardson was third in 48.37 while Jamaican St. Augustine’s sophomore Sean Kalawan was fifth 48.96.

Lara’s Limestone College teammate, Grenadian Kurt Modeste, ran 21.33 for third in the 200m behind South Carolina’s Evan Miller (20.95) and Lenoir-Rhyne’s Trent Davis (21.23).

On the women’s side, Haiti’s Mulern Jean sped to 8.27 to win the 60m hurdles. Barbados’ Tia-Adana Belle was second in 8.40 while Jamaican Charleston Southern senior Chaneal Harris was third in 8.55.

Belle also enjoyed a top-three finish in the 200m, finishing third in 24.38 behind 17-year-old American sensation Shawnti Jackson (22.91) and Charleston Southern’s Lauryn James (24.16).

Dominica’s Mariah Toussaint was also a winner on the day, jumping 6.20m to comfortably win the long jump ahead of the University of West Georgia’s Pashience Collier (5.71m) and William Carey’s Zaniyah Wilson (5.68m).

Mississippi State Junior Rosealee Cooper won the Women’s 60m hurdles at the Clemson Bob Pollock Invitational in South Carolina on Friday.

The 22-year-old former St. Jago High standout ran 8.07 to win ahead of Tennessee’s Charisma Taylor (8.10) and Amber Hughes (8.20) who ran unattached.

Jamaican 2015 World Champion in the 100m hurdles, Danielle Williams, was also in the race but was disqualified after a false start. She had earlier run 8.07 in the prelims to advance as the fastest qualifier.

Elsewhere, Antiguan Tennessee Junior Joella Lloyd ran 7.21 to finish third in the 60m behind teammate Jacious Sears (7.17) and Nike’s Kayla White (7.20).

Lloyd represented Antigua & Barbuda in the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 as well as the World Championships and Commonwealth Games in 2022.

Jamaican Arkansas Sophomore Ackera Nugent continued her excellent form to start her 2023 indoor season by running a personal best 7.88 to win the 60m hurdles on day two of the Razorback Invitational in Fayetville, Arkansas on Saturday.

Nugent, who transferred to Arkansas from Baylor before the season, finished comfortably ahead of Leah Phillips of LSU (8.02) and Jayla Hollis of Florida (8.19). Phillips’ time was also a personal best.

Nugent’s 7.88 is the third fastest time in the world this year behind Masai Russell’s 7.75 and Alaysha Johnson’s 7.82.

In the Men’s equivalent, Nugent’s Arkansas teammate and former Jamaica College star Phillip Lemonious was third in the men’s 60m hurdles in 7.73 behind American World Championship 110m hurdles silver medalist Trey Cunningham (7.60 meet record) and Arkansas teammate Matthew Lewis-Banks (7.72).

Jamaican World 200m champion Shericka Jackson says she feels no pressure to replicate her exploits from her phenomenal 2022 season, insisting that once she is healthy, the times and performances will come naturally.

Jackson’s comments came after opening her 2023 outdoor season with a 53.11 effort to win the 400m ahead of GC Foster College’s Odeisha Nation (55.37) and Christine Cheka (55.78) at the Queen's/Grace Jackson meet at the National Stadium in Kingston on Saturday.

“For me there’s no pressure. I believe my coach and I did a very good job last year and all we have to do now is stay focused, not on other people’s expectations but his and my expectations. Once I’m healthy, I will definitely go super-fast,” Jackson said.

Jackson is coming off a phenomenal 2022 season. At the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, she sped to a personal best of 21.45 to win gold in the 200m, becoming the fastest woman alive in the process.

In addition to her 200m crown, Jackson ran a personal best 10.73 to secure second in the 100m behind teammate Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce.

Prior to last season, Jackson said that one of her goals was to run 10.6 in the 100m, and, according to her, that has not changed.

“Last year I wanted to run 10.6 and I didn’t do that. To finish last year as the sixth-fastest ever and not run 10.6 is a great feeling. I think I have a lot more in the tank for the 100m so I just have to focus on execution and fast times will come,” she said.

Last season, Jackson also made waves on the indoor circuit, finishing sixth at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade in a personal best 7.04.

On February 4, she will compete in the event at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston.

“Last year the 60m helped me improve my start. I ran 7.04 and this year I’m hoping I can go faster,” she said.

The field will be a loaded one, including 400m hurdles World and Olympic Champion and world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, World Indoor 60m silver medalist Mikiah Briscoe and World Championship 100m finalist Aleia Hobbs.

“It’s a good field competing so my focus is executing a good 60m,” Jackson said.

Texas A&M senior and Jamaican World Championship finalist Lamara Distin jumped 1.90m to win the high jump at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetville, Arkansas on Friday.

The reigning NCAA Champion won ahead of teammate Bara Sajdokova who recorded a new personal best clearance of 1.83m while Arkansas’ Sydney Billington cleared the same height for third.

Jamaican 400m hurdler Jaheel Hyde opened his 2023 season with a second-place finish in the 200m.

Hyde ran 21.40 to win section one of the Men’s open 200m ahead of Americans Grant Williams (21.86) and Ian Braxton (22.88). American 2019 100m World Champion Christian Coleman was the overall winner with a 20.64 effort to win section two ahead of fellow Americans Will London (21.45) and Khallifah Rosser (21.70).

The 25-year-old Hyde is looking to replicate an excellent 2022 season which saw him win 400m hurdles silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Hyde also got to the final of the event at the World Championships in Eugene, finishing sixth in a personal best 48.03.

Elsewhere, Jamaican Arkansas senior Carey McLeod jumped 8.09m for second in the long jump behind Florida State junior Jeremiah Davis’s personal best and meet record 8.21m. LSU senior Brandon Hicklin was third with 7.97m.

Former Hydel standout Ashanti Moore opened her 2023 Indoor season with a second-placed finish in the 60m at the Houston Invitational in Texas on Friday.

Adidas’ Moore ran 7.37 to finish behind American Olympic 200m bronze medallist Gabby Thomas who ran 7.30. Sam Houston’s Rajer Gurode was third in 7.38. Moore had the fastest time going into the final after running 7.34 in the prelims earlier.

Elsewhere, B.B Coke alum and current Louisiana representative Javed Jones ran 48.12 to comfortably win the 400m ahead of teammate Nathan Ferguson (48.84) and Houston’s Joshua White 48.95.

Track and field superstars Shericka Jackson and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone are set for an exciting clash in the 60m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix at the New Balance Track in Boston on February 4.

Jackson, who finished as runner-up in Jamaica’s National Sportswoman of the Year awards last week, had a magnificent 2022 season which saw her 21.45 to become the fastest woman alive in the 200m on her way to winning gold in the event at the World Championships in Eugene.

She also ran a new personal best of 10.71 to finish second in the 100m behind Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce. Jackson, 28, has a 60m personal best of 7.04 which she ran to finish sixth at the World Indoor Championships in Serbia last year.

The USA’s McLaughlin-Levrone, 23, is also coming off a spectacular year which was crowned with her being named as the World Athletics Female Athlete of the Year in December.

In July, she became the first woman in history to run a sub-51 second 400m hurdles when she ran a sensational 50.68 to win her maiden 400m world title. That was after she broke her own then-world record of 51.46, which she ran to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics, with a 51.41 effort at the US Championships in June. McLaughlin-Levrone has never run a 60m race.

World Championship 100m finalist Aleia Hobbs and World Indoor Championships 60m silver medallist Mikiah Briscoe will also be in the field in Boston. 

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Rasheed Broadbell were crowned as Jamaica’s National Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year, respectively, at the 2022 RJRGLEANER Sports Foundation National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards on Friday at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel.

The 35-year-old Fraser-Pryce, now a five-time National Sportswoman of the year after wins in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2019 previously, produced an outstanding year in which she won her fifth 100m title at the World Athletics Championships in July, in Eugene, Oregon, leading a Jamaican sweep of the podium places with Jackson finishing second in a personal best 10.73 seconds and Elaine Thompson-Herah third in 10.81 seconds.

Fraser-Pryce was also the Diamond League 100m champion in 2022 and ran a world-leading 10.62 seconds among her record seven sub-10.70 100m races during the season.

Meanwhile, Broadbell enjoyed an excellent breakout season in which he ran 13.08 seconds to win 110m hurdles gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and enjoyed some strong Diamond League performances, including a personal best time of 12.99 seconds while defeating American World and Olympic champion Grant Holloway of the USA at the Lausanne Diamond League meet in August, before finishing second to Holloway at the finale in Zurich the following month.

World 200m champion Shericka Jackson and West Indies all-rounder Rovman Powell, who led the Jamaica Tallawahs to their third Caribbean Premier League T20 title and Jamaica Scorpions to their first Super 50 title in 10 years, were the respective runners-up.

Clemson sprinter Kiara Grant started her 2023 collegiate season in ominous form with a personal best and world leading 7.09 seconds to win the 60m at the Red Raider Open at the Sports Performance Centre in Lubbock, Texas on Friday.

The 22-year-old former Alpha standout’s time was also a new ACC record, shattering Tonya Carter’s record of 7.15 seconds, which had stood for 23 years. She is also now the joint eighth-fastest Jamaican in the event.

American Marybeth Sant-Price, the World Indoor bronze medalist from last year, was second in 7.18 with Sedrickia Wynn of Texas State taking third place with a time of 7.35.

Elsewhere, Jamaican Texas Tech sprint hurdler Demisha Roswell produced a time of 7.98 seconds to finish second in the 60m hurdles.

The 25-year-old Vere Technical alum, who lowered her 100m hurdles personal best to 12.44 last season, was beaten by Kentucky’s Masai Russell who ran a collegiate record 7.75 for victory.

LSU’s Leah Phillips was third in 8.14.

World Athletics Under-20 championships gold medallist Ackera Nugent has moved from Baylor University to the University of Arkansas.

The former Excelsior High star runner, who won gold in the 100m hurdles at the world junior championships in Nairobi, Kenya in 2021, had attended Baylor for the past two seasons.

On Wednesday, Nugent, the World U-20 indoor record holder in the 60m hurdles, posted a photograph of herself on Instagram wearing a University of Arkansas shirt while clearing a hurdle with the word ‘Arkansas’ on it.

“Rule #3, forget ATTENTION and GROW in PRIVATE. I spoke less and God did the rest. (Psalms 27:1),” she captioned the post.

At Arkansas, she will join several Jamaicans including World Championships men’s long jump finalist Wayne Pinnock and Olympian Carey McLeod, who both transferred from the University of Tennessee; discus throwers Ralford Mullings, who transferred from Arizona State and Roje Stona who previously attended Clemson University.

Shakwon Coke also signed for Arkansas after leaving Barton County College along with World Under-20 triple jump champion Jaydon Hibbert, who had previously signed with Tennessee. Jamie Farr, Ryan Brown and sprint hurdler Phillip Lemonious are also on the men’s team.

Nickesha Pryce, formerly of Vere Technical and Iowa Western Community College, and Joanne Reid, formerly of St Jago High, are also on the women’s roster.