Day one at the 2024 Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Friday saw a number of Caribbean athletes producing excellent performances.

Perhaps the best performance on the day came from 2022 Commonwealth 110m hurdles champion Rasheed Broadbell.

The 23-year-old produced a personal best 7.56 to take the men’s 60m hurdles ahead of countryman Tyler Mason who ran a personal best 7.65 in second. LSU Sophomore Matthew Sophia was third in 7.67, also a personal best.

The women’s 60m Open saw a Caribbean top three as Tina Clayton won ahead of twin sister Tia with Bahamian Anthonique Strachan finishing third. Tina’s winning time was a season’s best 7.25 while Tia’s time in second was 7.28 and Strachan’s in third was 7.30.

The men’s equivalent saw reigning Jamaican National 100m champion Rohan Watson run 6.76 to finish as runner up behind American Lawrence Johnson who ran 6.70. Another American, Tony Brown, ran a personal best 6.78 in third while Jamaica’s Michael Campbell ran 6.80 in fourth.

The College men’s 60m saw Bahamian Florida Sophomore Wanya McCoy produce a personal best 6.65 to finish second behind LSU Sophomore Myles Thomas (6.62). Thomas’s teammate, Godson Oghenebrume, also ran 6.65 in third.

The women’s College 400m saw Jamaican National champion Nickisha Pryce produce a personal best 51.04 to take the win. Her time also puts her #3 on the all-time Jamaican indoor list.

The Arkansas Junior finished ahead of her schoolmate Kaylyn Brown who ran a personal best 51.49 for second while Rosey Effiong completed the Arkansas 1-2-3 with 51.65 in third.

The women’s Open 400m saw Lanae-Tava Thomas and Stacey Ann Williams run 51.88 and 52.33 for second and third, respectively. American Alexis Holmes won in a meet record 50.80. Another Jamaican, Andrenette Knight, ran 52.68 in fourth.

In the field, 2019 World champion and national record holder, Tajay Gayle, opened his season with 8.15m to finish second in the men’s long jump. Gayle, who also took bronze at the World Championships in Budapest last year, also produced a 7.99m effort in his series on Friday.

The event was won by Florida Senior Malcolm Clemons with 8.17m while Bahamian Laquan Nairn produced 7.93m for third.

Amoi Brown uncorked a lifetime best time to win the 60m hurdles at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Friday when Natasha Morrison and Tina Clayton were second and third, respectively, in the 60m Open.

Sada Williams was also third in the 300m Open at the meet where rising star Briana Lyston, a freshman at LSU, ran a personal best over 60m.

Brown, who trains with MVP Track Club, won her preliminary round heat in a personal best 8.13 but had more in store for the final where she blazed to victory in a new lifetime best time of 8.04.

She was comfortably clear of Great Britain’s Cindy Sember, who produced a season best 8.11 for second place just ahead of Florida’s Imani Carothers who ran a lifetime best of 8.15.

Meantime, in the 60m dash, Morrison clocked 7.30 to finish behind Jayda Baylark, who replicated her time of 7.23 from the preliminary round.

Clayton, the World U20 100m champion, in her indoor debut, ran 7.24 in the preliminary round but was unable to replicate or go faster, finishing third in 7.38.

Sada Williams, the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medalist ran 37.13 while finishing third in the 300m. She trailed Great Britain’s Nicole Yeargin, who produced a personal best 36.80 for second place behind the USA’s Alexis Holmes, who also ran a personal best 36.71.

Four-hundred-metre hurdlers Janieve Russell and Andranette Knight ran 37.30 and 37.37 for fourth and fifth, respectively.

Lyston, meanwhile, ran a personal best 7.29 to win her heat and qualify for the preliminary round of the 60m dash. However, she took no further part in the competition.

Hydel track coach Corey Bennett has expressed pride in being involved in the development of an ambitious and "hard-working” Charokee Young.

The former Jamaican high-school star was a key member of Texas A&M’s record-breaking 4x400m relay team that set new standards at the Tyson Invitational in Arkansas last Saturday.

The 20-year-old Young ran a third-leg split of 51.12 as Texas A&M set an all-time collegiate record of 3:26.27.

The incredible time makes them the fourth-fastest women’s 4x400m relay team and is the ninth-fastest in history.

In addition to being a season-best run, the time broke the meet record of 3:27.94 set by Texas in 2016 as well as the facility record of 3:27.66 set by Texas in 2003.

Texas was more than six-seconds behind in second place with their season-best time of 3:32.64. Florida State University also ran a season-best of 3:34.02 for third.

The team of Young, Athing Mu, the U20 indoor 400m world record holder; Syaira Richardson and Jania Martin, will now go down in history as one of the greatest ever in school history. Only Mu’s split of 50.27 was faster than Young’s as Martin opened with 53.04. Richardson, who handed over to the Jamaican, split 51.86 on the second leg.

“3.26 indoor is such a special run, even outdoors, it’s a great run and to have the second-fastest split of 51.1 on such a special team. It’s really a blessing to see that you had something to do with her development,’ said Bennett.

“She is in an excellent programme at Texas A&M and I am so happy that we actually chose that school for her.”

Bennett believes her experience at Hydel has prepared Young for what she has been accomplishing since she enrolled at Texas A&M.

“She is going well. She is improving every weekend. She was also part of several record-breaking Hydel teams at the Penn Relays so she is used to being on several good 4x400m teams,” he said.

Young has thrived at Texas A&M ever since she arrived there two seasons ago after winning the finals of the 800m at the ISSA Boys and Girls Championships in Kingston in March 2019.

The then Hydel star clocked 2:06.02 to win gold ahead of the talented duo of Shaquena Foote and Abigail Schaaffe, who were second and third, respectively.

In her first season at A&M, she ran 2:05.80 over 800m indoors. She subsequently dropped down to the 400m and so far this season has run a personal best 51.93 on February 6.

Bennett said while he was disappointed that she has dropped the 800m he sees where it has been beneficial to Young’s development.

“It’s paying off and I am sure that her coaches and her handlers right now are preparing her looking at getting her ready for trials this year. She will do well at trials as long as she remains healthy,” Bennett said while revealing Young’s ultimate ambition.

“Charokee will achieve through hard work and she is not afraid to work hard to achieve what she wants. She wants to make an Olympic team or World Champs team and she will stop at nothing (to achieve her goal).

Jamaica’s Kemba Nelson, a junior at the University of Oregon won the 60m dash at the Tyson Invitational held at the Randal Tyson Track Centre in Fayetteville, Arkansas earlier this evening.