Jamaican Texas sophomore Dejanea Oakley claimed her maiden Big 12 Outdoor title with gold in the women’s 200m at the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium in Waco, Texas on Saturday.

Oakley, who was the fastest qualifier from Thursday’s heats with 23.00, won comfortably on Saturday with a personal best 22.60, bettering her previous mark of 22.73 done at the Texas Invitational on April 26 this year.

TCU’s Iyana Gray was second in 22.81 while Texas’s Kenondra Davis was third in 22.82, just ahead of teammate Kevona Davis who ran 22.84 in fourth.

Kevon Davis went one better in the 100m with 11.32 to finish behind TCU’s Gray (11.24) and Texas Tech’s Rosemary Chukwuma (11.12).

Jamaican Baylor University senior Demar Francis was also a standout performer on Saturday.

First, he ran 45.44 to win the 400m title ahead of Oklahoma’s Richard Johnson (45.45) and Texas’s Logan Popelka (45.62) before returning to get third in the 200m final with a personal best 20.38.

Houston’s Shaun Maswanganyi won that race in 20.10 followed by Texas’s Nolton Shelvin (20.22).

Francis was also a part of Baylor’s 4x400m quartet who ran 3:03.49 to finish as runners-up to Texas Tech (3:03.09). Jamaican Shaemar Uter was a member of Texas Tech’s winning team.

Jamaican Houston senior Kelly-Ann Beckford ran 2:01.33 for second in the women’s 800m behind Oklahoma State’s Gabija Galvydyte (2:00.42). Texas’s Olivia Howell was third in 2:02.23.

The men’s 110m hurdles saw Bahamian Texas Tech sophomore Antoine Andrews run 13.63 for second behind Houston’s De’Vion Wilson who did 13.35 to take top spot. Texas Tech’s DeVontae Ford ran 13.67 in third.

In the field, Texas junior and Jamaican World Championship representative Ackelia Smith produced 13.92m to win the women’s triple jump ahead of Texas Tech’s Anne-Suzanna Fosther-Katta (13.62m) and Baylor’s Koi Johnson (13.44m).

Texas’s Trinidadian junior Kelsey Daniel produced 16.04m for silver in the men’s triple jump behind Oklahoma’s Brandon Green Jr who did 16.52m. Texas Tech’s Stacy Brown Jr jumped 15.78m for third.

At the end of proceedings, Texas were crowned champions of both the men’s and women’s categories.

Texas scored 134 points in the men’s section, 19 ahead of Texas Tech in second and 54 ahead of Iowa State in third.

The women were more dominant, securing 150 points compared to 98 from BYU and 96.5 from Texas Tech.

She is one of the fastest women in the world in the 100m hurdles but Ackera Nugent, the second-fastest Jamaican woman on the planet this year, is not considering turning professional just yet. According to the reigning World U20 champion, getting an education is among her goals and she still has unfinished business as a collegiate athlete.

Nugent, 20, who completed her sophomore year at Baylor University in May, ran a personal best of 12.45 at the Big 12 Championships in Lubbock, Texas on May 15.

The time, which she shares with Jamaican champion Britany Anderson, is the sixth-fastest in the world this year. Only Texas Tech’s Demisha Roswell’, who ran 12.44 to beat Nugent at the Big 12 Championships has run faster.

Notwithstanding, what is a significant accomplishment, Nugent is focused on completing her education at Baylor where she is majoring in Psychology.

“Basically, having an education with track is very important, so if I decide to go pro, I’d still be going to school but I have only ran 12.4 once and I haven’t run healthy, so I have decided that I should come back to college and focus on trying to get an outdoor NCAA title,” said the 2021 NCAA National Indoor champion.

Two years of college, she said, have been a great learning experience for her.

“It has taught me a lot. That I need to expect the unexpected, that you will have your highs and lows but you have to get up and do what you have to do, especially not having your family around you, your support system and when you have to put your trust in a coaching staff, a medical team,” she explained.

“It has helped me grow so much. I am more mature and Baylor is helping me grow into the amazing athlete that I think I am today.”

Nugent shut down her season in June after tearing her plantar fascia in regionals earlier this year. The decision saw her miss the NCAA Division I nationals in Oregon and also the Jamaica National Championships at the end of June.