Trinidad & Tobago’s Eric Harrison Jr and Antigua & Barbuda’s Joella Lloyd took home wins in the men’s and women’s 60m, respectively, on day one at the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson University in South Carolina on Friday.

Harrison Jr, 24, produced a personal best of 6.59 to win the men’s event ahead of Kasaun James (6.61) and Tennessee Sophomore T’Mars McCallum (6.63).

The American-born Harrison Jr’s previous personal best was 6.67 done in January 2022. That year also saw Harrison Jr claim the 100m title at T&T’s National Championships with a personal best 10.08 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.

The women’s equivalent saw Antiguan Olympian and Tennessee Senior Joella Lloyd win in a season’s best 7.27, just ahead of American Maia McCoy (7.29) in second and Kentucky Junior Victoria Perrow (7.31).

In the field, Jamaican Florida State Sophomore Jordan Turner produced 7.90m for second in the men’s long jump behind schoolmate Jeremiah Davis’ season’s best and facility record 8.20m. American Cameron Crump was third with 7.88m.

Jamaica will send a 19-member field-events heavy team to the 2023 CAC Games to be held in San Salvador from June 23 to July 8.

Orville Byfield has been appointed head coach and will have Dwayne Jarrett, Michael Vassell and Grace Bourah as his support staff that will marshal the squad that mainly features US-based collegiate field-event athletes.

The 13-member men’s team includes, hammer thrower Daniel Cope, long jumper Jordan Turner, triple jumpers O’Brien Wasome and Owayne Owens as well as high jumper Raymond Richards and javelin thrower Elvis Graham.

 Giano Roberts and Odario Phillips will compete in the 110m Hurdles while Jevaughn White is the lone representative in the 100m. Rajay Hamilton and Tarees Rhoden are down to contest the 800m and Troy White is set to take on the 400m hurdles. Zidane Brown will participate in the 400m.

Among the women, Adrienne Adams and Marie Forbes will contest the discus throw while Danielle Sloley competes in the Shot Put.

Erica Belvit and Forbes will contest the Hammer Throw.

Lashanna Graham has double duty in the 400m and 400m hurdles while Yanique Dayle will challenge for medals in the 100m and 200m.

The delegation is also comprised of a support team that includes team manager Brian Smith, assistant manager Marva Samuels, physiotherapists Dionne Bennett, Kamla Forbes and Rockecia Wynter.

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.

 

Shiann Salmon, Jordan Turner and Anthaya Charlton were among the winners on day one of the 2023 Michael Johnson Invitational held at the Clyde Hart Stadium in Texas on Friday.

Adidas’ Salmon, silver medallist at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, produced 57.30 to win the Women’s 400m hurdles. Texas Tech’s Simone Watkins ran a personal best 59.54 in second while Texas A&M University-Commerce’s Naomi Ndukwe ran 59.92, also a personal best, in third.

Salmon’s Adidas counterpart, Ashanti Moore, produced a personal best 22.62 for third in the Women’s 200m behind Adidas’ Anavia Battle (22.58) and World Championship finalist Abby Steiner’s stadium record 22.30. On day two, Moore ran a season's best 11.12 to win the 100m ahead of Puma's Steiner (11.19) and Kentucky's Karimah Davis (11.32).

On Saturday, Salmon ran 52.04 for second in the 400m behind Baylor’s Imaobong Nse Uko who ran 51.66 for victory. Northwestern State’s Sanaria Butler ran 52.19 for third.

Turner, the 20-year-old Jamaican Kentucky freshman, continued his solid form this season with 7.80m to win the Men’s long jump ahead of another Jamaican, Nebraska sophomore Kavian Kerr, who jumped 7.70m. Northwestern State’s Andrew Gilreath was third with 7.45m.

Turner’s Kentucky teammate, Bahamian freshman Anthaya Charlton, took first place in the Women’s equivalent with 6.39m ahead of Iowa’s Tiona Tobias and Ashley McElmurry, who both produced a best jump of 6.25m.

Also on Saturday, Texas Tech’s Demisha Roswell ran 12.84 for second in the 100m hurdles behind collegiate record holder, Masai Russell of Kentucky, who ran a stadium record 12.50 for the win. Adidas’s Sharika Nelvis ran 13.01 for third.

With the 2021 Rugby League World Cup being postponed until late next year, Jamaica’s Reggae Warriors are set to play two internationals next month as the Jamaica Rugby League (JRL) intends to make the extra year count.

Jamaica’s Rugby League team is set to face Greece in October just ahead of the start of the Rugby League World Cup later this year.

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