Razorback crew competes in International Olympic Trials
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Arkansas will have 13 athletes with ties to the Razorback track and field program competing in the Jamaica National Trials this weekend with action starting Thursday, June 27, and continuing through Sunday, June 30.
In Manchester, England, the UK Athletics Championships will be held on Saturday, June 29, and Sunday, June 30, with Razorback Amber Anning the top seed in the 400m while Cindy Sember, who trains in Fayetteville, is the top seed in the 100m hurdles.
At the Canada Trials in Montreal, Razorback Tiana LoStracco will race in the 800m while alum Leroy Russell is in the men’s 800m field. Razorback Laura Taborda will compete in the Portuguese Championships, which are being held June 29-30.
Six current Razorbacks competing in the Jamaica Trials include Romaine Beckford (High Jump), Phillip Lemonious (110m Hurdles), Wayne Pinnock (Long Jump), Nickisha Pryce (400m), Joanne Reid (400m), and Nia Robinson (Long Jump).
Six Arkansas alums include Janeek Brown (100m Hurdles), Jaydon Hibbert (Long Jump [U20], Triple Jump), Carey McLeod (Long Jump), Omar McLeod (100m, 110m Hurdles), Ackera Nugent (100m Hurdles) and Rojé Stona (Discus). Andrenette Knight, who trains in Fayetteville, will compete in the 400m and 400m hurdles.
Pryce returns to Kingston as the national record holder in the 400m as she became the first collegian and Jamaican sprinter to register a time under 49 seconds with her 48.89 victory in the NCAA Championships. Pryce is the defending 400m champion at the Jamaica Championships when she set a then career best of 50.21 last summer.
Joining Pryce in the 400m is teammate Reid along with professional Knight, who is entered in the 400m and 400m hurdles. Reid posted a 51.80 indoors this season and has an outdoor best of 52.10. Knight produced season best times of 52.02 in the 400 (51.74 indoors), and 54.62 in the hurdles.
Under all-conditions, C. McLeod and Pinnock have the second and third best long jump marks this season at 27-11.5 (8.52) and 27-8.25 (8.44), respectively. Wind legal best marks for the pair include 26-1.75 (7.97) and 27-6.75 (8.40) indoor mark for Pinnock that equaled the indoor national record shared by James Beckford and McLeod.
Hibbert, who will contest the U20 long jump to qualify for the World U20 Championships this summer in Lima, Peru, ranks third in the world for 2024 with a 58-3 (17.75) triple jump mark he set this season in Kingston.
With a pair of NCAA high jump titles this season amid an undefeated campaign, R. Beckford is the top Jamaican in the event with a 7-5 (2.26) best outdoor mark.
Robinson had a season best in the long jump of 21-2 (6.45) along with a windy 21-11.75 (6.70).
Nugent has the second best time among Jamaicans in the 100m hurdles at 12.52 while a 12.46 from Danielle Williams leads the field. Brown produced a season best of 13.03 among three races in Kingston during the month of May.
An Olympic gold medalist in the 110m hurdles in 2016, O. McLeod has entered the 100m along with the hurdles. Recently, McLeod posted a pair of season best hurdle times in 13.29 and 13.25 that rank him just behind the 13.24 by Jamaican 2024 leader Rasheed Broadbell. Lemonious enters the Jamaica Trials with a season best of 13.38.
Stona ranks eighth best in the world this season with a discus mark of 226-6 (69.05) and is second among Jamaicans behind a 228-7 (69.67) for Ralford Mullings.
Anning has a 400m career best of 49.51 from her bronze medal finish at the SEC Championships that tops the UK list this season. Sember is the top British 100m hurdler with a 12.56 from placing fourth at the recent European Championships in Rome.
A time of 2:03.12 ranks LoStracco fifth among Canadians while Leroy Russell ranks eighth with a 1:47.31.
Taborda enters the Portuguese Championships off a pair of career best efforts. First she improved to 9:48.48 in the NCAA semifinal, then crushed that PR with a 9:35.67 in the final to place fifth, while just missing the UA record of 9:34.76 set by Logan Jolly in 2022.
Arkansas Entries | Schedule
Jamacia National Trials
Thursday, June 27
| 9:00 am | M 100m qualifying prelims | Omar McLeod |
| 5:02 pm | W Long Jump | Nia Robinson |
| 5:50 pm | W 400m Hurdles prelims | Andrenette Knight |
| 8:45 pm | M 100m prelims | (Omar McLeod) |
Friday, June 28
| 4:01 pm | M U20 Long Jump | Jaydon Hibbert |
| 6:40 pm | M High Jump | Romaine Beckford |
| 6:55 pm | W 400m Hurdles Final | (Andrenette Knight) |
| 8:30 pm | M 100m Semifinal | (Omar McLeod) |
| 9:58 pm | M 100m Final | (Omar McLeod) |
Saturday, June 29
| 5:45 pm | M Long Jump | Wayne Pinnock, Carey McLeod |
| 5:50 pm | M Discus | Rojé Stona |
| 6:25 pm | W 100m Hurdles prelims | Ackera Nugent, Janeek Brown |
| 7:00 pm | M 110m Hurdles prelims | Phillip Lemonious, Omar McLeod |
| 7:30 pm | W 400m prelims | Nickisha Pryce, Joanne Reid, Andrenette Knight |
Sunday, June 30
| 5:20 pm | W 400m Final | (Nickisha Pryce, Joanne Reid, Andrenette Knight) |
| 6:00 pm | M U20 Triple Jump | Jaydon Hibbert |
| 6:12 pm | W 100m Hurdles Final | (Ackera Nugent, Janeek Brown) |
| 6:34 pm | M 110m Hurdles Final | (Phillip Lemonious, Omar McLeod) |
UK Athletics Championships | Manchester (UK times listed)
Saturday, June 29
| 3:25 pm | W 100m Hurdles prelims | Cindy Sember |
| 3:55 pm | W 400m prelims | Amber Anning |
| 5:58 pm | W 100m Hurdles Final | (Cindy Sember) |
Sunday, June 30
| 4:05 pm | W 400m Final | (Amber Anning) |
Canada Trials | Montreal (CT times listed)
Friday, June 28
| 3:14 pm | W 800m prelims | Tiana LoStracco |
| 3:28 pm | M 800m prelims | Leroy Russell |
Saturday, June 29
| 6:01 pm | W 800m Final | (Tiana LoStracco) |
| 6:08 pm | M 800m Final | (Leroy Russell) |