Former national junior representatives Kemba Nelson of the University of Oregon and Leonardo Ledgister of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) set new personal bests on Saturday while winning their respective events at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) track and field meets.

Nelson’s 11.18 seconds (1.0m/s) was good enough to win the women’s 100m at the West Coast Classic at the University of Arizona and Ledgister’s college personal best 50.59 seconds carried him to the men’s 400m hurdles title at the Roadrunner Invitational at the University of Texas-San Antonio Park West Athletics Complex.

Their times make them the second-fastest Jamaicans in their respective events so far.

After her exploits in the indoor season where she broke the NCAA collegiate record, running 7.05 seconds, Nelson picked up where she left off, lowering her personal best in both the 100m and 200m on Saturday.

Her time in the 100m smashed the 11.49 seconds set in 2019 and is the seventh best all time at the University of Oregon and later on she ran 23.03 (0.4m/s) for second in the 200m, beaten to the tape by Shae Anderson of UCLA who ran 22.96 seconds.

Ledgister, formerly of St Elizabeth Technical who ran three personal best times at the World Athletics Under-20 championships in Finland in 2018, broke the school record 51.13 seconds set in 2015 by compatriot Kemar Mowatt at the Southland Conference Championships.

Former St Jago runner Timor Barrett, also of TAMU-CC, was third in 51.53 seconds and also placed fifth in the 110m hurdles in a wind-aided 14.28 seconds (5.3m/s).

Also on Saturday at the University of South Carolina Open, former Edwin Allen High runner Rayan Holmes of Clemson University, ran a personal best 50.60 seconds to improve on the weekold 50.80 seconds he ran at the Tennessee Relays and is the eighth-fastest performer in Clemson history.

There were also wins for Jevaughn Powell and Sean Bailey, both of the University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) in the men’s 200m and 400m, respectively, at the Texas-San Antonio meet.

Powell ran a wind-aided 20.92 seconds (4.5m/s) to win the 200m ahead of team mate Chevannie Hanson- 21.08 (2.8m/s) while Bailey produced 48.14 seconds to win the quarter-mile race.

Former Edwin Allen runner Danae McFarlane was second in the women’s 100m in a wind-aided 11.60 seconds (3.9m/s); Keenan Lawrence of TAMU CC was fifth in the men’s 800m in one minute 55.39 seconds while former CARIFTA Games medallist Sah-jay Stevens of UTEP was sixth in the women’s shot put with 14.00m.

Also at the West Coast meet on Saturday, Amanda Carty of Arizona State was third in the women’s long jump with a wind-aided 6.33m (3.0m/s).

— Paul Reid