Shot-putter Barrett Jr registers best mark on US collegiate circuit
Former national junior representatives Warren Barrett Jr of Liberty University and Daniella Anglin of South Dakota University set personal best marks and programme records and moved into the top three on the Jamaican all-time indoors list as the NCAA indoor track and field season got underway last weekend.
There were also wins for Jamaicans Daniel Cope, Danielle Sloley and Marie Forbes of Clemson as well as Aalliyah Francis of the University of South Carolina.
Barrett, who is coming off a wrist surgery at the end of the last outdoors season, won the men’s shot put, the Liberty Kickoff, on Friday with 19.29m, beating fellow Jamaican Kyle Mitchell’s 18.16m by over a metre.
The mark also broke his previous personal best 17.91m set earlier this year in February and took him up to third best ever by a Jamaican only behind national indoor record 20.18m set in February by Rajindra Campbell and Roje Stona’s 19.35m, also set in February this year.
Anglin, a former medallist at the ISSA Champs, Carifta Games and Penn Relays, cleared 1.86m to win the women’s high jump at the South Dakota State University Holiday Open, breaking the programme record 1.82m set in 2014 by Megan Glisar.
Her mark also moved her from third on the Jamaican list, to second past Kimberly Williamson’s 1.82m and behind Lamara Distin’s national indoor record 1.92m.
Also at the South Dakota State event, University of South Dakota freshman Mark-Anthony Daley, a member of the Jamaican men’s 4x100m relay team at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in August, opened his college career with a win, taking the men’s 200m in 21.78 seconds, the eighth best mark in South Dakota’s history.
At the Liberty University meet, former St Jago High sprinter Kayla Bonnick of the University of Virginia won the women’s 60m with 7.54 seconds and was third in the women’s 200m in 25.08 seconds.
Cope of Clemson University won the men’s weight throw at the Clemson Opener in South Carolina with an NCAA leading 21.02m.
Forbes took the women’s weight throw event with 20.51m, just off her life time best 20.69m, also an early NCAA leading mark while Sloley won the women’s shot put with 15.09m and Shantae Foreman took the women’s long jump with 5.86m.
Kiara Grant, who transferred from Norfolk State to Clemson last year, took the women’s 60m with a personal best 7.29 seconds, ninth best all time for the “Tigers” while Okeera Myrie, also of Clemson was seventh in 7.60 seconds.
Francis, the former Rusea’s High ‘Champs’ double gold medallist, won the women’s 300m in 36.83 seconds, while competing for the University of South Carolina.
Former Edwin Allen 400m hurdles star Lashanna Graham of Clemson was fourth in 39.63 seconds, Grant was seventh in 39.90 seconds and Foreman 11th in 40.75 seconds.
Graham was the top college runner in the women’s 600m, placing second overall with 1:34.33 seconds.
— Paul Reid