Ackelia Smith wins NCAA long jump title
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaica’s Ackelia Smith of the University of Texas pulled off a remarkable win in the women’s long jump at the NCAA Division 1 outdoor track and field championships at the Mike A Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas on Thursday.
Smith, who fouled her first two attempts, jumped 6.88m (-0.2m/s) in the final round to beat Stanford University freshman Alyssa Jones with 6.86m (0.1m/s).
Florida’s Jasmine Moore placed third with 6.66m (0.3m/s), her first loss of the season.
Smith, who competed in both the long and triple jumps at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games last year, just got into the final with a 6.35m (-1.0m/s) effort in the third round, improved with every round with 6.68m (0.1m/s) in the fourth round, 6.81m (-0.3m/s) before her winning jump under pressure.
Meanwhile, Kevona Davis of the University of Texas qualified for both the 100m- 11.04 seconds and the 200m- 22.33 seconds finals to be held Saturday after anchoring her 4x100m relay team to a College Record 41.55 seconds.
Akera Nugent of the University of Arkansas qualified for Saturday’s 100m hurdles final and her teammate Nickisha Pryce also advanced in the 400m.