Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce and Brianna Lyston recorded personal best performances at the South Eastern Conference (SEC) Outdoor championships at the University of Florida on Saturday.

Pryce of the University of Arkansas lowered her personal best and world leading time in the 400m to 49.32 seconds in winning the event while Lyston of Louisiana State University (LSU) clocked an astounding 10.91 seconds (0.3m/s) in the 100m, third best in the word and 11th best all time by a Jamaican woman.

Pryce lowered her previous best 49.72 seconds set a day earlier in the first round, setting an NCAA record, World Lead and second best ever by a Jamaican woman, tied with two-time World Championships silver medallist Shericka ‘wire wire’ Williams and two hundredth behind national record 49.30 seconds held by Lorraine Fenton since July 2002.

Lyston, who had won the NCAA and SEC Indoor 60m titles in March, became the 23rd Jamaican woman to go below the 11.00 seconds barrier and is also the fourth best in LSU’s storied history.

Lyston was also fourth in the 200m in 22.37 seconds and Pryce seventh in a season’s best 22.67 seconds.

Meanwhile, Clemson University’s Tarees Rhoden ran a personal best 1:45.97 to retain his ACC men’s 800m title in Atlanta, Georgia while Dejanae Oakley of the University of Texas won the Big 12 women’s 200m in a personal best 22.60 seconds (-0.2m/s). Kevona Davis was fourth in a season’s best 22.84 seconds.

Ackelia Smith signalled that she was back to her best in winning the Big 12 women’s triple jump with an NCAA leading 13.92m (0.0m/s), less than 24 hours after she was third in the long jump that was delayed twice by rain and started after 11.00pm.

Gabrielle Matthews lowered her Ole Miss record as she won the SEC women’s 400m hurdles with 55.12 seconds.

-Paul A Reid