World Athletics Championships silver medallist Wayne Pinnock will be seeking his second NCAA Division 1 outdoor men’s long jump championships at the University of Oregon in Eugene on Wednesday.

Pinnock, who was second to his University of Arkansas teammate Carey McLeod last year, had won the title two years ago when he attended the University of Tennessee and he is one of several Jamaicans who will be representing their respective universities over the next few days.

The competition format will see the men and women competing on alternate days, with the women starting on Thursday and ending on Saturday while the men will end their competition on Friday.

On Thursday, Brianna Lyston, the indoor 60m champion of Louisiana State, will start her quest for her first outdoor individual title when she takes part in the preliminaries of the women’s 100m and 200m.

Nickisha Pryce of the University of Arkansas will also contest the first round of the women’s 400m along with Shaquena Foote of San Diego State and Oneika McAnuff of the University of Kentucky.

Pinnock, who is the world leader with the 8.40m, won the NCAA indoors in March. He will start favourite after failing to win all but one competition this year when he was second in the NCAA West Regionals, a competition where he only needed to qualify.

Pinnock, who ended the 2023 season as the world leader, won the Southeastern Conference indoor and outdoor double, taking the latter with an outdoor best 8.09m.

University of Oklahoma’s Nikaoli Williams, who was sixth at last season’s Outdoor championships and third in the Big12 Conference outdoors this year, is also down for the long jump.

Phillip Lemonious of the University of Arkansas will hope to defend his 110m hurdles title and will be accompanied by Jerome Campbell of the University of Northern Colorado, and Jordani Woodley of the University of Texas-El Paso.

University of Iowa’s Rivaldo Marshall, who won the NCAA indoor 800m title, will be seeking the double despite only finishing fourth in the Big10 Conference outdoors.

Clemson University’s Tarees Rhoden, who was fourth at the NCAA Indoors and who won the Atlantic Coast Conference double, and Kimar Farquharson of Texas A&M University are also expected to make it to the final.

JeVaughn Powell of the University of Florida will hope to improve on his seventh place in the men’s 400m last year while his teammate Reheem Hayles and Shaemar Uter of Texas Tech, a finalist at the indoor nationals, will also hope to get past the first round.

Georgia freshman Jehlani Gordon is the only Jamaican in the men’s 100m while Shevioe Reid, the University of South Florida record holder, will contest the men’s 200m.

Devontie Archer of South Florida and Javed Jones of the University of Louisiana will line up in the men’s 400m hurdles while Courtney Lawrence of Clemson and Brandon Lloyd of Arizona State will take part in the shot put.