FORMER St Jago High star Jade-Ann Dawkins won the women’s triple jump on Friday’s opening day of the Thane Baker Invitational at Kansas State University with a meet record 13.31m.

Dawkins, who had an outstanding final campaign in high school last season, winning at the ISSA Girls’ Championships and claiming a third-straight title at the Penn Relays, has the eighth-best mark in the world so far this season. It was her first time officially competing indoors.

The Carifta Games double gold medallist broke the meet record 12.83m set last year by Iowa Western’s Mercy Honesty. Another Jamaican, Aaliyah Lindsay of Kansas State, was third with 13.01m.

Also on Friday, former Jamaican junior representative Kobe Lawrence improved his University of Oregon men’s shot put record after he threw 19.81m for victory.

The mark was also a meet and facility record and is the third best in the NCAA so far this season.

Lawrence improved his own personal best, which was 19.21m set a year ago at Arkansas. He broke the meet record 17.20m that was set last year by another Jamaican — Yekini Bowen, then of Iowa Western — and the facility record 19.22m set 51 years ago by Tucker Smith of the University of Oklahoma.

Annaleise Taylor of the University of Oregon was second in the women’s 60m hurdles, running 8.63 seconds.

Former St Catherine High athlete Rohana Sudlow, competing unattached, was second in the women’s long jump with 6.14m, while former St Elizabeth Technical ISSA Championships finalist Richelle Stanley of the University of Kansas jumped 5.58m.

Shanniqua Williams of Kansas State finished second in the women’s high jump, clearing 1.78m, while Jhavor Bennet was fourth in the men’s triple jump with an indoor personal best 15.73m.

Former Cornwall College thrower David Beadle of NAIA school Hastings University threw a personal best 17.84m to win the men’s weight throw at the Scott Nicely Invite held in Crete, Nebraska.

Rhiana Phipps of University of Nebraska won the women’s triple jump at the Graduate Classic with 12.08m.

Cindy Rose of Indian Hills Community College was third in the women’s 600m in 1:35.08 minutes, after she was second in the 1000m on Friday in a personal best 2:56.50.

— Paul A Reid