Brandon Falconer of Mount St Mary’s University and Jemar Ferguson of the University of Louisiana made history last weekend by becoming the first Jamaican men to qualify for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the javelin throw.

Both athletes secured their places at the NCAA East Regional Championships hosted by the University of Kentucky. Falconer, a former student of St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), finished ninth with a throw of 67.28m, while Ferguson, who attended Jamaica College, placed 10th with a personal best of 66.29m.

Falconer, a two-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) champion, has a personal best of 69.02m, the second-best mark at Mount St Mary’s. He is also the first “Mountaineer” athlete to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships since Brian Sagendorf in 2021. Sagendorf, who also competed in the javelin, set the programme record of 71.26m that year.

Meanwhile, Ferguson improved on his previous personal best of 66.15m, which he established at the Florida Relays earlier this season. His mark of 66.29m ranks as the third-best throw in University of Louisiana history.

He was also second at the Sunbelt Championships earlier this month after placing ninth a year ago.