Owens wins ACC triple jump title
Former Cornwall College and Jamaican junior representative Owayne Owens, won his second Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) men’s outdoor triple jump title on Friday when he equaled his lifetime best 16.61m (0.7m/s) at North Carolina State.
A day after he fouled out of the men’s long jump for the second straight year, Owens, who was second in the triple jump in 2022 after he won in 2021, took the title with just two legal jumps.
Owens who is a fifth year senior and end his NCAA career this year, beat Russell Robinson of the University of Miami by a scant one centimeter as he also equaled the facility’s record with his effort.
Courtney Lawrence of Kennesaw State, also a senior, won the men’s shot put at the Atlantic Sun Outdoor with 19.44m, beating his former Petersfield High teammate Kevin Nedrick of Liberty University- 18.87m.
Former Excelsior High thrower Kimberly Lugg of Lindenwood University, won the Ohio Valley Conference women’s discus throw title with 49.21m, coming in the final throw.
Lugg and her head coach, former Manning’s School and St Hugh’s High thrower Nadia Alexander-Pompey, were both coached by Michael Vassell.
Meanwhile, also at the ACC Championships, Daniel Cope of Clemson set a personal best and school record 64.67m to place third in the men’s hammer throw on Thursday.
Shantae Foreman of Clemson was fifth in the women’s long jump with a college best 6.12m (-0.2m/s), while her teammate Danielle Sloley was 10th in the women’s shot put with 15.82m.
At the South-eastern Conference Championships, Roje Stona of the University of Arkansas was fifth in the men’s shot put with 19.50m. Former Rusea’s High thrower Aliesha Shaw of Kent State was second in the women’s shot put at the Mid-American Conference throwing 15.11m, while Santornya Rolliford of the University of Miami (Ohio) was eighth with 13.59m.
At the American Athletics Conference in South Florida, NCAA indoor high jump champion Romaine Beckford, was third in the men’s javelin with 59.38m.
-Paul Reid