Jamaican track and field athletes delivered exceptional performances across multiple collegiate indoor championships in the United States this weekend, headlined by a record-breaking achievement from Northwestern State University’s Rushana Dwyer. At the Southland Conference Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Dwyer shattered the women’s 400m meet record with a blistering time of 52.88 seconds, eclipsing the previous mark of 52.97 seconds set by teammate Maygan Shaw just one year prior.
Meanwhile, at the prestigious SEC Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, Jamaican competitors made their presence felt in the jumping events. Texas A&M’s Machaeda Linton matched her seasonal best with a 6.51m leap in the women’s long jump, securing second place behind teammate Morgan Davis. Louisiana State University’s Jordan Turner mirrored this accomplishment in the men’s competition, capturing silver with an impressive 8.10m jump.
The ACC Indoor Championships in Boston witnessed another standout Jamaican performance as Clemson University’s Brandon Pottinger, the World Athletics Under-20 high jump champion, cleared a personal best 2.14m to claim second place in the men’s high jump. Notably, Pottinger achieved the same height as his Clemson teammate and event winner Shyhiem Scotland.
Sprint prospects also emerged as University of Florida’s Gabrielle Matthews and University of Texas’ Carleta Bernard both advanced to the women’s 200m final with personal best times of 22.87 and 22.97 seconds respectively, positioning themselves as contenders in Saturday’s championship race.