FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas – Brianna Lyston, the 19-year-old sophomore from Louisiana State University (LSU), sent a clear signal of her potential for the upcoming season as she clocked a personal best and achieved the collegiate-leading time of 7.07 seconds to secure victory in the women’s 60 meters at the Razorback Invitational held at the Tyson Center on Saturday.
Entering the competition with a previous personal best of 7.29 seconds from the previous season, Lyston demonstrated her prowess with ease, running 7.14 seconds in the qualifying round. In the final, she further improved her performance, achieving a remarkable 7.07 seconds to comfortably clinch the victory.
Her exceptional time ranks as the third-fastest in the world this year and is the fourth-fastest in collegiate history. Moreover, it equals the LSU school record established by Aleia Hobbs back in 2018.
The men’s equivalent event witnessed a competitive display, with USC’s Travis Williams posting a time of 6.63 seconds for third place, trailing LSU’s Myles Thomas (6.62) and USC’s JC Stevenson (6.61).
Women’s open 400 meters
Jamaican World Championship 4x400m relay medalist Stacey Ann Williams showcased her talent by winning the women’s open 400 meters in 51.86 seconds, ahead of Americans Kendall Ellis (52.12) and Bailey Lear (52.49). Andrenette Knight, a World Championships 400m hurdles finalist, secured fifth place with a time of 52.53.
In the college women’s 400 meters, Arkansas Junior Nickisha Pryce finished third in 51.58 seconds, trailing her schoolmate Amber Anning (50.56) and Georgia’s Aaliyah Butler (51.34). Pryce, who reached the semi-finals of the 400m at the World Championships in Budapest the previous August, continued to demonstrate her competitive spirit.
The college men’s 400 meters saw Florida Senior Jevaughn Powell claim third place in 46.28 seconds, with USC’s William Jones (45.24) and Texas A&M’s Auhmad Robinson (46.15) securing the top spots.
Ackera Nugent, the 2023 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor champion and a World Championship 100m hurdles finalist, finished second in the women’s open 60m hurdles with a time of 7.94 seconds. The event was won by the USA’s Tia Jones in 7.85 seconds, while Christina Clemons secured third place with a time of 7.95 seconds.
Field events
Jamaica’s Phillip Lemonious, the NCAA Outdoor champion from the University of Arkansas, posted a time of 7.68 seconds for third place in the men’s 60m hurdles. Interestingly, the top two finishers in the race, Texas A&M’s Connor Schulman and Jaqualon Scott, also recorded times of 7.68 seconds, with their times rounded to the thousandths at 7.672, 7.673, and 7.675.
St. Vincent’s Shafiqua Maloney impressed with a time of 2:02.29 in the women’s 800 meters, securing the top spot ahead of Sanu Jallow of Arkansas (2:02.60) and Gabija Galvydyte (2:02.82).
In the field events, Arkansas high jumper Romaine Beckford, the reigning NCAA Indoor and Outdoor champion, achieved a new indoor career best by clearing 2.27 meters, placing him at No. 4 on the UA all-time list and No. 3 on the Jamaican all-time indoor list.
Beckford aimed for the Olympic standard of 2.33 meters in his subsequent attempts but narrowly missed clearing it. Mississippi State’s Sherman Hawkins and USC’s Elias Gerald both cleared 2.17 meters, securing second and third place, respectively.
In the men’s long jump, Jamaican athlete Nikaoli Williams, representing Oklahoma Junior, achieved a distance of 7.86 meters for second place, behind Florida’s Malcolm Clemons (8.06 meters). Caleb Foster, also from Florida, secured third place with a jump of 7.68 meters.
