Ackera Nugent, Jamaica’s World Under 20 100 metre hurdles champion, sped to victory in the 60m hurdles on January 22 at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational in 7.90 seconds. That’s a personal best for Nugent and makes her the third fastest hurdler in the world thus far, for 2022.

Nugent, who won the NCAA title for Baylor University in the same discipline a year ago, won by the proverbial country mile as the runner-up clocked 8.30 seconds at the event staged in Iowa City, Iowa. The performance places the former Excelsior High School standout ahead of her 2021 schedule. Last year in February, she sped a world under 20 record 7.91 seconds in February to win the Big 12 Conference title and then in March, she struck gold at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 7.92 seconds.

A week earlier, fellow Jamaican Lamara Distin cleared 1.88m in the high jump at the Nelson Invitational at Texas A&M University. That mark has the 2021 NCAA Outdoor runner-up at number 3 in the world.

Nugent and Distin aren’t the only Jamaicans on the US college circuit currently in the yearly top 10. Shakwon Cole cranked up a last round leap of 7.80m in the long jump at the Red Raider Open in Lubbock, Texas to place second to US Olympic and World Championship finalist Steffin McCarter. Coke, a 2018 World Under 20 finalist while at Kingston College, now stands at 9th in the world this season. Coke won the National Junior College long jump both indoors and outdoors last year for Barton County Community College.

Elsewhere, Clemson University throwers Roje Stona and Daniel Cope continued their run of good results at the Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Virginia. Though he placed second in the discus at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships, Stona has been making strides in the shot put this season. In Blacksburg, he pressed the ball out to a personal best of 19.14m and moved up to number 6 on the all-time Jamaican indoor performance list.

Cope followed up his recent Clemson weight throw record of 20.99m with another 20m launch – 20.43m. That was the Clemson record before Cope arrived at the institution.

Notably, 2018 World under 20 long jump bronze medal winner Wayne Pinnock did a cameo in the men’s 60m preliminary round, clocking 6.67 seconds.

Other Jamaican winners on the weekend include Distin and the Minnesota University pair of Abigail Schaaffe and Devia Brown. Distin, winner of the high jump at 1.80m at the Aggie Invitational in Texas, Schaaffe took the 400m at the Cyclone Open in 55.13 seconds and Brown, a 2016 World Under 20 discus finalist, took the shot put with a mark of 17.08m.