Tag: Romaine Beckford

Romaine Beckford wins high jump title for Arkansas

Someone showed up to Eugene, anyway.

Romaine Beckford did it again.

The Arkansas high jumper won the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships high jump event Friday, his fourth straight NCAA title in the event.

Beckford, a senior in his first season at Arkansas, jumped 7 feet, 5 inches in Eugene, Oregon, to capture the crown. He won the indoors high-jump title over the winter and won both the indoors and outdoors high-jump crowns last year when he was an athlete at South Florida.

By clearing 7-5, Beckford moved to sixth all-time in Arkansas outdoors history. It was also a season best for him, though he came up short of clearing 7-7.75, which is the height needed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.

Arkansas Pine-Bluff athlete Caleb Snowden finished third and Nebraska’s Tyus Wilson was second. They both jumped 7-3.75

Beckford’s win was the highlight of an otherwise lackluster week for the Arkansas men’s track team. They entered the Championships ranked first in the nation, but finished seventh, as Florida won its third straight Outdoors title.

Trio of Razorback jumpers among track & field’s Bowerman watch list

Three Arkansas jumpers have been named to the Bowerman preseason watch list for the nation’s top track & field athlete.

Just four weeks after being named the winner of the 2023 Bowerman award, Arkansas sophomore Jaydon Hibbert now leads a trio of Razorback jumpers on this year’s Bowerman preseason watch list.

The Bowerman is the annual track and field trophy presented to the year’s best collegiate athlete. Similar to football’s Heisman Trophy, it is the sport’s highest achievement.

The list of 10 was released Wednesday and included Hibbert, along with a pair of teammates, senior Romaine Beckford and junior Wayne Pinnock. All three are natives of Jamaica.

Arkansas is the first men’s program to have three athletes on a preseason watch list.

Hibbert was the youngest winner in the award’s 15-year history and the second Razorback to win the award. As an 18-year-old freshman, he claimed a pair of NCAA titles in the triple jump, while producing last year’s world-leading mark with a 58-7.5 (17.87) performance. That mark broke the outdoor collegiate record from 1982, as well as the world U20 record from 1985.

At the indoor national championships, Hibbert needed just one jump of 57-6.5 (17.54) to capture the NCAA title, breaking the collegiate and Arkansas school-record, set by Mike Conley in 1985, as well as the world U20 record and Jamaican national record.

Pinnock, who swept the NCAA long jump titles as a freshman at Tennessee in 2022, won the SEC outdoor title as a Razorback last season, then was runner-up to teammate Carey McLeod at NCAA championships. He also finished second at SEC indoor meet and fourth in the NCAA meet.

Beckford has yet to compete for Arkansas after transferring from South Florida, where he was a double NCAA high jump champion. He set career bests during the 2023 season with a clearance of 7-5.25 (2.27) to win the NCAA Outdoor title and 7-5 (2.26) indoors in winning a conference title.

While at South Florida, Beckford claimed four American Athletic Conference league titles – two indoor and two outdoor – while earning the 2023 AAC Indoor Field Most Outstanding Performance.

The Razorback trio have combined for six titles and 73 points in NCAA Championships the past two years, and each claimed a title at the 2023 Jamaica Championships in their respective events.

Arkansas has now had 12 men named to the watch list all-time, second only to Florida’s 15.

The women’s preseason Bowerman watch list was announced on Tuesday, but did not include any Razorbacks.

Razorbacks track and field lands a 2x NCAA Champion

Romaine Beckford, Double NCAA High Jump Champ, Joins Razorbacks

Former South Florida high jumper, Romaine Beckford, has signed with Arkansas. He will join the Razorback squad for the upcoming 2023-24 season.

Beckford won in the high jump event at the 2023 Jamaica Championships by clearing a height of 7-3.75 (2.23). He will represent Jamaica at the upcoming NACAC U23 Championships in Costa Rica. Additionally, he is currently in a favorable position to qualify for the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

In 2023, Beckford won the NCAA championship title twice for high jump, achieving 7-5.25 (2.27) outdoors and 7-4.25 (2.24) indoors.

He broke South Florida school records with his outdoor performance at the NCAA Championships and indoor performance of 7-5 (2.26) at the American Athletic Conference meet.

During his time at South Plains junior college, Beckford excelled in athletics, winning the 2021 NJCAA Outdoor high jump and competing in discus and javelin events.

He also secured victory in the high jump category at NJCAA Indoor and placed 10th in the heptathlon event, scoring 4,182 points. In addition, he achieved second place in the high jump category at the 2020 NJCAA Indoor event.