LaFond Leads the Way in Track and Field Weekend Recap

Domica's LaFond wins triple jump over David, Ebwea-Excel in Florida.

Ever heard of the Commonwealth of Dominica? No, not the Dominican Republic. The Commonwealth of Dominica is a small island where the most popular sport is cricket. Well, this tiny island has a giant talent in pro jumper, Thea LaFond.

LaFond set a meet and personal record at the Florida Relays, March 30, at a mark of 14.38. Her previous top mark came in 2017 when she jumped 14.20. LaFond was an Olympian in 2016 and she made history last year at the 2018 Commonwealth Games when she was the first athlete from her country to medal, winning a bronze medal in triple jump action. She entered the weekend ranked 33rd worldwide in this event.

International talent dominated the triple jump at Florida Relays. Coming in at second was Yanis David of Florida. The French talent walked into the competition as the 28th ranked triple jumper in the world. She cranked out one of the top jumps of her career at 14.05. David has had a dominant 2019 winning both the triple and long jump at the SEC Indoor Championships. She also won the national indoor title in triple jump, March 9, in Birmingham, Alabama.

The 60th ranked triple jumper worldwide, Marie-Josée Ebwea-Excel Bile of Kentucky placed third at 13.68. Also of France, this jumper finished as runner-up to David at the SEC Indoor Championship and third at the national meet.

The top American finisher was pro Christina Epps at 13.53. Epps has made her mark in the past with triple jump national championships at the indoor meet in 2016 and outdoor meet in 2015.

Gruver claims NCAA all-time pole vault record.

Washington senior Olivia Gruver broke Olympic gold medalist Sandi Morris' NCAA pole vault record, Friday, March 29 at the Stanford Invitational.

The transfer who previously competed at Kentucky vaulted to 4.73, which bested Morris' clearance of 4.72 back in 2015. Gruver finished well ahead of the field of nine competitors. Stanford's Erika Malaspina (4.03) and Kaitlyn Merritt (4.03) were the only other competitors who cleared four meters.

Barnett, Abbott, Holmes are the top three in 400-meters at Florida Relays.

Sharrika Barnett ran a time of 50.96 to take first place in the 400-meter dash at the Florida Relays, March 29. The senior from Florida is a two-time SEC indoor champ as well as the defending outdoor champion. She came into the event ranked ninth in the US.

Barnett placed ahead of second place Chloe Abbott of Kentucky (51.61), who bettered last year's time of 53.08. Abbott entered competition ranked 11th in the nation. She opened the outdoor season with a win at the UTSA Invitational, March 16, running 51.69.

Penn State freshman Alexis Holmes was the only rookie in the field of 53 to finish in the top 10. Holmes ran a time of 52.08, which is a personal record for her. Holmes has been one of the best first-year runners in the nation. She won the Big Ten 400-meter championship during indoor season running a time of 52.14.

Top Performers of the Weekend at Texas Relays

USA White which was made of Jaide Steptor, Shamier Little, Jessica Beard, and Phyllis Francis won the Women's 1600-meter relay invitational, at the Texas Relays, March 30. The foursome finished at a time of 3:28.34 just ahead of USA Red, which included Jasmine Blocker, Ashley Spencer, Morolake Akinosun and Courtney Okolo.

Here's where USA White's competitors ranked in the 400-meter dash going into the weekend. Francis ranked second, Beard came in at fourth and Steptor was sixth worldwide. Steptor wasn't ranked in the 400-meters but entered the competition as the number one 100-meter hurdler in the world.

LSU freshman Sha'Carri Richardson sprinted to a win in the 100-meter dash (10.91), at the Texas Relays. She topped Texas freshman Kynnedy Flannel (11.61) and senior Caitland Smith of Arkansas State (11.25), rounding out the top three.

Texas senior Teahna Daniels topped pro Jasmine Camacho-Quinn in the 200-meter dash invitational. Daniels came in at 23.29, just ahead of Camacho-Quinn's 23.49 out of a field of seven competitors.

Camacho-Quinn also placed second in the women's 100-meter hurdles invitational to pro runner Pedrya Seymour. Seymour and Quinn thrilled the audience with a tight finish. Seymour crossed at 13.092 beating Quinn's 13.096.

Shout-Out to the Future

No stats to give here. Just saluting the high school athletes, who competed for the Woodlands Highlanders at this past weekend's Texas Relays. Be on the lookout in the future for Caroline Morris, Emma Finnie, Alexandra Webster, and Ginnie Okafor.