Brianna Lyston of Louisiana State University (LSU) won her semifinal heat of the women’s 100 metres in an impressive 10.99 seconds (0.7 m/s) on the second day of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, on Thursday.
The Jamaican’s time was the second-fastest of the night, behind Ole Miss senior sprinter McKenzie Long, who led with a personal best of 10.91 seconds going into Saturday’s final.
Lyston won her heat easily, with Kalia Jackson of Georgia finishing second in 11.04 seconds to also qualify for the final.
Lyston will compete in another final on Saturday—the women’s 4×100-metres relay. The LSU squad, consisting of Lyston, Thelma Davies, Leah Phillips, and Tima Godbless, earned an automatic qualification for the final after winning their heat. The quartet finished with a time of 42.63 seconds, placing third overall in the semifinals. However, Lyston did not qualify for the 200-metre final, finishing fifth in her heat with a time of 22.76 seconds. Another Jamaican, Texas’ Dejanea Oakley, also failed to advance, finishing sixth in the heat with a time of 22.82 seconds.
Lyston clinched the 60m title at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March in Boston, Massachusetts, setting a personal best and school record with a time of 7.03 seconds.
Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce delivered a stellar performance in the 400m semifinals. The University of Arkansas senior, who recently clocked a personal best of 49.32 seconds, continued her impressive form by winning her semifinal heat in 49.87 seconds. This was the second-fastest time advancing to the final, bested only by her teammate Kaylyn Brown, who clocked 49.81 seconds.
