NCAA champs pick Bernard, Foster, Smith-Band

The Mount Alvernia High School pair of all-round sprint prospect Carletta Bernard and long jumper/sprinter Aaliyah Foster have joined the University of Texas on track scholarships, while Boys’ and Girls’ Championships and Carifta Games 200-metres winner, Malique Smith-Band, has chosen the University of Florida now that his days at Jamaica College (JC) are over.

Bernard, Foster and Smith-Band are among 13 Jamaicans included in a list of top track and field recruits for US colleges posted by the respected US publication Track And Field News.

Bernard ran 11.44 and 23.51 seconds for the 100m and 200m respectively this year while Foster won the long jump at Western Championship and Boys and Girls’ Championships and helped Mount Alvernia to a fine 4x100m Western Champs victory. They join a Texas group coached by Edrick Floreal. An impressive NCAA sprint double by Julien Alfred in June helped Texas to win the women’s team title and she has now completed her collegiate eligibility.

In addition to his 200m exploits, Smith-Band placed second in the 400m at Boys’ and Girls’ Championships and broke 46 seconds with a personal best of 45.74 seconds. He takes his place in a Florida team, coached by Mike Holloway, intent on defending its 2023 NCAA men’s title.

Smith-Band’s speedy JC teammate Jaiden Reid, a Cayman Islander, has moved with his 10.24 second 100m personal best to Louisiana State University.

The other Jamaican boys on the Track And Field News list of top recruits are Jehlani Gordon of Wolmer’s Boys’ School, who takes his 10.22 speed to the University of Georgia, St Elizabeth Technical High School captain and Carifta Games 400m champion Jasauna Dennis who is now at the University of South Carolina, St Jago’s hurdler/jumper Demario Prince who has gone to Baylor University and JC captain Racquil Broderick.

Prince and Broderick won the Class One 110m hurdles and discus respectively at Boys’ and Girls’ Championships this year.

Hydel’s gifted 400m/400m hurdles ace Onieka McAnuff is off to the University of Kentucky, while slick Immaculate Conception sprint hurdler Essence Burbridge will matriculate to the University of Miami. Malaika Cunningham, the high jumper from Wolmers’ High School for Girls, will follow brother Malik’s footsteps to Villanova University.

Twin shot putters Britannia and Britannie Johnson have set sail from Camperdown High to Purdue University and Holmwood Technical’s Cedricka Williams, who dominated the discus from Class Three to Class One, is off to Barton County Community College.