EUGENE, Ore. — In the fading Oregon sunlight at Hayward Field, former Calabar middle-distance standout Rivaldo Marshall closed the book on his US collegiate career with a determined third-place run in the men’s 800 metres, clocking 1:46.71 for the University of Arkansas on Friday’s penultimate day of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships.
Marshall — the 2024 indoor champion while at the University of Iowa — dug deep over the final 60 metres, holding off a late charge to seal a podium spot in his last race wearing Razorback colours. Fellow Jamaican and Arkansas teammate Tyrice Taylor crossed eighth in 1:47.44, rounding out a strong middle-distance showing for the Fayetteville squad.
Field events delivered their share of Caribbean flair as well. University of Kentucky junior Luke Brown bounded out to 16.18 metres (wind +0.5 m/s) to snatch fourth in the triple jump. Home-school athlete Safin Wills redeemed an earlier no-mark in the long jump by sailing 16.07 metres (wind +0.5 m/s) for seventh, igniting the Oregon crowd.
On the straightaway, Baylor’s Demario Prince hurdled to fifth in the 110 metres barriers at 13.44 seconds (wind +0.1 m/s). LSU’s Jaheim Stern followed in seventh, clocking 13.57 as the pair ensured Jamaica’s sprint-hurdle tradition remained alive on collegiate soil.
From middle distance grit to runway heroics, Jamaica’s cadre once again proved indispensable to the drama of NCAA championship week — and, in Marshall’s case, closed an era in style.
