KINGSTON, Jamaica— Jamaica’s Ackelia Smith of the University of Texas produced a world-leading 6.85m jump to win the women’s long jump event on Friday’s first night of the New Mexico Collegiate Classic at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Smith, who represented Jamaica at the last two World Championships, was just a centimetre off the qualifying mark (6.86m) for the Olympic Games in Paris later this month.

Her mark was an improvement on her NCAA leading mark after she had jumped 6.73m at the same venue two weeks ago.

Her teammate and freshman Aaliyah Foster was fourth with a massive personal best of 6.46m, beating the 6.17m she set two weeks ago, sixth best all-time at Texas and seventh best in the NCAA this year.

There are three Jamaican women in the top seven of the NCAA with the University of Arkansas’s Nia Robinson in third with 6.56m.

Shaquena Foote of San Diego State University lowered her lifetime best in the women’s indoor 400m for the second straight meet after she ran 53.26 seconds to place third in the women’s invitational event.

Foote also lowered her week’s old San Diego State school record after she had run 53.30 seconds at the same venue three weekends ago as she finished behind NaAsher Robinson who ran 52.62 seconds and Javonya Valcourt of the University of Tennessee – 52.75 seconds.

Gabriel Bailey of Kent State University was sixth in the women’s shot put at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame with a best of 15.34m while her teammate Aliesha Shaw threw 13.29m.

-Paul A Reid