Razorback trio named to 2024 Bowerman preseason watch list
NEW ORLEANS – The preseason Bowerman watch list for the 2024 track and field season includes three Razorback jumpers in senior Romaine Beckford, sophomore Jaydon Hibbert, and junior Wayne Pinnock.
Arkansas is the first men’s program to have three on a preseason watch list.
The Razorback trio have combined for six titles and 73 points in NCAA Championships held in 2022 and 2023. Each claimed a title at the 2023 Jamaica Championships in their respective events – high jump for Beckford, long jump for Pinnock, and triple jump for Hibbert.
Hibbert, the 2023 Bowerman winner as an 18-year-old, claimed a pair of NCAA titles in the triple jump as a Razorback freshman and produced the world-leading mark last year with a 58-7.5 (17.87) performance. That mark broke the outdoor collegiate record from 1982 as well as the world U20 record from 1985.
Indoors, Hibbert’s winning mark of 57-6.5 (17.54) in Albuquerque claimed the NCAA Indoor title on his only attempt, breaking the collegiate and Arkansas school record set by Mike Conley in 1985 as well as the world U20 record and Jamaican national record.
Pinnock, the long jump silver medalist at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, produced a mark of 28-0.25 (8.54) during the qualifying round of the World Champs held in Budapest, Hungary, that served as the world leader for the season.
During the collegiate season, Pinnock won the SEC Outdoor title and finished runner-up to teammate Carey McLeod at NCAA Outdoor. Indoors, Pinnock finished second at SEC and fourth in the NCAA meet. In 2022, Pinnock swept the NCAA long jump titles as a freshman.
A double NCAA high jump champion at South Florida, Beckford set career best marks during the 2023 season with a clearance of 7-5.25 (2.27) to win the NCAA Outdoor title and 7-5 (2.26) indoors in winning a conference title.
Beckford, who will make his Razorback debut this week, becomes the 12th man from Arkansas to be named to the watch list. All-time only Florida (15) has had more named to the watch list.
While at South Florida, Beckford claimed four league titles (two indoor, two outdoor) in the American Athletic Conference while earning the 2023 AAC Indoor Field Most Outstanding Performance.
The men’s preseason Bowerman watch list also includes 2023 finalist Leo Neugebauer (Texas), two-time semifinalist in Mykolas Alekna (California), Graham Blanks (Harvard), Kenneth Ikeji (Harvard), Shaun Maswanganyi (Houston), Godson Oghenebrume (LSU), and Ky Robinson (Stanford).
The women’s preseason Bowerman watch list was announced on Tuesday. While there were five SEC athletes among the 10 named, it didn’t include a Razorback. The SEC was represented by Alia Armstrong (LSU), Lamara Distin (Texas A&M), Stephanie Ratcliffe (Georgia), Michaela Rose (LSU), and Parker Valby (Florida).
