Silver for Scheper at SEC

Arizona’s Brigetta Barrett stole the high J=jump headlines with a world-leading clearance of 1.99m at the PAC-12 championships, setting a collegiate record in the process of winning her third straight conference title.

Meanwhile, over in Columbia, Missouri, the Southeastern Conference championships continued with two Saint Lucians in women’s high jump, one of them an NCAA record holder in her own right.

On Friday, indoor pentathlon record holder Makeba Alcide won the heptathlon for the University of Arkansas and qualified to represent Saint Lucia at the World Championships in Moscow in August. Today, Saturday, she was was facing off against a field that included fellow countrywoman Jeannelle Scheper, in the open women’s high jump.

Alcide, a senior, ended her competition at 1.80m (5’10.75″), well below the 1.88m school record and SEC meet record she set two days ago. But her mark was good enough for fifth overall, and the 23-year-old earned valuable points for the Razorbacks.

Scheper, a junior at the University of South Carolina, started her competition at 1.75m, and she was one of six women to clear on her first attempt. Along with Makeba, Scheper needed three tries at 1.80m, but she eventually got the height. On the ensuing height, 1.85m, she went over on the first try. She was one of just three women over, guaranteeing her a top-three finish.

All three, however, missed at 1.89m, and with a clean card up to 1.85m, Georgia’s Saniel Atkinson Grier took the SEC title. Jeannelle, the only  underclassman in the top five, was second on count back, with Alabama’s Krystle Schade third.

Makeba and Jeannelle will now prepare for next month’s National Collegiate Athletics Association Championships next month in Eugene, Oregon, and perhaps Saint Lucia’s National Championships, also in June.For up-to-the-minute updates, follow me on Twitter: @terryfinisterre