While the 2013 track and field season closed the book on the four-year storied career of Jamaica’s Louisiana State University (LSU) Tiger Damar Forbes, after he took the South-East Conference (SEC) Outdoor and NCAA Outdoor championships in the long jump for 2013, the 2014 season has returned talented NCAA qualifiers jumper Fitzroy Dunkley and pole vaulter Andreas Duplantis for the new season.
A native of Trelawny, Jamaica, Dunkley arrived at LSU in January of last year and quickly established himself as one of the SEC’s top high jump and triple jump prospects with personal bests (PBs) of 6ft-11¾in and 51’-5”, respectively, during his rookie season. Despite qualifying as the No. 47 seed of 48 competitors in the triple jump at the NCAA East preliminary rounds in 2013, Dunkley increased his PR from 49’-8¼” for 10th place in his triple jump debut at the SEC Outdoor meet to 51’-5” to take third place and claim a spot in the NCAA semifinals at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in his debut.
He looks to build on his early success and lead the way for the Tigers in the jumps in 2014.
Duplantis quickly emerged an All-America candidate as one of the nation’s elite pole vaulters after setting PBs of 17’-9¼” indoors and 17’-7” outdoors while he was a sophomore last season. After competing in the national semifinals at the NCAA Outdoor Championships during a breakout freshman season in 2012, he qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Rounds again last spring. He also won the SEC Indoor bronze medal and ranked among the top 20 pole vaulters for the 2013 indoor season, just missing a spot at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Duplantis will be joined by two other 17-foot vaulters of the 2013 season, as seniors Joseph Caraway (17’-5”) and Jaora Johnson (17’-3”) aspire to be All-Americans during their final season as Tigers in 2014.
The Tigers are also set to welcome two standout recruits this season. Mandeville, Louisiana native Cameron Robichaux comes in with a 16’-0” PR in the pole vault, and South Brunswick Township, New Jersey native Jonathan Pitt brings PBs of 23’-3” in the long jump and 49’-7½” in the triple jump. Both athletes reached their PRs during their high school careers.
-Edited by Admin