Romaine Beckford, double NCAA high jump champ, joins Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE – Jamaican Romaine Beckford, a double 2023 NCAA champion in the high jump with South Florida, has signed with Arkansas and will be part of the Razorback squad for the 2023-24 season.

Beckford recently won the high jump title at the 2023 Jamaica Championships with a mark of 7-3.75 (2.23). He will represent Jamaica at the NACAC U23 Championships this week in Costa Rica and currently is in position to qualify for the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

A double 2023 NCAA champion in the high jump with marks of 7-5.25 (2.27) outdoors and 7-4.25 (2.24) indoors, Beckford set South Florida school records with his outdoor career best at the NCAA Championships as well as his indoor best of 7-5 (2.26) to win the 2023 American Athletic Conference meet.

In the 2023 American Athletic Conference outdoor meet, Beckford won the high jump (7-1.5 | 2.17) as well as the javelin with a career best throw of 194-10 (59.38). The 2023 outdoor season included a victory at Penn Relays (7-1.75 | 2.18) as well as finishing runner-up at Mt. SAC Relays (7-2.5 | 2.20) and winning the Florida Relays (7-4.25 | 2.24).

Beckford finished as runner-up in the 2022 Penn Relays high jump with a 7-3.75 (2.23) clearance prior to claiming the AAC Outdoor title (7-1.75 | 2.18). He won the 2022 AAC Indoor high jump with a 7-2.5 (2.20) clearance. Beckford represented Jamaica in the 2022 Commonwealth Games, placing eighth.

In junior college at South Plains, Beckford won the 2021 NJCAA Outdoor high jump while also competing in discus and javelin. At NJCAA Indoor, Beckford won the high jump and finished 10th in heptathlon (4,182 points). At the 2020 NJCAA Indoor, he finished second in the high jump.

Collegiate career best also includes 4,686 points in the heptathlon, placing third at Region V in junior college.