Champagnie and Clunis join Pinnock among athletes with Kingston roots to be added to Volunteers’ roster during 2020-21 school year, with fellow Jamaican star McLeod also ready to shine again in NCAA competition

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Just when it seemed like Texas and Missouri might have secured some of the most talented young Jamaican athletes to compete at the NCAA Division 1 level during the 2020-21 school year, Tennessee not only signed the country’s most significant Under-20 male competitor, but also added a pair of transfers from Kingston as well.

Wayne Pinnock, the World U-20 bronze medalist in the long jump in 2018 in Finland, has committed to compete for the Volunteers. He will be joined by two additional athletes with Kingston roots in fifth-year seniors Ayesha Champagnie and Nayoka Clunis, who both transferred from Minnesota.

Pinnock, the Jamaican U-20 record holder in the long jump, has a wind-aided effort of 26-8.50 (8.14m) and a wind-legal best of 26-5 (8.05m).

He also ranks No. 4 all-time among World U-20 performers in the 100-meter hurdles at 13.06 seconds.

Pinnock won the long jump last year at the CARIFTA Games and Penn Relays, in addition to capturing a gold medal at the Pan American U-20 Championships in Costa Rica. He also earned bronze in the long jump at the North American Central American Caribbean (NACAC) U-23 Championships in Mexico.

Although he didn’t compete for Kingston College in the 110 hurdles at any of those aforementioned meets, he hasn’t lost a race in the event since 2018.

Pinnock joins fellow Kingston College alumnus Carey McLeod, the NCAA long jump leader and No. 4 indoor performer in the world this year at 26-10.50 (8.19m), among the Jamaicans on the Tennessee roster.

Clunis was scheduled to compete for Minnesota in the shot put and weight throw, with Champagnie representing the Golden Gophers in the pentathlon at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships, before the meet and all other winter postseason events as well as the entire spring athletic schedule were canceled March 12 by the NCAA as a result of the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The NCAA Division 1 Council agreed March 30 to provide seniors competing in spring sports an extra year of eligibility, along with potential scholarship relief, allowing Champagnie and Clunis an opportunity to compete in 2021 for the Volunteers.

Clunis was an NCAA outdoor finalist in the hammer throw and indoor qualifier in the weight throw for the Golden Gophers in 2018, before competing unattached in 2019 and returning to competition for Minnesota during the winter indoor season.

One of the most versatile throwers at the Division 1 level, Clunis boasts personal bests of 72-7.25 (22.13m) in the indoor weight throw, along with top outdoor marks of 172-10 (52.67m) in the discus, 201-10 (64.26m) in the hammer and 56-4.50 (17.18m) in the shot put.

Champagnie placed ninth in the heptathlon at the 2018 Division 1 Outdoor Championships. She also qualified for the NCAA indoor final that same year in the long jump, but fouled on all three attempts.

Champagnie, a six-time National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1 champion at Barton County Community College in Kansas before arriving at Minnesota, also competed unattached during 2019 before returning the Golden Gophers’ lineup this past indoor season.

Her personal best in the heptathlon is 5,821 points, as well as 4,155 points in the indoor pentathlon.

Champagnie is also one of the top javelin throwers at the Division 1 level with a top mark of 162-6 (49.55m).

The addition of the three Jamaicans to the Tennessee roster follows Missouri signing Ackera Nugent and Kavia Spencer to its women’s roster and Texas receiving a commitment from sprint standout Kevona Davis.