Hog Calls

UA's Jamaican stars show off at home

Arkansas' Omar McLeod competes in the 60-meter hurdles during the NCAA indoor track and field championships Friday, March 13, 2015, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)
Arkansas' Omar McLeod competes in the 60-meter hurdles during the NCAA indoor track and field championships Friday, March 13, 2015, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

FAYETTEVILLE -- They say clothes don't make the man.

But for Jamaica-born, Arkansas-educated Omar McLeod, it was important for him to take part in his nation's championships while wearing an Arkansas Razorbacks shirt.

McLeod came home to Kingston, Jamaica, two Saturdays ago to win his national championship in the 110-meter hurdles. He beat Hansle Parchment, Jamaica's 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, with a time of 12.97 seconds. That's best in the world for 2015, and it broke Renaldo Nehemiah's 13.00 collegiate record run for Maryland in 1979.

McLeod is no longer a collegian.

Nike will pay him to represent Jamaica in the World Championships next month in Beijing, China, and beyond.

McLeod's paydays could have begun with that epic run in Kingston.

"He could have put that Nike uniform on but he chose Arkansas," Hogs Coach Chris Bucknam said.

McLeod explained why last week in Fayetteville.

"I love this place so much," McLeod said. "This is home. I wanted to do something special in front of my home crowd, and I really wanted to do it in Arkansas gear. I wanted to make it memorable, and I am glad I did."

McLeod has had memorable success as a Razorback.

He won the 2014 NCAA Indoor 60-meter hurdles for Arkansas' national champions.

McLeod's 2015 accomplishments include SEC Indoor and Outdoor hurdles titles and NCAA Indoor and Outdoor hurdles titles. At the NCAA Indoor, he set the collegiate record, 7.45, winning the 60-meter hurdles .20 faster than the 1997 standard set by Wisconsin's Reggie Torian.

At this year's NCAA Outdoor, McLeod won the 110-meter hurdles in a wind-aided 13.00 and led off Arkansas' victorious record-setting 4 x 100 relay and ran a leg on the sixth-place 4 x 400 relay.

The extra burden McLeod carried at the NCAA Outdoor was the exception rather than norm in 2015.

Mostly, sprints coach Doug Case carefully picked McLeod's racing spots allowing his complete recovery from those injuries originating before his Arkansas autumn 2013 arrival.

McLeod came home world-class fresh for Jamaica's national meet.

So did Kemoy Campbell, another decorated former Razorback from Jamaica, who won the 5,000-meter run at the national meet.

For Campbell, and especially McLeod, winning as Razorbacks in Jamaica should mean much for Arkansas in Jamaica.

"There is a lot of angst with Jamaica and their kids coming to the States," Bucknam said. "It does happen with international students where they overuse the athlete and not have long-term goals in place. But we showed with Omar's success as a Razorback with three national championships and winning the Jamaican national championship with a world-leading time you can have college success and long-term goals."

McLeod not only showed Jamaicans. He told them, too.

"In the Jamaican paper he called his experience at Arkansas "phenomenal and life changing," Bucknam said. "He is a Razorback. There is no question about it."

Sports on 07/06/2015

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