AUSTIN --- Romaine Beckford of South Florida edged Vernon Turner of Oklahoma for the title in a thrilling high jump duel at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

It was the second national title for Beckford, who also won the high jump at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Turner was competing in his first NCAA Outdoor Championships.

"It means a lot to (win) Indoor and Outdoor, and I'm just looking forward to bigger things," Beckford said. "It just sets up my future for later on."

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🏆 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋. 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍. 🏆

Romaine Beckford is the men's high jump national champion with a new program record leap of 2.27m (7-5.25)‼️‼️😎#HornsUp🤘 | #NCAATF pic.twitter.com/5mBGQVxXLS

— USF XCTF (@USFXCTF) June 10, 2023

After passing the opening height, both Beckford and Vernon carried clean cards into the fifth round. With the bar set at 2.24m/7-4.25, Beckford managed to clear on his second attempt while Vernon missed his first two. Down to his final jump, the Vernon managed to clear and stay alive, garnering a loud roar from the crowd.

"Yeah, I only had one miss, and I try to always keep everything clean and get it on the first attempt," Beckford said. "Versus him, I made a mistake earlier, and I was just trying to make sure I made up on it."

Both jumpers cleared the next bar, 2.27m/7-5.25 on their first attempts to extend the competition, securing Beckford a new personal-best in the process. But neither was able to get over 2.30m/7-6.5, giving Beckford the victory on countback.

Beckford cited the crowd as an inspiration during the heated moments of the competition.

"Since high school we always got a crowd, so I feed off the crowd," Beckford said. "I had a small team of about four or five, and I just looked for them in the crowd, and I just started going."

Third place went to Roberto Vilches of Missouri, who cleared 2.24m/7-4.25.