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Defending champion Nickisha Pryce will be aiming for a hat-trick of wins when she contests the women's 400 metres at next week's JAAA National Championships.

A year ago she came into the championships in red-hot form after an exceptional collegiate season for the University of Arkansas, where she became the first Jamaican female to go under 49 seconds. She posted a national record 48.89 to erase Lorraine Graham's previous mark of 49.20 in winning the title at the NCAA Division 1 outdoor championships.

Pryce then went on to win her second consecutive national title after getting the better of Stacy Ann Williams. A few weeks ago, she looked a cinch for a repeat after she clocked 50.04 at the Grand Slam Track Meet in Philadelphia last month, making her, at the time, the fastest Jamaican female in the event this year.

However, things have changed as former Clarendon College 400m runner Dejanea Oakley has put her hands up with an impressive showing at the recent NCAA Division 1 outdoor Championships for the University of Georgia.

After clocking a personal best 50.18 in the semi-finals, she surprised many in the final two days later by blazing to a new lifetime best of 49.62 to finish as runner-up.

Oakley also ran a superb opening leg on her team's winning 4x400m team in a collegiate-leading time, and she will be full of confidence as she looks to capture her first senior title.

With a season's best of 50.37, Williams will also be gunning for her first national title, but she'll need to do something extra special if she hopes to go all the way.

Former national champion Candice McLeod, who won the title in 2022 and was third the following year, has shown glimpses of good form recently but will need major improvement to make an impact. Meanwhile, the likes of Shaquena Foote -- another collegiate standout who was eighth last year and has a season's best of 50.95 -- along with Leah Anderson, who despite only having a best of 51.15, will definitely want to make their presence felt.

Based on recent the 20-year-old Oakley -- who will be celebrating her 21st birthday on July 4, should give herself an early birthday gift by bagging her first national senior title.

TOP THREE

1. Dejanea Oakley

2. Nickisha Pryce

3. Stacy Ann Williams