The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville track and field program began competition on Thursday at the NCAA Division I West Preliminaries in Austin, Texas, and sophomore La’Derrick Ward stole the show with a dominant performance in the men’s long jump.
Ward qualified for final round of NCAA National Championships with a mark of 25 feet, 8.25 inches (7.83m) to finish second overall in the long jump. The top 12 finishers punched their ticket for the national finals from June 5-8 in Eugene, Ore.
“It was an outstanding performance,” Head Coach Kareem Jackson said. “For La’Derrick to have the opportunity to compete at nationals says a lot about his development over the last two years. He’s definitely put in the work.”
Ward made his qualifying mark on his final jump of the meet. After fouling on his first two attempts, he not only set a personal best but also broke his own school record in the event.
“Once he made that jump, it raised everyone else’s level of competition,” Jackson said. “We’ve been working for the last four years to get to this point and to have someone qualify in our first year at this level is very impressive.”
Jackson also extended his appreciation to Dr. Bradley Hewitt, director of Athletics, who called to congratulate Ward and the entire program on their accomplishments.
“He was very excited,” Jackson said. “It’s great to have your leader excited about the team’s accomplishments. I could hear how pleased and proud of he was of the performance.”
Also representing SIUE at the meet on Thursday were Ahmad Evans, Darius Smith, Aftan Noon, Colleen McDonough, and Elizabeth Hampl.
Evans and Smith finished 37th and 44th, respectively, in the men’s 100 meters. Evans finished in a time of 10.61 while Smith posted a time of 10.67.
Noon competed in the women’s 800 meters and 1,500 meters. She finished 45th in the 800 with a time of 2:15.27, and was 33rd in the 1,500 with a finish of 4:31.92.
McDonough and Hampl finished 29th and 32nd, respectively, in the women’s hammer throw. McDonough was two inches off her own school record with a toss of 187-7, while Hampl posted a mark of 186-1.
“All of our athletes competed well,” Jackson said. “I can’t tell you how many people have come up to us at this meet asking about SIUE and our program. It’s been a great experience.”
The three-day meet continues Friday at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin. A pair of Cougar athletes will be competing, as Jatavia Wright will run in the women’s 100 meter hurdles at 5 p.m. before Evans competes in the men’s 200 meters at 8:25 p.m.