Harrison, collegiate leader in long jump, sets facility record on only attempt; Hofstra’s Masai leads all 10,000 qualifiers, with Mississippi State taking top three spots in javelin, including best Division 1 mark this season by Gudmundsson

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

JuVaughn Harrison took another leap toward repeating as NCAA Division 1 men’s long jump champion Wednesday at the East Regional at Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium.

It only required one jump for the LSU standout, a light afternoon of work in comparison to his usual high jump and long jump double at most competitions, including 2019 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas, when he won both Division 1 titles, as well as March 12 at the NCAA Indoor final at Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.

Harrison achieved the facility record with a jump of 26 feet, 8.50 inches (8.14m), surpassing the April 29 mark of 26-5.75 (8.07m) produced by Florida State’s Isaac Grimes.

Harrison and Grimes, who recorded a 26-3.75 (8.02m) effort Wednesday on his third jump, were two of the three athletes who surpassed the 8-meter mark among the 12 qualifiers for the Division 1 Outdoor Championships on June 9-12 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Tennessee’s Carey McLeod was runner-up to Harrison with a performance of 26-6.25 (8.08m) on his second jump.

The cutoff to advance to the national championship meet was 24-8.25 (7.52m), with LSU’s Rayvon Grey also returning to the final with a mark of 24-11.75 (7.61m). Coastal Carolina’s David Ejumeta prevailed on a tiebreaker to secure the final spot with better second and third jumps than Tennessee State’s R’Lazon Brumfield.

Hofstra’s Alex Masai also set a facility record in the men’s 10,000 meters, clocking 28:29.97 to eclipse the 2019 mark of 28:51.11 achieved by Alabama’s Gilbert Kigen.

Five athletes ran under the previous facility record, including a fifth-place finish in 28:48.12 from Georgetown graduate student-athlete Robert Brandt, who qualified for an NCAA final for his third school, including the 2015 and 2016 Division 1 Cross Country Championships representing Cal, along with the outdoor track, indoor track and cross country finals for UCLA from 2017-19.

Christopher Alfond of UMass Lowell was the final qualifier at 29:09.47.

Mississippi State, which had the top three finishers in the men’s javelin throw at the 2019 championship meet, achieved the same feat with a new cast Wednesday, as Utah State transfer Sindri Gudmundsson produced the top collegiate mark this season on his first attempt with an effort of 261-11 (79.83m).

Fellow Icelandic thrower DJ Jonsson was second for the Bulldogs at 257-7 (78.51m) and Tyriq Horsford took third at 247-9 (75.51m), as 11 athletes surpassed 70 meters.

Tzuriel Pedigo added more depth to LSU’s bid for a team title with a personal-best 246-5 (75.11m) to finish fourth. The cutoff to qualify was 225-6 (68.75m) by McNeese State freshman Hunter Longino.

Florida senior Thomas Mardal, the Division 1 leader in the hammer throw, was the lone athlete in Jacksonville to surpass the 70-meter mark with a second-round effort of 233-10 (71.29m).

LSU had Jon Nerdal and Jake Norris both advance, with the cutoff to qualify at 213-2 (64.97m) by Eastern Michigan’s Taige Bryant.

Michigan senior Andrew Liskowitz was the only competitor to surpass the 20-meter mark in the shot put with a mark of 66-6.50 (20.28m). Alabama’s Santiago Basso was the final qualifier at 61-3 (18.67m).

Five athletes cleared 17-6.50 (5.35m) and seven others made 17-2.75 (5.25m) on their first or second attempts to qualify in the men’s pole vault.

Alabama’s Eliud Kipsang produced the facility record in the men’s 1,500 by running 3:37.17 in the first round.

North Carolina A&T teammates Trevor Stewart and Randolph Ross ran 44.55 and 44.63, respectively, in the opening round.

LSU’s Terrance Laird clocked a wind-aided 10.00 in the first round of the 100-meter dash.