Liberty University
NCAA Division I Outdoor Track Championships
Jones Posts 21st-Place Triple Jump Finish
6/8/2018 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Liberty senior Darrel Jones finished 21st in the men's triple jump final, Friday evening, wrapping up the Flames' stay at the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships at a cool, rainy Hayward Field.
Liberty wrapped up the meet with two team points, courtesy of Markus Ballengee's seventh-place decathlon finish. That put the Flames in a tie for 62nd place with Iowa State, Northwestern State and Sacramento State in the final men's team standings. Georgia took home the men's team title with 52 points, finishing 10 points ahead of SEC rival Florida.
Jumping into a headwind on all three attempts during his NCAA national debut, Jones' first attempt (49-2.5) stood up as his best of the day. That marked the longest triple jump ever by a Liberty Flame at this meet and gave the New York native the highest NCAA Division I national placement ever by a Liberty triple jumper. Jones exceeded the previous program NCAA superlatives of Clarence Powell in 2010 (22nd place, 48-11.75).
Jones, a four-time Big South triple jump champion, bookended his collegiate career with meets at Hayward Field. He previously triple jumped at the 2015 USATF Junior Outdoor Championships at the storied facility to close out his freshman season.
Up Next
Liberty freshmen Chelsea Igberaese (women's discus & hammer) and Noel Palmer (women's 5K) will compete at next week's USATF Junior Outdoor Championships. The meet will take place June 15-17 at Indiana's Hayes Track in Bloomington, Ind., and will determine Team USA for the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships. That event is slated for July 10-15 in Tampere, Finland.
