FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Little Rock sophomore
Ryan Curington faced an uphill battle to reach the NCAA West Preliminary Championships in Fayetteville this weekend. As he prepared for his first long jump attempt, another challenge was thrown in front of him.
As Curington began striding down the runway the rain began to fall at John McDonnell Field but with no lightning in the area, the competition had to continue.
After a quick adjustment, Curington posted his best mark of the day on his second attempt, jumping 22-9.25 (6.94m) to finish 45th at the NCAA West Prelims.
The performance marked the second straight year Curington has advanced to the NCAA postseason in the long jump, but his path this season was hardly an easy one. With the top 48 marks making the field, Curington was 61
st after the week of conference championships but found himself rising to a tie for 48
th in the event. He would lose the tiebreaker but found himself in the field after a late scratch just three days ago opened up a spot for him.
Last year, Curington jumped 23-11.75 (7.31m) to finish 32
nd in the event in warm and calm conditions in College Station, Texas.
Curington will return to the track on Friday as he will run on the men's 4x100m relay.
Johnathan Jones (high jump) and
Jordan Wallace (triple jump) will also compete for the Maroon and Silver on Friday.
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