Tennessee collected a 1-2 finish in the men’s long jump final at the NCAA Indoor Championships on Friday (11) after the Jamaican pair of Wayne Pinnock and Carey McLeod surprised national leader Matthew Boling at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama. Read more: Defending 60m champion Williams and Jones DQ’d at NCAA Indoor Championships 2022
Pinnock, one of the top young jumping talents from Jamaica, continued his return from injuries by stretching out to 7.92m (26-0) to match his personal best in the event and secured the national title. He first achieved that PB when finishing third at the Bob Pollock Invitation at Clemson University in January.
On Friday, the freshman trailed his Tennessee teammate McLeod for most of the contest after the latter had jumped 7.91m (25-11½) in the first round, but he rediscovered his best form again in the fifth round to crush the heart of his fellow countryman and bagged his maiden collegiate national title.
| Pl | Athlete | Best | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Rnd 5 | Rnd 6 |
| 1 | Wayne PINNOCK Tennessee [FR] |
7.92m =PB 26-0 |
7.50 24-7¼ |
7.49 24-7 |
7.69 25-2¾ |
7.76 25-5½ |
7.92 26-0 |
— |
| 2 | Carey MCLEOD Tennessee [JR] |
7.91m 25-11½ |
7.91 25-11½ |
7.89 25-10¾ |
7.91 25-11½ |
7.80 25-7¼ |
X | 7.81 25-7½ |
| 3 | Matthew BOLING Georgia [SO] |
7.86m 25-9½ |
7.69 25-2¾ |
7.53 24-8½ |
— | 6.87 22-6½ |
7.86 25-9½ |
7.31 23-11¾ |
| 4 | A’Nan BRIDGETT Rutgers [JR] |
7.80m 25-7¼ |
7.69 25-2¾ |
7.61 24-11¾ |
X | 7.59 24-11 |
7.78 25-6¼ |
7.80 25-7¼ |
| 5 | Emmanuel INEH Alabama [SO] |
7.71m 25-3½ |
X | X | 7.60 24-11¼ |
X | 5.72 18-9¼ |
7.71 25-3½ |
| 6 | Cameron CRUMP Miss State [JR] |
7.65m 25-1¼ |
7.54 24-9 |
7.55 24-9¼ |
7.44 24-5 |
7.65 25-1¼ |
7.05 23-1¾ |
6.01 19-8¾ |
| 7 | Johnny BRACKINS Baylor [FR] |
7.60m 24-11¼ |
X | 7.49 24-7 |
7.45 24-5½ |
X | 7.49 24-7 |
7.60 24-11¼ |
| 8 | Ryan BROWN Arkansas [JR] |
7.45m 24-5½ |
X | 7.45 24-5½ |
7.26 23-10 |
7.02 23-½ |
X | 7.23 23-8¾ |
| 9 | Brandon HICKLIN N. Carolina A&T [SR] |
7.39m 24-3 |
7.39 24-3 |
X | X | 6.86 22-6¼ |
7.30 23-11½ |
7.31 23-11¾ |
| 10 | Sincere ROBINSON Rutgers [FR] |
7.22m 23-8¼ |
7.22 23-8¼ |
X | 7.10 23-3½ |
|||
| 11 | Isaiah HOLMES Miami (Fla.) [SR] |
7.15m 23-5½ |
X | X | 7.15 23-5½ |
|||
| 12 | Ja’Von DOUGLAS NC State [SR] |
7.10m 23-3½ |
7.00 22-11¾ |
X | 7.10 23-3½ |
|||
| 13 | Stacy BROWN JR Texas [FR] |
7.08m 23-2¾ |
7.02 23-½ |
4.95 16-3 |
7.08 23-2¾ |
|||
| 14 | John BAKER Arkansas [FR] |
6.78m 22-3 |
6.55 21-6 |
X | 6.78 22-3 |
|||
| Isaac GRIMES Florida State [SR] |
DNS | DNS | ||||||
| Rayvon ALLEN Oklahoma [SR] |
DNS | DNS |
McLeod, in the meantime, improved from his third-place finish a season ago, but he would have been disappointed about the late defeat after he entered the championships on good form, following his impressive 8.07m performance to win at the SEC Indoor Championships 2022 last month.
Closing out the medal positions on Friday was Georgia’s Matthew Boling, who could only manage to jump 7.86m (25-9½) for third place. Despite his defeat at the SEC championships, Boling entered the national meet as the favorite after his impressive 8.25m PB at the Clemson Invitational in mid-January.
However, the Bulldogs junior struggled to get going on the runway throughout the entire competition on the first day of competition and was unable to find any consistency at striking the take-off board.
The NCAA Indoor Championships 2022 will continue on Saturday with the second and final day of competition starting at 11:30 am ET with the completion of the men’s heptathlon.
