JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — By any measure, Northwestern State long jumper Roy Morris should have been simply happy to be there at the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
The true freshman from Shreveport’s Evangel Christian Academy entered the competition ranked 35th out of 48 qualifiers. He finished it in ninth place, earning one of 12 East slots for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., in a couple of weeks.
Morris soared 24-8.25, his second-best jump of the season. He led the early group of 24 athletes, generally comprised of the lower ranked entries. But he had to wait a little longer to celebrate, as before the second group began their attempts, pouring rain caused a four-hour weather delay as he sat and waited to see if he’d punch his ticket to Eugene.
He recorded his 24-8.25 jump on his third attempt, which took him from just outside the top five to the top spot and set him up for success as eight of the 24 from the final group surpassed Morris, but he settled in at ninth place.
Morris is one of three freshmen to advance to nationals from the East First Round as well as one of four non-power conference athletes to be headed to Eugene.
Thursday, in the first day of women’s competition, Maygan Shaw, the queen of NSU sprints, sparkled against top-flight runners. The Pineville senior made a comeback in her heat in the 400-meter dash to win and earn an automatic berth in the quarterfinals Saturday with the opportunity to make it to Eugene in her signature event.
In fourth place about midway through the race, Shaw made a move to race into second place, fighting with Virginia Tech’s Caitlyn Bobb down the stretch before leaning in and taking the top spot at 51.52 while Bobb finished at 51.53.
As the winner of her heat, the final of six Thursday, she automatically earned a spot to Saturday’s racing to see who heads to Oregon. The top three in all six heats advanced to Saturday, as well as the next six best times.
“Any time you win a heat at a D1 championship, you had a great day,” associate head coach Adam Pennington said. “It’s one of the most quality meets in the world. Maygan didn’t just edge out Caitlyn Bobb, she edged out the Bermuda national record holder and the ACC champion.
“These rounds will continue to get tougher, but for now we will get some rest and get ready for Saturday. I was very pleased with our effort and determination today. She has yet to lose a 400 race this outdoor. We want to keep that thing. That’s our goal.”
In addition to Shakera Williams in the rain-delayed women’s shot put, NSU’s Randy Kelly competes today in the men’s high jump at 1:30 p.m., while the men’s 4×100 relay kicks off the running events at 4. Along with Shaw In the open 400, the Lady Demons will be represented Saturday in the final evet, the 4×400 relay.