EUGENE, Oregon — Northwestern State freshman Roy Morris only needed one jump to announce his presence to the country.
On his opening attempt in the long jump Wednesday evening in his first NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships appearance, the Evangel Christian product showed no nerves, recording a jump of 24-7.75.
The mark proved to be his best of the night and after all 24 jumpers competed, he finished 15th to earn second team All-America recognition on the first day of nationals on the campus of the University of Oregon.
“Man, I could not be more proud of Roy,” jumps coach Alex Wills said. “We came out here with a goal to have fun and gain some great experience and now he’s coming home a Second Team All-American.
“I said back at regionals and it was true again, his consistency was a big factor. Two weeks ago, coming into regionals, he was ranked 74th in the nation and today he finished 15th. That’s huge for anyone, but even more impressive for a freshman. This young man’s future is very bright.”
It is the second consecutive season with an All-American for the NSU men after 2024 senior sprinter Zachaeus Beard ran his way to a first team All-American spot a season ago.
Morris is the first Demon freshman to earn an All-America spot since Jessica Talley placed ninth in the women’s javelin in 2011.
It appeared as though, it was coming down to the final jump, as Morris was clinging to 16th place with one jumper left who could pass him in Wichita State’s Josh Parrish.
Parrish, just like two others, fouled for a third time to cement Morris’ spot as an All-American.
Later, following video review, Oregon’s Safin Wells was ruled to have fouled, so Morris moved up to 15th and Oklahoma’s Anthony Riley received the final spot. The top eight received first team status and places 9-16 earned second team honors.
Morris was one of four freshmen to earn All-American honors in the long jump but was the only rookie who competes for a non-power conference school to accomplish the feat in the event.
The three medal spots were captured by seniors, led by Florida’s Malcolm Clemens, who jumped 26-4.5. Oklahoma State’s Blair Anderson (26-3.75) and Arkansas’ Henry Kiner (26-1.5) took home the silver and bronze.
The All-American honor puts a cap on a fantastic freshman season by Morris, whose season best was a 24-11.25 in front of the home crowd at the Leon Johnson NSU Invitational.
Morris got better as the season went along. His last three jumps — at the conference meet, East Preliminary Round and then nationals — were three of his top four performances of the entire season.