AT THE START of round 3, the situation looked grim for defending champion Ackelia Smith of Texas. Stanford soph Alyssa Jones led at 21-9½ (6.64), Florida’s Claire Bryant had jumped 21-7¼ (6.58), and SMU’s Funminiyi Olajide sat in 3rd at 21-3¼ (6.48). Smith, meanwhile, had nothing to show but a pair of fouls. It didn’t feel good, particularly after her NCAA Indoor, when she only managed one fair jump and finished 12th.
On the runway, visualizing what she needed to do, Smith even slapped herself in the face. “I just try to say, ‘OK, I feel like you got to do this, just get your head back in the game,’” she said. “It’s all about being mental. As much as I would want to go out there and be the greatest physically, I know that I’m not. The girls out there do the same training as me, maybe even more.”
The 22-year-old Jamaican sprinted with negligible wind at her back and lifted. She landed at 22-3½ (6.79) — not quite as far as the 22-7 (6.88) she won with last year on her home runway.
The next competitor, Alexis Brown of Baylor, improved to 21-4¼ (6.51) for 4th. Bryant improved to 21-11½ (6.69) for 2nd. Then Florida’s Anthaya Charlton landed at 21-4¾ (6.52) to knock Brown down a peg.
The jockeying for points was over. No positions would change in the final three rounds. In 4, Jones went 21-3¼ (6.48). Smith fouled again. In 5, Bryant would produce her farthest effort of the year, a 22-1½ (6.74) just 2 inches short of Smith’s leader. Smith responded with a runthrough.
In the last go-round, Charlton improved to 21-7½ (6.59) but remained 4th, Jones then jumped well off her best and Bryant landed too short to steal the victory. Smith, pressure off, produced another jump that would have been good enough to win, a 22-2½ (6.77).
She said, “I really wanted to get that big jump on the first one, but I’ve had a whole season of not getting it on the first one, so I kind of got used to that. I didn’t get it on the second one, but you have to hold it together. I’ve been doing this for a minute now. I was just thinking, ‘Hey, I have one more jump and I just got a safe jump, so this last one better be my best jump.’ I really want to push for the jumps. I think I just pushed a little bit hard, but I’ll get it. I know the jumps are there.”
WOMEN’S LONG JUMP RESULTS
(June 06)
1. *Ackelia Smith’ (Tx-Jam) 22-3½ (6.79)
(f, f, 22-3½, f, 17-1¼, 22-2½) (f, f, 6.79, f, 5.21, 6.77);
2. Claire Bryant (Fl) 22-1½ (6.74)
(20-9¾, 21-7¼, 21-11½, 20-11¼, 22-1½, 21-4¾) (6.34, 6.58, 6.69, 6.38, 6.74, 6.52);
3. **Alyssa Jones (Stan) 21-9½ (6.64)
(f, 21-9½, 20-6¼, 21-3¼, 16-5¾, 20-5) (f, 6.64, 6.25, 6.48, 5.02, 6.22);
4. **Anthaya Charlton’ (Fl-Bah) 21-7½ (6.59)
(17-7, f, 21-4¾, 19-7, f, 21-7½) (5.36, f, 6.52, 5.97, f, 6.59);
5. Alexis Brown’ (Bay-Hai) 21-4¼ (6.51)
(20-10½, 20-9¼w, 21-4¼, f, 20-10, 21-2¾) (6.36, 6.33w, 6.51, f, 6.35, 6.47);
6. *Funminiyi Olajide’ (SMU-GB) 21-3¼ (6.48)
(20-6¼w, 21-3¼, 20-6½, 18-4¼, 19-6, 19-8¾) (6.25w, 6.48, 6.26, 5.59, 5.94, 6.01);
7. *Velecia Williams’ (Nb-Jam) 21-½ (6.41)
(f, 20-2¼, 21-½, 20-10½, 20-5¼, 19-2¾) (f, 6.15, 6.41, 6.36, 6.23, 5.86);
8. ***Ida Breigan’ (UTSA-Nor) 21-0 (6.40)
(20-3¾, 21-0, f, 20-½, 20-9¾, f) (6.19, 6.40, f, 6.11, 6.34, f);
9. Robbie Grace (WF) 20-8½w (6.31)
(20-8½w, f, 20-½, f, f, f) (6.31w, f, 6.11, f, f, f);
10. *Emilia Sjöstrand’ (SJSt-Swe) 20-7¾ (6.29); 11. Ameia Wilson (GaT) 20-7¼ (6.28); 12. Nia Robinson’ (Ar-Jam) 20-7 (6.27); 13. ***Aaliyah Foster’ (Tx-Jam) 20-6¼ (6.25) PR; 14. Morgan Smalls (LSU) 20-5¾ (6.24); 15. Asherah Collins (UCF) 20-5¼ (6.23); 16. ***Lena Gooden (Vand) 20-5 (6.22) PR; 17. *Jasmine Akins (Ok) 20-4¼w (6.20); 18. *Sydney Willits (IaSt) 20-3 (6.17); 19. *A’Liyah Thomas (UConn) 20-2½ (6.16); 20. *Ilse Steigenga’ (Pitt-Neth) 20-1w (6.12); 21. **Celine Brown’ (Rut-Jam) 19-8¾ (6.01); 22. ***Alexandria Johnson (AzSt) 19-4 (5.89); 23. ***Kendall Johnson (Day) 19-1¼ (5.82);… 3f—**Alexandra Kelly (Prin).
