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March 12, 2010
Nafee Harris won his second national championship in the long jump Friday night at the NCAA Division II indoor track and field meet in Albuquerque, N.M. Harris topped the field with a school-record jump of 25 feet, 7 ¼ inches to finish a full foot ahead of runner-up Ramon Sparks of Abilene Christian. He took the lead on his first jump of the night, expanded it on his third attempt and was never seriously threatened the rest of the way. Harris, who Thursday was named the U.S. Track and Field Coaches Indoor Field Athlete of the Year for the Atlantic Region, also won the outdoor long jump title last spring and was fifth at the 2009 indoor meet, making him a three-time All-American in the event. He broke his own IUP indoor record of 25-3 ½ set earlier this season that made him the top seed entering the NCAA championships. No other IUP athlete has ever earned a national indoor title, and Harris is the first athlete in school history to win multiple track and field national championships. Including indoor and outdoor track and field, IUP has had 12 athletes win a total of 13 national championships. Three other IUP competitors earned All-America honors on the opening day of the two-day indoor meet. On the men's side, Leander Toney finished fourth in the high jump, clearing the bar at a school-record height of 6-11 ½. He broke his own school record by one-half inch and tied three other jumpers for second but placed fourth due to the number of misses. Toney was just one inch behind winner Christopher Copeland of Saint Augustine's. A pair of IUP women finished in the top eight in the long jump. Brianna Liebold was third with a jump of 19-2 ½ and Laurie Ajavon took seventh with a top mark of 18-1 ¾. Tamika Taylor also competed in the long jump and was 12th at 18-1 ¾. Liebold will also take part in the triple jump on day two of the meet Saturday. She won the event at the PSAC championships en route to her selection as the Most Outstanding Field Athlete of the Meet. Sprinter Kevin Raymond was the sixth IUP athlete who made the trip west for nationals but injured his hamstring during warm-ups for the 400 meter dash and did not qualify for the finals. |
