After an All-American finish to the indoor season in March, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff senior high jumper Caleb Snowden is seeking another national podium spot this week.
Snowden is set to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships for the second straight season. This year’s meet at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., began Wednesday and runs through Saturday. The men’s high jump is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. CDT. The high jump will be streamed on ESPN+, while ESPN2 will air a general broadcast of Friday’s action beginning at 8 p.m. CDT.
UAPB track and field coach Christopher McCoy said reaching the NCAAs back-to-back years is great not only for Snowden, but the program.
“That’s what we strive for every day,” McCoy said. “We come out here and coach to get our kids to get to an NCAA championship. We might be a small Division I, but everybody on the same level out here, so our goal is to get there.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Snowden is one of 24 competitors who qualified after competing in the NCAA First Round meets hosted by the universities of Arkansas and Kentucky. The top 12 finishers from the site each advanced. Snowden tied with Arkansas senior Romaine Beckford for first at the West First Round in Fayetteville last month.
In March, Snowden finished second to Beckford at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston after they were the only two jumpers to clear 2.24 meters. Snowden failed to clear 2.27 meters, while Beckford cleared it on his third try.
Beckford won the high jump gold at last year’s outdoor championships while competing for South Florida, again clearing 2.27 on that occasion. Although Snowden was unable to clear 2.27 in March, he cleared it in late April at the Memphis Tiger Invitational on his second attempt to set a new personal record. Beckford’s best this outdoor season was 2.23 meters at the LSU Invitational the same weekend.
Snowden said he is aiming for the gold medal, but a podium finish would be a success. He said has improved a lot this year after finishing 11th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last season.
“I [broke my personal record] quite a bit of times, especially this outdoor season,” Snowden said. “Just being more consistent over the bar. Yeah, I’d say I improved a lot this season.”
Other than the First Round, which does not have a formal winner, Snowden and Beckford have each won the high jump in every meet in which they have competed this outdoor season.
Neither enters this meet ranked No. 1, however. Nebraska junior Tyus Wilson cleared 2.29 meters at the Big Ten outdoor championships in May, making him a contender for the gold in Eugene despite finishing fourth at the indoor championships. Snowden had been ranked No. 1 until Wilson’s 2.29-meter leap.
Kansas junior Devin Loudermilk is another podium contender. He finished third at the indoor championships and cleared 2.26 meters at the Big 12 indoor championships. His best this outdoor season is 2.24. The only other qualifier to clear 2.23 meters this outdoor season is Louisville sophomore Brion Stephens, though Texas Tech senior Omamuyovwi Erhire matched that mark at the Big 12 indoor championships.
Two other jumpers to watch include Campbell senior Charles McBride II and Miami junior Kennedy Sauder. Although neither has cleared a height above 2.21 this season, McBride’s personal record is 2.25, a mark he set last year. Sauder’s personal record is 2.24, which he accomplished in 2022.