University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff senior high jumper Caleb Snowden didn’t return to the podium Saturday after finishing second last year at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Snowden finished in a three-way tie for fifth place with junior Elias Gerald and senior Brady Palen, both of USC, at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Each cleared 2.19 meters on their third attempts after clearing the preceding heights in one attempt each.
Nebraska senior Tyus Wilson won the national championship. Georgia sophomore Riyon Rankin finished second. Ole Miss junior Arvesta Troupe finished third, and Oklahoma sophomore Kyren Washington claimed fourth.
Those seven jumpers were the only athletes of the 16 competitors to clear 2.19 meters. Wilson was the only jumper to clear 2.22 meters, winning him the championship after he finished fourth at last year’s indoor championships and second at last year’s outdoor championships. That leap also set a new facility record in Virginia Beach.
Rankin claimed second since he was the only jumper to beat 2.19 meters on his first try. Troupe and Washington needed two jumps, while Gerald, Palen and Snowden needed three.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Wilson also needed three jumps to clear 2.19 before clearing 2.22 meters on his third attempt. He continued jumping on his own afterward, peaking at a personal best 2.28 meters.
That height beat both of last year’s championship-winning jumps by Arkansas senior Romaine Beckford, who won both the indoor and outdoor titles in 2024.
Last year in Boston, Snowden cleared 2.24 meters to finish second behind Beckford in this event. Snowden later finished third at the outdoor championships behind Beckford and Wilson.
Snowden dropping from second to a tie for fifth in this event comes after failing to defend his SWAC indoor title last month. He finished second behind Florida A&M junior Paul Rowden after both cleared 2.17 meters but failed at 2.20. Rowden had cleared 2.17 in one try while Snowden needed two.
UAPB begins the outdoor season next weekend at TCU. The Golden Lion men are coming off a third-place finish at the SWAC indoor championships.