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Jackson and 4x400 dominate on historic day at Penn Relays
April 26, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - In front of an electrifying crowd of 49,831 senior Jonathan Jackson crushed his own school record to win the men's triple jump and earn College Athlete of the Meet honors for individual events, while the men's 4x400 won the Championship of America division for the first time since 2000 on the final day of competition at the 114th running of the Penn Relays.
"We closed out the meet very well and came in here and had a super meet," said head coach Darryl Anderson. "This will definitely help us as we move towards postseason competition, which is upon us. We will make our way back to Fort Worth tomorrow and everyone will be all smiles." Jackson, who's mark of 54 feet, 3 ¾ inches is currently tied for No. 1 in the NCAA and is the 10th longest jump in Penn Relays history, became the first TCU track and field athlete ever to win both the men's long and triple jump at the Penn Relays. He also became the first TCU male or female to win a title in the triple jump at Franklin Field. By being named Individual College Athlete of the Meet, Jackson became only the second individual in TCU history to be named Individual Athlete of the Meet. In 1990, Jon Drummond earned Outstanding Athlete of the Meet honors. "Jonathan Jackson was the highlight of the whole weekend," said Anderson. "I am so proud of him because he has come so far. He is now definitely one of the favorites going into the NCAA Championships." The Grand Prairie natives jump is currently in the top-15 in the world standings and just missed the Olympic qualifying standard. "It feels real good to come in here and do what I did today," said Jackson. "It all came together today for me. This will definitely help me in the next couple of weeks in our big meets." The men's 4x400 unit of Che Chavez, Dell Guy, Clemore Henry and Matthew Love crossed the finish line in 3:07.83 to capture the 4x400 title. The unit collected TCU's first title since 2000 and only the second 4x400 title in TCU's prestigious history at the Penn Relays. The 3:07.83 is an NCAA regional qualifying mark. Not to be outdone, the women's 4x400 unit of Jessica Clarke, Shekila Wilkinson, Meaghan Peoples and Kishelle Paul won the college division of the 4x400 by recording an NCAA regional qualifying time of 3:39.72. "Both relays were super. It's been a few years since TCU has won the men's 4x400 relay at Penn, which is outstanding," said Anderson. In the college men's 4x100, the Flyin' Frogs unit of Andon Mitchell, Otis McDaniel, Justyn Warner and Mychal Dungey clocked a regional qualifying time of 40.25 to finish second overall in the event on Saturday. Warner, a junior from Canada, returned to the track later to record a time of 10.57 to place third overall in the championship division of the men's 100 meters. On the women's side, senior Virgil Hodge crossed the finish line in sixth-place. In the men's championship division of the javelin, senior Joe Brown tossed 213 feet to place sixth overall on Saturday. Brown's toss is an NCAA regional qualifying mark and currently in the top 40 of the NCAA. Finally, the men's 1991 4x100 relay of Carey Johnson, Ralston Wright, Jon Drummond and Horatio Porter were inducted on Saturday as part of the 2008 Wall of Fame class at the Penn Relays. Overall for the weekend, TCU won the women's shot put, the men and women's 4x400 and the men's long and triple jump. The Flyin' Frogs also posted two school records at the Penn Relays in the triple jump. The 49,831 people in attendance on Saturday was the second largest Saturday attendance in Penn Relays history. TCU will close its regular season next week at the Arkansas Twilight in Fayetteville, Ark.
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