By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WHILE the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division One Track and Field Championships are on this weekend with a few Bahamians competing, Jayden Munroe made his presence felt at the recent NCAA DII Championships.

Held a few weeks ago in Pueblo, Colorado, the Northern State University Wolves’ freshman soared to a fourth-place finish in the men’s long jump, breaking his own school record in the event with a leap of 7.63 metres on his second attempt.

Munroe, in climbing the scales from his 22nd ranked mark heading into the championships, opened the competition with 23-10 1/4 (7.27m) on his first attempt and followed wirth 24-9 3/4 (7.56m) on his third before he scratched both the fourth and fifth, only to finish up with 23-10 3/4 (7.28m) on his sixth and final attempt.

Alex Meyer, s sophomore at Indianapolis, won the event with 25-3 1/4 (7.70m) on his first attempt, while Joseph Oreva, a senior at West Texas A&M was second with 25-2 1/2 (7.68m) on his fifth and Wesley Tyndall, a junior  at Lincoln (Mo), was third with a personal best of 25-2 1/2 (7.68m) on his fourth.

“I think I had a great performance and could have been a little better though,” he said. “I think my performance at nationals was a great one. 

“It was my first nationals so I was very nervous but I knew once I got on the board I was going to have good jumps.”

Two weeks before the NCAA Championships, Munroe competed at the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Outdoor Championships where he won the long jump with 24-04 1/2 (7.43m) on his second attempt. He also did 23-11 (7.29m) on his first, fourled his third and cleared 23-09 1/2 (7.25m) on his fourth before fouling his fifth and sixth.

Munroe, 20, also got second in the triple jump with 48-04 3/4 (14.75m) on his second attempt. Sheldon McNicholas, a sophomore at Minnesota State, won with 48-09 (14.86m) on his first attempt. Munroe fouled his first, cleared 47-05 (14.45m) on his third, 48-04 1/2 (14.74m) on his fourth, fouled his fifth and closed out the competition with 47-10 (14.58m) on his sixth try.

Munroe, a former student of St Andrew’s School up to grade eight, competed three prep seasons with Aberdeen Roncalli and head coach Brady Lesnar. Munroe, a management major, holds personal best marks of 22-05 in the long jump, 45-0 1/2 in the triple jump, and 22.50 in the 200m. He won the South Dakota State Championship in the long jump and triple jump in 2023. 

Here now on a summer break, unroe said he will spend time with his family, including his parents, Maedawn and Manika Munroe, his grandfather, golf executive Kingsley Munroe, and his friends. 

He is also preparing to compete in the Bahamas Amateur Athletic Associations’ National Track and Field Champ[ionship at the Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium before he returns to school.

“My expectations for next year is to make both indoor and outdoor nationals in both triple and long jump and to hopefully sweep the jumps,” said Munroe about his sophomore season.