EUGENE, Ore. - Baylor senior Felix Obi finished 10th in the triple jump competition at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field Friday.
The El Paso, Texas, product came within .25 inches or one centimeter of ninth place, which would have earned him a spot in the event finals and three more attempts.
Obi opened the day with a jump of 52-0.5 [15.86m], which placed him seventh after one round of jumps in the 24-person field. However, Obi was unable to improve upon that mark on his second and third attempts, going 51-7.75 [15.74m] and 51-5.5 [15.68m], respectively. Meanwhile, other competitors passed Obi’s opening mark moving him down to ninth after two rounds and then down to 10th as he prepared to take his third jump.
He finished 10th for a second-straight season, after missing out on the final by two inches in 2015. The 2014 NCAA Indoor triple jump champion does have one more outdoor season of eligibility remaining, after missing the 2014 outdoor season with an injury.
With all four of BU’s men’s entries missing the finals, it ends a streak of 38-straight years for the men’s team to score at the national outdoor meet (1978-2015).
TOP QUOTE #1
"I know Felix is disappointed. To miss the finals where you get an opportunity for three more jumps by one centimeter - it doesn’t get any closer than that. I feel for him. That is tough. Like our men’s 4x4 missing the finals by one hundredth of a second, it is about as close as it comes in track and field.” - head coach Todd Harbour on Felix Obi
TOP QUOTE #2
"It just speaks to the consistency that we have had in the program over the years. We will start another one next year. We will be back in force as we bring a bunch of athletes back. It has just been one of those years. We have had such a good run here the last couple of years, so this has been a tough one.” - Harbour on the men’s team scoring in every outdoor meet over the past 38 years
WHAT'S NEXT
Obi’s action concludes the 2016 collegiate season for Baylor. The Bears are slated to have several athletes in action at the USA Junior Championships, June 20-24, in Clovis, Calif.
To stay current on all things Baylor Track, follow the team on Twitter: @BaylorTrack.
