EUGENE, Ore. – Stanford freshman Xavier Drumgoole placed 21st in the triple jump Friday in his first NCAA championship meet.
Drumgoole, however, left disappointed because he didn’t record a true jump among his three attempts at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field.
Coming in with the fourth-best season mark in the field after his 53-10 ½ (16.42 meters) performance at the NCAA West Prelims, Drumgoole was forced to bail out of his first jump, though it was recorded as 42-10 ¼ (13.06) and fouled on his next two, ending his meet.
On his opening jump, Drumgoole powered down the runway and had a great hop and step. But as he gathered for the final phase, his right leg collapsed and he was unable to complete it. That would be his only legal jump.
His second try appeared to be a distance of around 51 feet, but Drumgoole's toe was just over the board. His steps were far off on his third try and he ran through the pit.
“I can’t let those get away from me,” Drumgoole said.
Drumgoole still has the U.S. Under-20 Championships next weekend, also at Hayward Field, but otherwise has completed an outstanding season in which he broke a 55-year-old Stanford freshman record.
“This year was all about finding my rhythm,” he said. “I got a lot stronger. I got a lot faster. I’m working in a new place, in a new system, just finding out how I could still be me on the track and improve and learn.
“Over the off-season, I’m going to keep working on that so I can bring it next year with some change. I’ve got some work to do. I’ll be back.”
The Stanford men had three individual competitors in the meet, but the men’s competition concluded without a Cardinal point, the first time the men have been shut out since 2013.
The four-day meet concludes Saturday with women’s finals. Stanford has four athletes competing – Alyssa Jones in the high jump, Roisin Willis in the 800, and Zofia Dudek and Sophia Kennedy in the 5,000.
NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
At Hayward Field
Friday’s Stanford results
Men
Team scores -- 1 (tie), USC, Texas A&M, 41; 3, Arkansas 40; 4, Auburn 35; 5, New Mexico 31; 6, Oklahoma 30.5; 73 (tie), Stanford 0.
Triple jump – 1, Brandon Green Jr. (Oklahoma) 55-2 (16.81); 21, Xavier Drumgoole (Stanford) 42-10 ¼ (13.06).
Stanford’s NCAA Schedule
Saturday
5:30 p.m.: Women’s high jump final – Alyssa Jones.
7:14 p.m.: Women’s 800 final – Roisin Willis.
7:55 p.m.: Women’s 5,000 final – Zofia Dudek, Sophia Kennedy.