Pinnock matches Jamaican indoor national long jump record, with Arkansas standout soaring to world-leading 27-6.75 (8.40m) in Boston; Northern Arizona star Young prevails in 5,000, Daniel captures first men’s pole vault crown for Kentucky and Schoppe leads Oklahoma State to DMR repeat

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Kirby Lee/Image of Sport and David Hicks

BOSTON, Mass. – Wayne Pinnock and Ryan Schoppe had enjoyed the championship celebrations before, only in separate locations and surrounded by different supporting casts.

Nico Young and Keaton Daniel both appeared destined to capture individual crowns early in their college careers, but the veterans finally realized their full potential this season and experienced long-awaited moments standing atop the podium Friday at the TRACK at New Balance.

And Northern Arizona managed to keep pace with top-ranked Arkansas following the second of three days of men’s competition at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships, setting the stage for a dramatic final session to decide the team title.

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Pinnock and Young both achieved victories to help the Razorbacks and Lumberjacks, respectively, as both programs have 18 points entering Saturday’s schedule.

Pinnock matched the Jamaican indoor national record with his world-leading mark of 27-6.75 (8.40m) in the fourth round, equaling the impressive standard first achieved in 1996 by James Beckford and equaled at last year’s Division 1 indoor final by former Arkansas teammate Carey McLeod.

Pinnock, who became the first male athlete in Division 1 indoor history to win long jump championships with multiple programs including his 2022 victory representing Tennessee at the CrossPlex in Alabama, matched McLeod as the No. 5 all-time collegiate indoor competitor.

Florida State’s Jeremiah Davis was second at 26-11 (8.20m), with Florida’s Malcolm Clemons taking third at 26-7.25 (8.11m), USC’s Johnny Brackins Jr. finishing fourth at 26-3.50 (8.01m) and Washington’s Preston Artis placing fifth at 26-3 (8.00m). Brackins also led all qualifiers into the 60-meter hurdles final in 7.571 seconds, just ahead of Texas A&M teammates Jaqualon Scott (7.577) and Connor Schulman (7.59).

Schoppe anchored Oklahoma State to victory in the men’s distance medley relay last year in Albuquerque, N.M.

Despite a completely new supporting cast that included Kenyan athlete Brian Musau, Moroccan competitor Mehdi Yanouri and DeJuana McArthur, Oklahoma State still led on the final two legs, with Schoppe making a decisive surge on the last lap to hold off Georgetown’s Camden Gilmore, helping the Cowboys secure back-to-back titles in 9:25.24.

Oklahoma State became the first men’s program to repeat in the DMR since Oregon in 2015-16, with Edward Cheserek anchoring the Ducks to both their championships.

Georgetown, with Matthew Payamps, Joshua Paige and Tim McInerney supporting Gilmore, placed second in 9:25.77.

Virginia (9:27.18), North Carolina (9:27.96) and Arkansas (9:28.88) rounded out the top five men’s DMR programs.

Although Northern Arizona wasn’t able to score in the DMR, despite boasting the fastest entry time at 9:17.43, the Lumberjacks crowned the third men’s 5,000 champion in program history, with Young executing a well-timed pass on the outside of North Carolina’s Parker Wolfe with 250 meters remaining and holding on to triumph in 13:25.29.

Young joined David McNeill in 2010 and Abdihamid Nur in 2022 as 5,000 winners for Northern Arizona.

Wolfe was runner-up in 13:27.37, with Australian competitor Ky Robinson taking third for Stanford in 13:27.79 and Eritrean athlete Habtom Samuel of New Mexico clocking 13:30.07 to place fourth, along with Ugandan standout Peter Maru finishing fifth for Arkansas in 13:30.51.

Oklahoma State’s Alex Maier secured sixth in 13:31.17, Spanish athlete Aaron Las Heras gave Northern Arizona two more points by achieving seventh in 13:31.55 and Wisconsin’s Jackson Sharp, representing Australia, earned eighth in 13:31.63.

Daniel cleared 18-8.25 (5.70m) on his second attempt, holding off Arkansas State’s Bradley Jelmert and his third-attempt clearance at 18-6.50 (5.65m) to capture the first men’s pole vault title in Kentucky program history.

Daniel, a transfer from Division 2 Fresno Pacific, is a five-time first-team All-American for the Wildcats.

Virginia Tech’s Conner McClure took third with a personal-best 18-2.50 (5.55m), followed by a trio of competitors at 18-0.50 (5.50m), including Penn teammates James Rhoads and Scott Toney, as well as Kansas standout Clayton Simms.

Texas star Leo Neugebauer built a first-day advantage in the men’s heptathlon with 3,664 points, a 21-point improvement on his opening-day effort Feb. 2 at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic in Albuquerque, when the German athlete finished with 6,219 points to add to his resume as the No. 5 all-time collegiate indoor performer.

Neugebauer is trying to become the first Texas athlete to capture the Division 1 indoor heptathlon crown since Donovan Kilmartin won three titles in 2004, 2006 and 2007.

Michigan State’s Heath Baldwin was second with 3,548 points and Till Steinforth, another German competitor from Nebraska, produced 3,476 points for third. Steinforth also secured seventh at 25-10 (7.87m) in the long jump final.

Arkansas, which has four athletes qualified among the 16 finalists in the heptathlon, is in danger of not having any of them score, as they all rank outside the top eight following four events.