SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA—Rider University sophomore Desmond Hamilton (Pennsauken) placed 20th in the preliminaries of the long jump Wednesday evening at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Sacramento State. \”Everybody back at Rider should be very proud of how Desmond represented us out here, said Rider head coach Rob Pasquariello. \”He carried himself really well.\”
Hamilton, just the second Bronc to ever compete at the NCAA Track & Field Championship, jumped 7.35 meters or 24’1.5\” at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex on the Sacramento State campus Wednesday. \”He just picked a wrong time to not jump his best,\” Pasquariello said. \”Desmond knows he belongs out here with the best, it is just a matter of who has a better day,\”
The top 12 jumpers advance to the finals Thursday. The 12th place jump on Wednesday was 24’9.75\”. \”Obviously he didn’t jump his best but it wasn’t because of nerves or anything,\” Pasquariello said. \”He handled everything well. He just didn’t get the jump he needed to get. He didn’t get the extension that he needed. He didn’t finish the jump, and at this level, it cost him.\”
Hamilton placed fifth in the men’s long jump with a distance of 7.45m (24’5.5\”) at the NCAA Regional Championships, hosted by the University of Florida May 25 in James G. Pressly Stadium at Percy Beard Track to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
\”Desmond was comfortable in the surroundings at Nationals,\” Pasquariello said. \”We both felt that he belonged here.\”
At the ICAAAA Championships May 12, Hamilton won the long jump with what was then the fourth best jump (25’8.75\”) in the nation, and was sixth best heading into Nationals. The win was only the third all-time for Rider in IC4A competition and first since 1994.
\”To come as far as he has in just one year is amazing,\” Pasquariello said. \”He knows he has a lot to learn, and he’s only 20 years old, so he is going to get stronger, get faster. And he’s going to get technically better.\”
The only other Bronc to ever compete at the NCAA Track & Field Championships was Jose Lopez in the 400m hurdles in 1994. \”Any time we get our kids to a different level I think it raises the profile of the program and the University,\” Pasquariello said.
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