Ward to Jump at Pan American Junior Championships
7/20/2017 4:10:00 PM | Track & Field
Ward looks to improve on his sixth-place finish last year
LIMA, PERU – Mizzou Track & Field sophomore Ja'Mari Ward (Cahokia, Ill.) will compete in the long jump at the 2017 Pan American Junior Championships on Friday in Lima, Peru. Ward will be making his second consecutive U.S. Junior National Team appearance after posting a sixth-place finish in the long jump last year at the IAAF U20 World Championships in Poland.
Ward and the field of 18 competitors are scheduled to jump at 5 p.m. CT on Friday. Ward's jump of 8.13m (26-8.25) from this year's SEC Championships is the top-seeded mark heading into the event.
Ward clinched his trip to Peru after producing a jump of 7.81m (25-7.5) at the U.S. Junior Championships June 23 in Sacramento, California. The Cahokia, Illinois, native outjumped the competition by nearly a full foot, as second-place finisher Justin Hall (Texas Tech) jumped 7.56m (24-9.75). In June 2016, Ward posted a mark of 7.84 (25-8.75) to win his first junior long jump U.S. title. He then went on to jump 7.68m (25-2.25) and finish sixth at the IAAF U20 World Championships.
In his first season in the Black & Gold, Ward captured the SEC outdoor long jump title and was named the SEC Freshman Field Athlete of the Year for the outdoor season. In a clutch performance for the ages, Ward upset 2017 NCAA Indoor Long Jump National Champion KeAndre Bates (Florida) to capture his first career conference title. In his final attempt, Ward jumped 8.13m (26-8.25), a mark which ranks second in program history, and was second in the nation and fourth in the junior world rankings (under 20) at the time of the jump.
In his freshman campaign, Ward also posted the eighth-best triple jump mark in outdoor program history at the John McDonnell Invitational (April 22), posting a mark of 15.44m (50-8). Prior to Mizzou, Ward was one of the most prized jumping recruits in the country after winning four Illinois state titles, including both the triple jump and long jump state titles in 2015.
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