COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Track & Field freshman Ja'Mari Ward (Cahokia, Ill.) was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman Field Athlete of the Year, announced by the league office on Wednesday. Ward captured the SEC long jump title and set program top-10 marks in the long jump and triple jump during his debut campaign in Black & Gold.
Ward's freshman of the Year honor is the fourth consecutive year Mizzou has won an SEC Freshman of the Year honor. In 2013, senior Kaitlyn Fischer (Pevely, Mo.) was named the SEC Cross Country Freshman of the Year, followed by junior Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa) winning the same honor in 2014, then finally sophomore Kahmari Montgomery (Plainfield, Ill.) won won the SEC Men's Freshman Runner of the Year in 2016.
Six Tigers garnered honors in the end-of-the-year awards, including four who were named to the All-SEC First Team following conference titles. Earning First Team Honors was Ward, Schweizer who won the 5000m run, redshirt sophomore Jamie Kempfer (Festus, Mo.) who won the 10,000m run and redshirt sophomore Gabi Jacobs (Bloomington, Ill.) who won the discus title. Senior Reinhard Van Zyl (Hoedspruit, South Africa) was named to the All-SEC Second Team for his runner-up performance in the javelin, while Ward and redshirt freshman Patrick Kunza (Wentzville, Mo.) was named to the All-Freshman Team after Kunza finished 16th in the hammer throw.
After redshirting the indoor season, Ward made his Tiger jumping debut at the Texas Relays (April 1), where he posted a mark of 7.44m (24-5). Ward would then finish first in the long jump at the Tom Botts Invitational (April 14) and second in the triple jump at the John McDonnell Invitational (April 22) in back-to-back meets. The Tiger freshman's mark of 15.44m (50-8) in the triple jump ranks eighth in program history.
Ward's biggest moment of the season came at the SEC Championships (May 12), where Ward upset 2017 NCAA Indoor Long Jump National Champion KeAndre Bates (Florida) to capture the conference title in the long jump. In his final attempt, Ward jumped 8.13m (26-8.25), a mark which ranks second in program history, second in the nation this season and fourth in the junior world rankings (under 20).
Ward, one of the most prized jumping recruits in the country, joined Mizzou after winning four Illinois state titles, including both the triple jump and long jump state titles in 2015. In the summer of 2016, Ward finished first in the long jump at the USATF Junior National Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a jump of 7.84 (25-8.75), then ended up finishing sixth at the IAAF World U20 Championships with a mark of 7.96 (26-1.5).
For all the latest on Mizzou Track & Field, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MIZ_TrackField).