The final day of the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships was a prosperous one for Voorhees athlete Jayden Burris, claiming the Triple Jump title in a historic performance.
With a winning mark of 16.32m, Burris set a new NAIA championship record that previously stood for 45 years. He finished 0.85m ahead of the athlete in second place.
Burris nearly didn’t make it out of the first round of jumps, recording fouls on his first two attempts. In danger of being eliminated from the field, he clocked a 16.22m mark on his final jump of the first round to advance to the finals.
Already holding the measurement to beat with his final first round jump, Burris posted his championship record setting jump on the first attempt of the finals, securing the win in a landslide.
The sophomore athlete entered the triple jump championship field as the overwhelming favorite, entering as the number-one ranked participant with a season-best of 16.35m.
Having also took part in the long jump, where he entered as the fifth-ranked athlete, Burris’ run in that event ended abruptly after recording fouls in all three of his first-round attempts, failing to make it to the finals as a result.
His brother, Jaylen Burris, who claimed second-place in the long jump with a mark of 7.68m, finished in third place in the triple jump after posting a 15.39m attempt.
Meanwhile, Michael Tatnall, the triple jump champion at the 2024 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, finished in fourth at 15.16m.
This is the second time this season the Voorhees trio has claimed three of the top four spots in a National Championship in the triple jump, having done so at this year’s Indoor Track & Field Championships (Jaylen in second, Jayden in third, and Tatnall in fourth).
