EUGENE, Ore. – Northern Arizona sophomore high jumper Deante Kemper ended his season Friday at the NCAA outdoor championships in Eugene, Ore., with a best clearance of 6 feet, 8.75 inches (2.05m), good enough for the second top-25 national finish of his career.
After struggling on his first two attempts at the opening height of
6-8.75 (2.05m), Kemper made some adjustments to his approach and
successfully converted his third and final jump at that mark.
Unfortunately, the San Diego, Calif., native was unable to clear the next
height of 6-10.75 (2.10m).
Still, Kemper ends his second year at
NAU with much success to build on. During the indoor season, Kemper tied
the 22-year-old school record in the high jump (7-3.25) at the Mountain
T’s Invitational, and he went on to earn All-Big Sky honors at both the Big
Sky Conference indoor and outdoor championships in the same event.
Kemper,
who competed in last year’s NCAA outdoors final round as
well, remains the only NAU male to ever compete in the high jump on the
national stage.
“Deante battled some injuries this season but was able to get back to the NCAA championships despite that,” coach Eric Heins said. “This serves as another great experience for him, and he’s sure to come back next year motivated even more.”
With just one day remaining in the national meet at Hayward Field, the Lumberjacks have four athletes left to compete. Junior Lauren Laszczak will compete in the high jump at 12:30 p.m. Pacific time, followed by Edgar Panford in the triple jump at 12:45. Senior Diego Estrada and freshman Futsum Zienasellassie close out NAU’s entries at 3:23 p.m. in the men’s 5,000 meters, a race in which Estrada is the favorite.
