NAMPA, Idaho – Jasmine Manuel further cemented her status as one of the more prolific triple jumpers in Ragin’ Cajuns Track and Field history on Saturday when she set the school indoor record for the fifth time in the past calendar year and placed fourth at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships held at Boise State’s Jackson Track at the Idaho Center.
Manuel recorded a distance of 13.31m/43-8, which landed her in fourth place in the women’s triple jump ahead of competitors from Baylor, Florida, Clemson, Virginia, LSU and Georgia.
By virtue of finishing in the Top 8, she will receive first team All-American honors when the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association officially announces All-American honors. The announcement is expected to come no later than Monday.
Manuel is set to become UL’s first female All-American athlete since JoJo Harris (discus) claimed honors in 1994.
“Jasmine really ended the meet for us on a high note,” head coach Lon Badeaux said. “She had trouble with the first two jumps, but came back strong on her third.
“We are very proud of how she competed at this level and is well deserving of her All-American status.”
The senior from Hammond, La., wasn’t very far from collecting a national championship. The winning leap recorded by Kansas’ Andrea Geubelle was 13.67m/44-10 ¼.
The 2012 Sun Belt Championships Women’s Most Outstanding Field Performer tallied a leap of 13-plus meters for the second straight outing. At the SBC meet, Manuel claimed the league’s triple jump title with a distance of 13.07m/42-10 ¾ which was the school record prior to Saturday’s NCAA indoor performance.
Manuel overtook Cecilia Noel as the school’s indoor triple jump record holder on Feb. 12. 2011 with a mark of 12.69m/41-7 ¾ at the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational. She would set the bar once more when she leaped 12.77m/41-10 ¾ at the 2011 SBC Championships.
This season she continued her assault on the record books as she set a new record in each of her last three appearances in the triple jump (Arkansas State Invitational, Sun Belt Championships, NCAA Indoor Championships).
Manuel now turns her attention to the 2012 outdoor season where her first action comes at the Louisiana Classics being held at the Cajuns Track/Soccer Facility Thursday-Saturday, March 15-17.
Manuel is the school outdoor record holder in the triple jump with a mark of 12.77m/41-10 ¾ at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. She is the defending Sun Belt outdoor champion in the event.