As Spring Break came to a close and students returned to Charlottesville, the Virginia track team's Tomika Ferguson earned All-American honors at the NCAA Championships in Arkansas.
Ferguson placed sixth in the triple jump competition, hitting a jump of 13.32 m and breaking her own school record by 12 m. In addition to posting a personal best at the meet, Ferguson received her first All-American honors.
"The atmosphere of NCAAs is not like a typical meet," Ferguson said. "The crowd is extremely hyped, the performances are exceptional and being in that environment strongly encouraged me to match the competition around me."
Ferguson was selected to compete in the NCAA championships following her fourth-place finish at the ACC championship meet. The news came just a few days before the competition.
"I was overly excited," Ferguson said. "I did not know how to act, and I could not stop smiling until I got to Arkansas."
Her first obstacle at the NCAA Championship was the qualifying round. In this preliminary, each jumper has three chances to post a score that will put her through to the finals. Ferguson fouled on both of her first two jumps.
"I was really proud of the way that she responded to the two fouls," coach Randy Bungard said. "However, after the second foul she was looking a little worried so I just pulled her aside and said, 'You know it only takes one jump to get to the finals, so you are not done, you still have one shot left.'"
On her third attempt, Ferguson did not foul. She jumped 13.09 m and became one of nine women to move into the final round.
"The only thing I did was move my mark back a foot, prayed to God and tried not to overdo it," Ferguson said.
Fortunately for Ferguson, the ACC conference this past indoor season was the best triple jump conference in the country. Indeed, four of the eight women Ferguson competed against in the finals were from ACC schools and Bungard credits the familiar company with helping to put Ferguson at ease.
"Before the competition I told her that, while this venue seems larger than life, really it is still just a track meet," Bungard said. "I reminded her that this isn't something you haven't seen before -- these are the same people you run up against every weekend and you belong there with them."
Beginning the final competition in eighth place, Ferguson went 13.32 m on her first jump to move into sixth. While she did not advance any further, at the end of the competition she was only one centimeter out of fourth place and her finish contributed substantially to Virginia's overall team score.
Looking ahead to the outdoor season, Bungard plans to have Ferguson run sprints and relays in upcoming meets to give her several weeks of down time from jumping. The fear is that when an event is done too much, the athlete can become stale. By varying her events and letting Ferguson get anxious to start jumping again, Bungard hopes to have her performing at her best at the conference meet in April, the NCAA qualifying meet and at the NCAA Championship.
"For the outdoor season, my goal is to jump over 44 feet and to regionally qualify for both long and triple jump," Ferguson said. "Of course, I want to be back at Nationals, but I have to make it to Regionals first."
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