Dolphin takes flight: Jacksonville University's Kristi Snyman qualifies for NCAA track

Kristi Snyman felt pretty sure that she had made it.

But in the split second after landing her final try in the women's high jump, the Jacksonville University junior knew in an instant where she had to look.

"I didn't feel touching it [the bar]," she said. "So I was like, 'It has to be over.' I went and I looked at it, and I knew: It's still there. You've got it."

The high jump bar doesn't lie, and on Saturday, it declared Snyman a winner -- a last-ditch leap highlighted Jacksonville's final day of the NCAA East Preliminary track and field championships at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium.

In a clear-or-go-home last attempt at 5 feet, 11 1/2 inches, Snyman came through to secure one of the 12 qualifying berths for the June 7-10 NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas.

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Seeded in the top six in the region on a track she considers "almost like home ground," Snyman's meet didn't exactly follow the script but had the happy ending anyway.

"I was thinking, today's the day. Everyone is here. I have the support," she said. "I've just got to prove to them that I can do it."

SNYMAN SAVES BEST FOR LAST

A junior from Cape Town, South Africa, Snyman found herself down to her last jump not once but twice. Earlier in the afternoon, she needed all three tries to surmount the bar at 5 feet, 9 3/4 inches, a height that seldom presents a problem for her.

Snyman had already cleared that mark in five competitions this year: the RADD College Invitational in January, the ASUN indoor championships in February, the River City Spring Break Classic in March, the East Coast Relays in April and the ASUN outdoor championships in May. The last three took place on the same Hodges Stadium track.

This time, she had to contend with gusty winds that flew into the faces of the jumpers, who were moving in the opposite direction to the 100-meter course that recorded unusually fast times all week.

"It's crazy," she said. "I was like, 'Jax, really, today you want to be windy?' It's very, very hard to go against this wind. You need to push, but not too much."

Fighting a brisk headwind on her first two attempts at 5 feet, 11 1/2 inches, with 17 other competitors still in the running, she again collided with the bar. With her season on the line, Snyman decided to adjust her run-up for her third attempt.

"I think I was overly excited and I was pushing so much, so I just moved a little bit back [in starting position] and I guess that worked," she said.

In a near carbon-copy of her successful first-round jump at 5 feet, 5 3/4 inches, Snyman approached smoothly, cleared the bar, took that last look to make sure all was well and raced off to celebrate with her JU supporters.

"I was like, 'You know you can do this. Why are you leaving it to the last attempt?'" she said. "But then I got to the last time and I thought, it takes one really good jump. Just get it done. And I got it done."

HAID DENIED IN FINAL HEAT

For about 15 minutes, JU looked set to celebrate a double Dolphin delight.

Racing in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Hayleigh Haid patiently made up ground and motored around the course in a superb final lap, overtaking two rivals -- including Kayla Windemuller of Michigan in the final yards before the finish line -- to place fourth in her heat in 10:06.02.

That time, which nearly matched her season best of 10:04.34 from the Florida Relays two months ago, tentatively placed the graduate student from Livonia, N.Y. into the second of the three at-large qualifying berths.

But the chance at a ticket for Austin dissolved in the final heat.

Ceili McCabe of West Virginia set a quick tempo from the start, and five runners -- McCabe, Penn's Olivia Morganti, Villanova's Lydia Olivere, Butler's Angelina Ellis and Ole Miss' Kristel van den Berg -- ended up quicker than Haid's 10:06.02, bumping her to 13th place with only the top 12 advancing.

COLLINS QUALIFIES FOR AUSTIN

Before Saturday, UCF junior Asherah Collins had never jumped 43 feet, 3 1/4 inches in competition.

That changed in one memorable leap, which propelled the Columbia High School graduate into the national finals.

Collins made the decisive jump on her second attempt from the fourth and final flight. Her third jump was only 1 3/4 inches shorter, earning a 10th-place finish and a berth in the field for Austin.

RUSSELL, DIGGS, TUOHY AMONG VICTORS

Unlike Friday's turbulent men's races, particularly the chaotic 110 hurdles, most of Saturday's women's quarters avoided major surprises -- but there were exceptions.

UCF's Latasha Smith, top seed in the 200, ran 23.85 -- nearly two seconds slower than her seed time -- to place 22nd out of 24, missing out on the nationals. Ole Miss senior McKenzie Long took first place instead and also won the 100.

Kentucky senior Masai Russell, record-breaker in April for the collegiate 100 hurdles, ran 12.58 to top the 100 hurdle charts in Jacksonville and placed second to Michigan's Savannah Sutherland in the 400 hurdles.

Favorites Talitha Diggs of Florida (400), Veronica Fraley of Vanderbilt (discus), Michaela Rose of LSU (800) and Katelyn Tuohy of N.C. State advanced in their events, and Tuohy ran 15:31.00 to set a facility record in the women's 5,000.

They'll all be on the road to Austin. So is JU's Snyman, who said she feels more prepared than in her previous visit in 2021.

"Freshman year, when I went, I was very shy and I wasn't used to the big crowds and the very high-level competitors," she said. "Everyone is just pushing everyone to compete… Now, it's like everybody's pushing me. So I definitely feel more comfortable."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: NCAA track & field 2023: Kristi Snyman qualifies in women's high jump