June 12, 2009

2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Triple Jump Preliminary Results

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - In the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship hosted by the University of Arkansas, lone University of Memphis representative, sophomore Aaron Whetstone, finished 25th nationally in the men's triple jump preliminaries on Friday.

Whetstone is the first male athlete at Memphis to compete at the national championship in the triple jump since Reuben Fairfax did it in back-to-back years in 1974-75.

In his first appearance at nationals, Whetstone landed a jump of 14.64 meters (48-00.50) on his second attempt in between two fouls. The field was led by Texas A&M junior Zuheir Sharif who made a jump of 16.56 mq (54-04.00). The top 12 finishers in the preliminaries advanced to the finals.

A native of Carlisle, Pa., Whetstone earned a spot in the championship after being selected from an at-large pool of competitors based on his high mark of 15.90 m (52-02.00) in the triple jump, which he recorded at the 2009 C-USA Outdoor Championships. He is the 15th Tiger under coach Kevin Robinson to compete at the NCAA Championship.