At the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Championships this past week, Marie-Jeanne Ourega earned her first national title with a win in the long jump and proceeded to hoist All-American trophies in three other events (triple jump, 4x100m, 100mH) thereafter.
One of just three Outdoor Nationals automatic qualifiers coming into
May 27, Ourega was absolutely locked in against many of the jumpers she faced when she was runner-up at 2021
Indoor Nationals. Jumping at the end of the second heat, she immediately leapt into the top spot with a 20-6.5 (6.26m) in her first attempt then added what would be her best jump of the day at 21-0 (6.40m) in her third try. Against the eight other competitors in the final, Ourega ended the event with no fouls and no jump shorter than her 20-3.5 (6.18m) in her second attempt. She won the national title by more than four inches (0.11 meters) and, by comparison, the fourth place finisher never surpassed 20-0 (6.09m) on the day.
"I'm very happy to become the national champion," Ourega said. "Despite the bad weather, I managed to jump well. It was my revenge from Indoor Nationals."
On
May 28, Ourega debuted at second place following her first triple jump then soon rose to first after a career-best 41-1.75 (12.54m) in her second attempt. She remained the leader of the first flight after bettering her previous career mark with wind-legal 41-4.25 (12.60m) on her third try. Though she would jump no further as ART U's lone qualifier to the final, Ourega's best upped her to fourth in program history (third among wind-legal marks) and hoisting an All-American trophy in sixth on the day. Overall, besides one foul, the Communications & Media Technologies major surpassed 40-6 (12.34m) in her five other jumps.
The third and final day of the championship meet,
May 29, Ourega stepped onto the podium twice more after contributing to her 4x100m relay team's seventh place finish with a time of 45.78. Her sixth All-American honor in her freshman season with ART U then came in the 100m hurdles where she finished with a season-best 13.75 for fifth overall, ending the weekend with a grand total of 17.5 points scored for her team.
