Long jump Records Fall on Second Day of Para Trials

MIRAMAR, FLORIDA – Four long jump Americas and world records fell as the second day of the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials – Track & Field wrapped at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar. Paralympians Ezra Frech (Los Angeles, California), Jarryd Wallace (Athens, Georgia) and Noelle Lambert (Manchester, New Hampshire) all hit Americas records in their long jump events, while teenager Annie Carey (Boise, Idaho) broke her own world record in the T44 long jump.

The qualification process for Team USA is based on a factored system that takes an athlete’s time or distance in an event and compares it to the National A Team standard for that event. The percentages gathered from those results form a ranking list from which the Paralympic Team is selected. Full selection procedures can be found here.

Lambert became the first American T63 woman to jump over five meters at a major Para  competition, shattering the Americas Record with a best mark of 5.06 meters on her second attempt. The 2020 Paralympian, who switched from sprints to jumps this year in a bid for her second Games, has broken the national and Americas record several times since starting her jumping career.

Wallace smashed the previous Americas Record with a mark of 7.91, beating the former record by .26 meters. The three-time Paralympian is seeking his first Paralympic berth in long jump after competing for most of his career as a sprinter. He was the men’s 100-meter T64 bronze medalist in Tokyo, and won bronze in his first world championships long jumping in 2023.

Reigning world championships silver medalist Derek Loccident (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) followed Wallace closely in second with a best mark of 7.86 meters. Paralympic bronze medalist Trenten Merrill (San Juan Capistrano, California) experienced an equipment malfunction during warmups and was unable to compete.

“I hated having Trenten not be able to compete with us, he’s always a great contender and great competitor,” Wallace said. “And then Derek has absolutely exploded on the scene in the past couple of years. We’re pushing each other, we have a great relationship and really respect each other. I was grateful to put together a consistent round of jumps. We’ve been working really hard. I know I have 8-meter jumps in me. I’m really excited to see what happens in Paris.”

Frech, who will compete in his signature high jump event tomorrow, jumped over seven meters for the first time in his career, setting a new Americas Record with a 7.05-meter mark to top the T63 event.

“I’ve been waiting for this for so long,” Frech said. “It was a rough competition. I was all over the board, battling so much, then on my sixth attempt, I finally got over seven meters. It meant a lot for me personally, I got a little teary eyed, but also as far as what we want to do in Paris, this is a stepping stone.”

The 19-year-old Carey, who won two Parapan American Games bronze medals in November, set a women’s long jump T44 world record with a best mark of 5.09 meters. In international competition, the T44 long jump is combined with the T64 event, but Carey, who has broken the T44 world record multiple times, is nearing the event world record, which is set at 5.43 meters.

After an injury-riddled Paralympic quad, three-time Paralympian Tobi Fawehinmi (Arlington, Texas) put together a massive best jump of 6.91 meters to win the men’s long jump T46 competition over four-time Paralympic medalist Roderick Townsend (Stockton, California), whose best event will come in tomorrow’s high jump.

Since competing in Tokyo, Fawehinmi has dealt with a string of bad luck, health-wise, but is looking to qualify for his fourth Paralympic Games after a strong performance in his signature event.

“It’s been a long journey,” Fawehinmi said. “It’s been an emotional roller coaster for me, but everything has been a work in progress. If I make this team … it would mean everything to me.”

Competing in a major competition in long jump for the first time was four-time Paralympic medalist Nick Mayhugh (Manassas, Virginia), who won today’s T38 competition with a best mark of 6.19. Mayhugh will compete in both the 100-meter and 400-meter T38 races on the final day of competition tomorrow.

In throws, teenager Samantha Heyison (Adamstown, Maryland) threw a personal-best 39.88 meters to win the women’s discus F64 competition. The two-time world championships bronze medalist said it was the first time she set a personal-best in several years.

“Being able to get out of that rut that I was having and being able to peak at the right time feels great,” Heyison said. “I just want to be able to keep this consistency and momentum. I had throws like this a month ago, but it was more sporadic, so now if I can just keep this consistency up, it can hopefully lead to more PRs.”

Standing out in running events were Paralympians Daniel Romanchuk (Mount Airy, Maryland), Hunter Woodhall (Syrcause, Utah), Brianna Salinaro (Massapequa, New York), and Brian Siemann (Champaign, Illinois).

Romanchuk and Siemann retained their undefeated weekends in the men’s T54 and T53 races, respectively, both winning two races on the day. Romanchuk is now four-for-four after victories in the 800-meter T54 and 100-meter open wheelchair, while Siemann took first in the 800-meter and 1500-meter T53 races.

Woodhall put together a personal best in the men’s 100-meter open, winning the overall title with a time of 10.75 seconds. The three-time Paralympic medalist brought home silver in 100-meter T64 at the 2024 world championships and continued to improve upon his best time in the event.

“I felt like I got a good start,” Woodhall said. “If I’m in the race at the beginning, I know I have a good shot. I just tried to stay relaxed and execute the last part of the race. This whole year, we’ve been working on the 100-meters. Today I just put it together, and I am so happy.”

Setting an American record of her own in the women’s 200-meter T35 competition was Salinaro, who won the event in 34.18. Salinaro, a Paralympian in Taekwondo, switched to track and field when her sport classification was omitted from the Paralympic Games program. She is now looking for her first berth as a sprinter with her best event, the 100-meter, still to come this weekend.

“This has been such a tough season, so to pull out an American record and a personal-best here, I’m happy with that,” Salinaro said. “I PR-ed yesterday and PR-ed today, so we’re on the right track. The 100-meter is where I shine, so I’m so excited about that. It’s going to be a game-changer.”

Competition resumes tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. EST with the final day of team trials. All sessions will be streamed live on NBC’s Peacock, and live results can be found here. The 2024 U.S. Paralympic Track & Field Team will be announced in a public naming ceremony on Sunday. Follow U.S. Paralympics Track & Field on Facebook, Instagram and X for updates and results from the weekend.

For media requests and photo inquiries, please contact Kristen Gowdy at Kristen.Gowdy@usopc.org.

Gold Medalists – Day 2

Nick Mayhugh (Men’s long jump T38)

Simon Detmer (Men’s long jump T37)

Samuel Winter (Men’s long jump T36)

Brianna Salinaro (Women’s 200-meter T35)

Jordan McGuire (Women’s 200-meter T36)

Marshall Zackery (Men’s 200-meter T35)

Timothy Donnan (Men’s 200-meter T44)

David Prince (Men’s 200-meter T64)

Tucker McCrady (Men’s 200-meter T37)

Danielle Kanas (Women’s javelin F46)

Markeith Price (Men’s javelin F13)

Cody Jones (Men’s javelin F38)

Hagan Landry (Men’s javelin F41)

Parker Harvey (Men’s javelin F46)

Derik Smith (Men’s javelin F64)

Eva Houston (Women’s 800-meter T34)

Jarryd Wallace (Men’s long jump T64)

Tobi Fawehinmi (Men’s long jump T46)

William Butts (Men’s long jump T62)

Yen Hoang (Women’s 800-meter T53)

Brian Siemann (Men’s 800-meter T53)

Daniel Romanchuk (Men’s 800-meter T54)

Susannah Scaroni (Women’s 800-meter T54)

Yen Hoang (Women’s 400-meter T53)

Ezra Frech (Men’s long jump T63)

Regas Woods (Men’s long jump T61)

Erin Kerkhoff (Women’s 400-meter T13)

Breanna Clark (Women’s 400-meter T20)

Samuel Winter (Men’s 400-meter T36)

Brycen Phillips (Men’s 400-meter T37)

Johnnie Williams (Men’s discus F56)

Kasey Nickel (Women’s discus F37)

Sophia Zargoski (Women’s discus F40)

Jessica Heims (Women’s discus F64)

Samantha Heyison (Women’s discus F44)

Lily Rosenthal (Women’s discus F62)

Tanner Wright (Men’s 400-meter T46)

Rayven Sample (Men’s 400-meter T45)

Aubrey Jumper (Women’s 400-meter T37)

Noah Malone (Men’s 400-meter T12)

Caleb Howard (Men’s 400-meter T13)

Hunter Woodhall (Men’s 100-meter open ambulatory)

Brittni Mason (Women’s 100-meter open ambulatory)

Evan Correll (Men’s 100-meter open wheelchair)

Hannah Dederick (Women’s 100-meter open wheelchair)

Brian Siemann (Men’s 1500-meter T53)

Daniel Romanchuk (Men’s 1500-meter T54)

Yen Hoang (Women’s 1500-meter T53)

Tatyana McFadden (Women’s 1500-meter T54)