Jessie Maduka finishes third in triple jump at NCAA Indoor Championships
Senior Jessie Maduka set the UCLA school triple jump record, set a personal best and secured a podium finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships all in one leap Saturday. (Keila Mayberry/Daily Bruin staff)
By Nicholas Yekikian
March 10, 2018 8:05 p.m.
Senior Jessie Maduka earned third place at the NCAA Indoor Championships meet in the triple jump Saturday.
Maduka was was ranked fourth in the nation going into the weekend’s meet, but after logging a new personal best of 45 feet 3.75 inches, she finished the meet at third in the nation.
Her third-place finish in the triple jump is the first time a Bruin has stepped on the podium at the indoor championship meet since Ida Storm’s second place weight throw finish in 2014.
The senior already set the UCLA school record in the event earlier this season with a jump of 45 feet 01.00 inches. On Saturday she widened the gap between herself and second place by another 2.75 inches.
Last year, Maduka did not qualify for the indoor national meet, but after spending the summer competing in Germany, the senior has come away with her first NCAA trophy.
