Flowers finishes sixth in triple jump at NCAA championships

Gallaudet sophomore Darius Flowers (Birmingham, Ala.) finished sixth overall in the triple jump at the 2011 NCAA Division III men’s and women’s outdoor track and field championship on Saturday, May 28 at the Selby Field and George Gauthier Track on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University.

Flowers improved his school record, jumping 15.07 meters (49 feet, 5.5 inches) and finishing sixth overall out of 19 jumpers. He made the 15.07 meter jump on his second attempt. Sophomore Isaac Vazquez won the event with a jump of 15.60 meters (51 feet, 2.25 inches), while two-time defending champion Chrys Jones from Centre College finished fifth, jumping 15.08 meters (49 feet, 5.75 inches).

Flowers becomes the sixth Bison to earn NCAA Division III track and field All-American honors, finishing in the top eight spots on Saturday. Gallaudet’s last track and field All-American came in 2004 when Ken Myers Jr. competed in the triple jump at the national indoor championships. The last national outdoor championship All-American from Gallaudet was Wayne Langbein in 1993 when he competed in the discus. Betsy Bachtel is the only women’s All-American from Gallaudet and the lone two-time All-American.

This was Flowers’ first appearance at the NCAA national championships. His jump earned Gallaudet three team points as the Bison finished tied for 57th place with 11 other schools. North Central (Ill.) won the team national championship with 58 points followed by Wisconsin-La Crosse (56 points) and McMurry (50 points).