Crawford Jumps US#1 on Day One of American Conference Indoor Championships 

By Chris Lotsbom, ArmoryTrack.com

Rutgers junior Corey Crawford had a day to remember here at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, leaping an NCAA leading 26 feet, 11.75 inches to win the long jump title. A native of Oakland, N.J., Crawford's jump ranks third in the world this year and is tied for the longest jump by an American in 2014.

Coming into the meet ranked second in the NCAA, Crawford notched three personal best jumps, culminating in his 8.22 meter leap. 

"Me and my coach have been working a lot with our speed down the runway," Crawford explained. "I'm a lot faster, my coach has really gotten me to have better form at the board."

That form helped propel Crawford more than a foot farther than runner-up Guillame Victorin of Louisville (25-11.50), earning his first conference title in the process.

Watching from the stands was American track and field icon Carl Lewis, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and indoor world record holder in the long jump. Lewis was working with the University of Houston's jumpers as a volunteer assistant.

"He's like my role model pretty much," said Crawford, who once attended a track and field camp that Lewis was at. "I looked up in the stands and saw Carl and was like 'Wow, this is the greatest American long jumper of all time.'" 

Knowing he had the win before taking his final jump, Crawford was ready to unleash everything he had. 

"On my last jump I could just go for it," he said. That he did, extending his NCAA-leading mark and securing himself a spot at the NCAA Championships. "I feel like I'm peaking at the right time of the season." 

Crawford was just one of many impressive performances recorded on the first of two days of competition here at The New Balance Track & Field Center at The Armory. 

Rutgers wound up sweeping the long jump, as senior Asha Ruth won the women's contest with a leap of 20 feet, 3.75 inches (6.19m). Brittany Owens (Louisville) and Jen Clayton (Central Florida) leaped within centimeters of Ruth, reaching 20-03.00 (6.17m) and 20-02.25 (6.15m). This was Clayton's first competition of the indoor season; she was third at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last year and is a graduate of Suffern High School.

Connecticut teammates Emily Durgin and Lauren Sara placed one-two in the 5000m, timing 16:47.81 and 16:54.08. Roughly a half hour after her win, Durgin returned to the track to lead UConn to the distance medley relay win in 11:36.25.

Tomorrow, Durgin will race the 3000 meters. 

Memphis junior Pauls Pujats cleared 17 feet, 10.5 inches (5.45 meters) in the men's pole vault, while teammate Austin Crenshaw placed second (17-02.75/5.25m). Pujats's mark is tied for the tenth best clearance in the NCAA entering this weekend. 

Louisville senior Sam Bombaugh won the men's weight throw with a mark of 62 feet, 10.5 inches (19.16m), more than four feet farther than runner up Oluwatsoin Edwards of Connecticut.

Only 26 points separated first and third place in the pentathlon, as Southern Methodist University's Lucija Cvitanovic claimed the top spot with 3854 points scored. A big win in the fifth and final event --the 800m-- propelled Cvitanovic to victory. Second was South Florida's Rachel Klinger (3841 points) and third went to Houston's Cassie Wiley (3828 points).

Louisville scored 24 points in the men's 5000m, as Ernest Kibet, Edwin Kibichiy, and Tyler Byrne finished first through third. Kibet's winning time was 14:31.16.

Houston teammates Leshon Collins and Cameron Burrell led all men's qualifiers in the 60m dash, running 6.71 and 6.79 respectively. Collins was also fastest in the 200 meter prelims (21.33). 

Leading the team standings after one day of competition are the men of Louisville (59 points) and women of SMU (44).

Results from day one can be found here, while videos can be found here.

Photo/Chris Lotsbom for ArmoryTrack.com