On This Day: Walder's Collegiate Long Jump Record
For 26 seasons Razorback legend Erick Walder has held the collegiate record in the long jump and it was set on this day, April 2, during the 1994 UTEP Spring Invitational.
Following is an excerpt of the article written by Don Henry in the Sunday, April 3, 1994, edition of the El Paso Times.
Arkansas jumper soars to NCAA record of 28-8 ¼
Walder takes 4 ¾ inches off 13-year-old mark
Erick Walder caught his breath, attacked the runway, catapulted off the jump board, and when he came to earth …
He had kicked almost five inches worth of sand in the face of Carl Lewis.
Walder, the king of Arkansas leapers, long jumped 28 feet, 8 ¼ inches at Kidd Field on Saturday afternoon to become the greatest jumper in college history. His performance bettered the existing collegiate record, set by Carl Lewis, by 4 ¾ inches.
You remember Carl Lewis. His best while jumping for the University of Houston, 28-3 ½, was achieved at Sacramento, Calif., on June 20, 1981.
The article by Henry also noted the following conditions for the long jump that day.
The quartering west wind was behind the jumpers and pushing them toward the takeoff board, giving Walder all the help it could legally.
After running the anchor leg on a third-place 4×100 relay, Walder’s first pair of attempts in the long jump at UTEP only measured around 25 feet. Teammates chided him, Walder recalled, “they were saying, you came all the way here to just jump 25 feet?”
Walder noted his series included a jump which measured 27-5 along with a foul on another 28-foot attempt, adding “this is a great place to jump.” Walder completed his busy day with a triple jump victory of 56-2.
Arkansas jumpers were eager to take advantage of the altitude and favorable conditions in El Paso. While the day was a bit windy according the newspaper account, Walder’s record leap came with a wind reading of 2.0, the maximum allowable to certify records.
Prior to the UTEP meet, Walder had recently scored 20 points in the NCAA Indoor Championships, claiming his seventh and eighth national individual titles with victories in the long and triple jump. The Razorbacks claimed an 11th consecutive indoor national championship, producing the highest ever winning point total of 94 points, another record that remains in Arkansas’ possession.
Later in the season, Walder was featured on the cover of Track & Field News magazine after he claimed individual titles nine and 10 by sweeping the long and triple jump at the 1994 NCAA Outdoors, leading Arkansas to another national team title and completing the third consecutive triple crown of NCAA titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field as the Razorbacks became the first program to achieve the milestone.
During his time with the Razorbacks, Walder was part of seven national team championships as Arkansas captured four indoor and three outdoor titles. He scored 106 points in NCAA competition, 100 points coming from his 10 titles (six long jump, four triple jump), and six points from a bronze medal in the triple jump.
