SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Ohio University freshman Scott Mayle jumped 24 feet, 11.25 inches to place 14th in the long jump at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships in Hornet Stadium. With only the top 12 from Wednesday’s preliminaries advancing, Mayle ended his impressive season just 2.5 inches from Friday’s national finals.

After sweeping the Mid-American Conference indoor and outdoor long jump titles, Mayle qualified for the national meet with a leap of 25-10 at the NCAA Regionals in Columbus on May 30. An equal distance would have placed him third going into the NCAA finals.

Instead, Mayle jumped 24-11.25 on his first attempt in the national prelims and could not better that result on his final two leaps. South Carolina’s Tony Allmond turned in the best jump in prelims with a 26-1.5 while Clemson’s George Kitchens was the 12th and final qualifier at 25-1.75.

Only one freshman in the country placed higher than Mayle as South Carolina State’s Darryl Reeves jumped 25-4.5 to rank seventh heading into Friday’s finals.