Kansas State’s Akela Jones wins NCAA heptathlon

Competing in just the second heptathlon of her Kansas State career, few expected big results from Akela Jones in the seven-event competition at the NCAA Track and Field Championships this week.

So her near record-setting performance, and the national championship that came with it, registered as a surprise to most watching live Thursday in Eugene, Ore. But it was no shock to Jones.

“I don’t have any limit right now,” Jones said. “I’m getting into the process of wanting to win and not just the outcome of winning. So I’ve been training, doing my therapy, sleeping well, eating well.

“I knew this was inside of me. It just had to come out sometime. I’ve been training really hard and this is not a surprise to me or my coach. We know what we do behind the scenes. So this just goes to show I can do greater things in the future.”

Jones, a junior from Barbados, won the heptathlon by finishing with a K-State record 6,371 points. Defending champion Kendell Williams of Georgia finished second with 6,223 points. Third place went to Quintunya Chapman, also of Georgia, with 6,147 points.

Wichita State’s Nikki Larch-Miller finished eighth, earning All-America honors.

Jones set a first-day record, besting the mark by three-time Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and held a big lead going into Thursday’s events.

The victory makes her the first female K-State track and field athlete to win a national championship since Ryann Krais in 2011.

“I went out there with just the focus of maintaining what I did yesterday,” Jones said. “Yesterday, I had a fantastic day. I wanted to come out here and stay focused throughout the day. Not just focus on the long jump and what I am good in. I wanted to focus on other events this weekend. I did that and came out victorious.”

Jones’ championship marks K-State’s fourth NCAA title in the heptathlon.

When asked what allowed Jones to compete at such a high level in a relatively new event, K-State track and field coach Cliff Rovelto said it all came down to talent.

“The simple answer is she is really good,” Rovelto said. “She has worked hard and embraced training and embraced learning new events. There were a number of events, javelin for example, she has literally only competed in twice before today.”

Jones dominated the event by claiming first in the high jump, shot put, and long jump and second in the 100-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash. She finished 15th in the javelin and 20th in the 800-meter run.

Rovelto said shot put has been one of Jones’ weaker events, so a top finish in that event boosted her chances. But he was most impressed by her 200-meter run. She had a shot at setting the NCAA record in the heptathlon heading into the 800-meter run, but her right leg felt strange — “like nothing I had ever felt before” — and she finished 20th running with a taped leg.

“I’m always trying to break some record, create some history,” Jones said. “That’s what I do. I want to leave a legacy. That’s all I come to do when I step on the track. It was out of the reach today, but it will definitely be in reach sometime in the future.”

Rovelto praised Jones for her accomplishment, saying there are athletes that qualify for the Olympics that can’t place at the NCAA championships.

Jones knows her friends in Manhattan and her family in Barbados are proud.

“Everybody must be going crazy,” Jones said. “Barbados has not won an NCAA title since 1996. Almost 20 years later, this is phenomenal. This is amazing for my country. It just goes to show you can come from a small country and still be dominant.”

Larch-Miller aslo ran on the WSU 400-meter relay team that finished 16th Thursday, and finished her day by running in the semifinals of the 100 hurdles where she finished 17th.

K-State’s Dani Winters finished fourth in the shot put (57-10 1/2), and Kansas’ Sidney Conley was fifth in the long jump (21-8) to become a three-time All-American.

This story was originally published June 11, 2015 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Kansas State’s Akela Jones wins NCAA heptathlon."