MYRTLE BEACH, SC – University of Rochester junior Cole Goodman of the men's track and field team claimed his first career national title on Saturday, posting a wire-to-wire victory in the triple jump at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium.
 
Goodman posted a wire-to-wire win, taking the lead on his first jump and never relinquishing it throughout the afternoon, also breaking his own school record in the event twice, capping off the competition with a huge final attempt on his victory leap, posting a mark of 15.76 meters to earn the win.
 
His victory is the first for the Rochester men's track and field program in over 35 years. Back in 1974, Rochester's men had two national championship performances from Anthony Palumbo in the triple jump and David Moller in the 3-mile run. Those two national titles were the first in University of Rochester athletics history.The most recent NCAA title came from Tom Tuori in 1987 in the 1500 meters. 
 
With the win, Goodman claims his seventh all-time All-America award and fourth in the 2023-24 track and field campaign. Earlier this week, Goodman finished seventh in the long jump and was also a two-time All-American indoors back in March. The indoor results included a runner-up finish in the triple jump.
 
Goodman, the top seed entering Saturday's competition, had to wait around and see all 21 of his competitors go ahead of him, as the junior drew the second flight, 11th position spot to jump.
 
He made the wait worthwhile, popping off a 15.44 meter leap to start things strong, jumping into first place by over half a meter.
 
After a foul on his second attempt, Goodman broke the school record by closing out the opening flights with a 15.48 meter jump, just edging past his qualifying mark of 15.46 meters, set back at the Bison Outdoor Classic in mid-April.
 
Sitting as the top jumper in the flights, Goodman got to hold down the ninth, and final jumping position in the finals which featured three additional jumps for the top qualifiers.
 
Goodman maintained his first place standing but did not improve with 15.23 meter and 15.29 meter jumps on his fourth and fifth attempts.
 
With his nearest competitor sitting at just 15.38 meters following the sixth jumps of all his opponents, Goodman knew he had the national title locked up, but looked to end the day on a high note.
 
The crowd clapped in unison, cheering the Rochester junior on as he unleashed his best jump of the day, and his career, wowing the fans with a 15.76 meter leap to post the victory.
 
Goodman's distance moves him into a tie for sixth place all-time in Division III outdoor track and field history and serves as the longest jump by a Division III competitor since 2017.
 
With the victory, Goodman earned Rochester's team an additional ten points, combining with his two points from the long jump result, moved UR to 12 total for the three days. That score puts Rochester in a tie for 16th place overall among 86 teams that scored in the meet.