Walder’s Leaps Stand Test Of Time

When you own the most career field event titles in the combined NCAA Division I Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships, it can be difficult to select the greatest of them all.

This is the case with Erick Walder of Arkansas, whose 10 crowns has him with one more than the next winningest field eventers: A pair of other Razorback long jump/triple jump greats in Michael Conley (1983-85) and Robert Howard (1996-98).

Walder’s collection is unique in at least a couple of ways, at least compared to his fellow alumni.

First, the majority of Walder’s wins came in the long jump (6 of the 10), while Conley and Howard were more successful in the triple jump (5 and 6 of 9, respectively). Second, each of Walder’s NCAA wins contributed to him being the highest-scoring Arkansas athlete on a national championship team – that’s saying something for a program with 30 combined indoor/outdoor track & field team championships.

Walder made history with each of his three NCAA Outdoor long jump victories. The native of Mobile, Alabama, won in 1992 with the then-two longest leaps in meet history at 8.47m (27-9½) and 8.46m (27-9¼). In 1993, Walder became the first collegian to nail a legal 28-footer, spanning that mark exactly at 8.53m. Those three jumps remain the longest in meet history, and the 28-0 remains the longest low-altitude outdoor jump by a collegian.

An incredible nail-biter ensued in 1994, some two months after Walder set the still-standing collegiate record of 8.74m (28-8¼) in El Paso. After three rounds at the NCAA Championships, Walder was in an unusual position – tied for first with Middle Tennessee State’s Roland McGhee as both had marks of 8.34m (27-4½). Despite jump-by-jump drama in the final three rounds, neither improved. The result was decided on the better second-best mark, which Walder claimed by just five centimeters (two inches) at 8.24m (27-0½). It remains the closest long jump countback competition in meet history.

“I had no idea coming in that it would be that tight,” Walder told Jon Hendershott of Track & Field News. “I was hoping I could get a good jump early, then kind of take it easy. But that wasn’t the case. It was a great competition.”

For McGhee it was his third NCAA runner-up finish to Walder, including one indoors.

“Erick always jumps well when he’s behind,” McGhee said. “If he sees someone catch out in front of him, he goes out there and gets ‘em.”

Walder was also successful indoors and remains the only man or woman with three NCAA long jump titles in both meets. His indoor best of 8.43m (27-8) in 1994 is second only in NCAA Indoor meet history to Carl Lewis of Houston, who jumped 8.48m (27-10) in 1981.