Three freshmen have surpassed 19 feet in the long jump this year — Dartmouth’s Cha’Mia Rothwell (Durham, N.C.), and Harvard’s Simi Fajemisin (Oxford, U.K.) and Zoe Hughes (Hornchurch, U.K.). Rothwell has actually surpassed 19 feet in three of her four competitions this season. These three freshmen are also expected to be competing in additional events during their first Indoor Heps competition — Rothwell in the 60 and the hurdles; Hughes in the pentathlon; and Fajemisin — the League’s top triple jumper with the only leap beyond 41 feet — in the hop, step and jump. Four other freshmen are also podium contenders in either of these events — Dartmouth’s Folasade Akinfe (Oswego, Ill.), Brown’s Zion Lewis (Canton, Ga.), Penn’s Elena Brown-Soler (Chamblee, Ga.), and Columbia’s Maryam Hassan (Cresskill, N.J.). Akinfe is one of three athletes who have cleared 40 feet this year in the triple jump.
Don’t just hand these titles off to the freshmen yet, as there are other experienced athletes in the field who would love to claim their first indoor title. Columbia senior Anna Williams (Alexandria, Va.) — the 2016 Outdoor triple jump champion — has been a 41-foot triple jumper and is definitely a title contender in each event. After all, she was the runner-up in both last year. Princeton sophomore Kerri Davidson (London, U.K.) is a 40-foot triple jumper and finished third in this event a year ago. Cornell junior Claudia Dabrowski (Toms River, N.J.) has yet to compete at an Indoor conference meet, but she is in good standing to possibly score in her first appearance at Indoor Heps in the long jump. — Mary Boggs
Finals: Saturday, 10:30 am
Heps Record
21-11 3/4 — Jeomi Maduka (Cornell, 2009)
Championship Record
21-2 — Jeomi Maduka (Cornell, 2008)
2017 Top 10
19-9 — Cha’Mia Rothwell (Dartmouth)
19-4 1/4 — Simi Fajemisin (Harvard)
19-2 1/2 — Zoe Hughes (Harvard)
18-9 — Claudia Dabrowski (Cornell)
18-8 1/2 — Anna Williams (Columbia)
18-8 1/2 — Elena Brown-Soler (Penn)
18-7 — Shandell Scott (Brown)
18-6 1/2 — Rachel McMahon (Brown)
18-6 — Folasade Akinfe (Dartmouth)
18-5 3/4 — Gabrielle Thomas (Harvard)
Finals: Sunday, 11:30 am
Heps & Championship Record
43-10 1/2 — Jeomi Maduka (Cornell, 2009)
2017 Top 10
41-2 1/4 — Simi Fajemisin (Harvard)
40-5 — Anna Williams (Columbia)
40-0 1/2 — Folasade Akinfe (Dartmouth)
39-3 3/4 — Zion Lewis (Brown)
39-0 1/2 — Kerri Davidson (Princeton)
38-7 — Maryam Hassan (Columbia)
38-6 — Gaynelle Boham (Cornell)
38-2 1/4 — Bridget van Dorsten (Brown)
37-10 3/4 — Floriane Kameni (Harvard)
37-10 1/2 — Nnenna Ibe (Princeton)