With his arms raised wide in the air and a grin spread across his face, senior Kelsey Daniel rose to his rightful place atop the trophy podium on Friday night.

Daniel flew through the competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships, earning his and Texas men’s track and field’s first-ever win in the indoor long jump. 

After faulting on his first jump, Daniel took the lead in the second round with a leap of 7.97 meters, but he wasn’t finished. He jumped 8.11 meters and followed that up with a jump of 8.16 meters, extending his lead and engraving his victory into NCAA history books. Daniel beat his previous personal best of 8.03 meters on consecutive attempts.

With the title already secured, he had no reason to take his sixth jump, capping off an outstanding performance on the biggest of collegiate track and field stages. 

Daniel’s top three jumps marked the three best efforts of the event, with the runner-up’s best at 7.96 meters. His final jump broke the facility record, the Texas all-time long jump record and the indoor record of his home country, Trinidad and Tobago.

Fellow senior long jumper Solomon Washington, the only other athlete representing Texas men’s track and field at Virginia Beach Sports Center, finished 11th and earned Second Team All-American honors. 

Daniel arrived at Texas for his junior season after two years at New Mexico Junior College. He competed in the indoor national meet last year in the triple jump but burst onto the long jump scene to qualify in that event this year. This season, his performance at the Jan. 17 Arkansas Invitational made him the No. 2-ranked jumper heading into Friday.

Before the meet, Daniel knew he could use his previous experience on the indoor national stage to his advantage.

“Last year (at) nationals, I let the nerve interfere with my ability to go out and jump,” Daniel said. “Being in that environment, you learn from it. So coming into this year, I know what to do, how to keep myself calm and just to go out there and execute.”

And he did. 

Daniel gets a chance to celebrate his historic feat this weekend, but it will be a quick turnaround. Outdoor competitions begin as early as next week, and then the Texas Relays, the Longhorns’ sole home meet of the season, a week after.

“We have maybe like a day or two just to unwind a little,” Daniel said. “But (then) back to the grind. After those two days, you go back and get into that same rhythm for outdoors and try to get a big jump early and then put your eyes towards regionals.”

During the outdoor season, Daniel will look to maintain his indoor momentum to defend his crown.