ITHACA, N.Y. — The length of a toenail: That is how close Victor Nwosu was to qualifying for the Big East Outdoor Championships.

On his last jump at the Cornell Big Red Invitational in Ithaca Sunday, Nwosu jumped far enough to qualify for the Big East. But he was disqualified because his toe went over the board. The official yelled ‘foul,’ and just like that, his season was over. No more jumping until next year.

‘When it all happened I was shocked and upset,’ Nwosu said. ‘It came down to my last jump and I came through, but I took up almost all the board and I fouled it.’

Nwosu was one of a handful of Syracuse track and field athletes who failed to qualify for the Big East championships Sunday

The SU junior competed in the long jump and expected to qualify for the Big East Outdoor Championships in his last chance of the season.

Last season, Nwosu qualified for the Big East Outdoor Championships at the same exact meet. But he never got to compete there as a result of injuring his hamstring on the next jump. This season, Nwosu planned to qualify earlier. But when he failed to do so, Nwosu purposely didn’t compete until the Cornell meet this weekend. But he never qualified.

‘I was feeling really good,’ Nwosu said. ‘I was so sure that I was going to make it. Coming into the event, I said to myself, we qualify today. But that’s pretty much where it ends for me.’

That result marks the end of a disappointing season for Nwosu, who has battled injuries and was looking to come on strong at the meet after finally regaining his form.

‘Everything was starting to click, but now my season is cut down and I have to sit back on the bench and wait until December to jump again,’ Nwosu said.

Sometimes jumps don’t go according to plan, and in the case of Nwosu, he just couldn’t get anything going.

His jumps increasingly improved but were never enough to qualify.

When he finally did on his sixth jump, the disqualification followed. It was a tough result for both him and assistant coach Enoch Borozinski.

‘They were good jumps, and everything was right there,’ Borozinski said. ‘It’s more frustrating because it was so close. Unfortunately, that’s just the way things go.
I take it just as hard as they do. Especially someone like him, who has scored points in the Big East for us before.’

Nwosu wasn’t the only one whose season ended early. Freshman Will Watson also had a chance to qualify for the Big East. He, too, misfired.

Watson had a chance to qualify in the long jump and the triple jump but was unable to do so in either.

‘Nothing happened like I wanted it to,’ Watson said. ‘I hurt myself in the triple jump. I should have qualified.’

Still, Watson is just a freshman, and the junior Nwosu only has next year to right this year’s mistakes.

But the sting of having a season end prematurely still does not come easy. Neither athlete will travel to Cincinnati for this weekend’s Big East championships.

‘Everybody else is going and just to be the odd one out just sucks,’ Watson said. ‘You want to be there to help the team.’

Unfortunately, not everyone can be there. You must qualify to be there. Something neither Nwosu nor Watson accomplished.

Teams come in with the goal of having as many players as possible gaining qualifying times. But that does not always happen. Miracles do not happen left and right. Pain is a more common sight.

‘You hope for the best by the time you come to this meet,’ Borozinski said. ‘But it is what it is. As much as we’d say, ‘Hey, let’s give them another chance,’ it’s not that way in the real world. It’s not always going to work out.’

rnmarcus@syr.edu

Published on April 25, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Rachel: rnmarcus@syr.edu