DES MOINES, Iowa – Rodney "D.J." Ruffin finished seventh out of 18 in the long jump at the United States Championship at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
 
The senior from Gautier, Miss jumped 25 feet, 10 inches (7.89 meters) to secure the seventh spot.
 
"What a tremendous performance by D.J.," said Southeastern head track coach Corey Mistretta. "He competed at such a high level this weekend against the best competition in the country and I couldn't be more proud. He's poised and ready to do even more great things next year."
 
Former SLU hammer thrower and 2017 national champion Alex Young finished second as his quest for a title defense fell just short. Young's best throw was 240-3 (73.22m). Rudy Winkler of Rutgers took home the gold medal with a throw of 242 feet (73.76m).
 
Sprinter Andre Colebrook exploded his way to a gold medal in the 400 meter hurdles (50.74) Friday night at the Bahamas National Championship in Nassau. 
 
Colebrook, a senior and Nassau native, blew away the rest of the field finishing three seconds ahead of the runner-up (53.91).
 
Southeastern sprinter Cliff Resias had a fantastic showing as well. He won the bronze medal in the 100 meters (10.45) finishing just inches away from a silver medal. Shavez Heart and Resias were both clocked at 10.45 but Heart was ruled the second place finisher.
 
"This was a great weekend for our program," said Mistretta. "We were competitive at all three events and were well represented. Andre (Colebrook) was terrific and I couldn't be prouder for him and everyone that competed this weekend."