Tionna Tobias opened her indoor season over the weekend with a long jump PR in Iowa City.
Tobias, an Iowa junior from Winslow Township, jumped 20-1 ¾ to win the Jimmy Grant Invitational at Iowa’s Rec Center.
Her previous PR was 20-1 ½ from the Larry Wieczorek Invitational at the same facility this past January. Her outdoor PR is 19-11 from the Big Ten Invitational in Bloomington, Ind., in March of 2021.
After opening with an 18-9 ½, Tobias soared past 19-9 on her next three jumps – 19-9 ¼, 19-9 and 19-9 ¾ – before a foul on her 5th attempt. She saved her best for last, hitting 20-1 ¾ on her final attempt.
She won by over a foot over Aliyah Adams of Western Illinois, who jumped 18-9. So Tobias had the five-best jumps of the competition.
Tobias’s mark is No. 3 in Iowa history, behind only Jahisha Thomas (21-0 ¾ in 2018) and Zinnia Miller (20-4 ¼ in 2014).
It’s also No. 5 in NCAA Division 1 so far this year and No. 1 in the Big Ten Conference.
It’s also No. 5 among U.S. women and No. 9 in the world in the very early stages of the indoor season.
Tobias also ran a near-PR 8.44 to place 3rd in the 60-meter hurdles behind teammates Myreanna Bebe [8.29] and Paige Magee [8.33]. Tobias’s PR is 8.40 from the pentathlon at the Big Ten Championships at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, this past February. That’s No. 8 in school history.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 