Dockery Soars to Historic NCAA Podium Finish

Down to his final jump of the 2025 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Wilmington University’s Donte Dockery catapulted himself onto the podium and finished third overall in the triple jump with a distance of 16.19 meters inside the ThunderBowl on the Colorado State Pueblo campus.

Dockery’s final jump moved him from ninth into second place with a handful of final jumps remaining. Washburn’s Justin Forde tied Dockery with a jump of 16.19 meters and held the tiebreak over Dockery with his second-best jump of 16.14 meters earlier in the series.

This is the first time a WilmU Wildcat has ever appeared at the NCAA Championships, let alone made their way onto the podium. The Wilmington track and field program began in the spring of 2018.

The sophomore qualified for the finals after finishing ninth following the first three jumps. He was a part of the first flight, having leaps of 15.22, 15.63, and 15.67. He was third in the first flight with this 15.67-meter jump, but needed to watch 10 more jumpers in the second flight to see if his distance would hold.

Dockery qualified ahead of Chadron State’s Chayton Bynes and Virginia State’s Jahaz Morgan by 0.07 meters, rounding out the final nine jumpers to compete for a medal.

His first two jumps of the finals were 15.01 and 15.53 meters, keeping him in ninth place. But with one final ump, Dockery launched himself to a new school record, going over 16 meters for the first time, and found himself in second place overall.

Pittsburg State’s Tre Betts won the triple jump National Champion-ship with a jump of 16.46 meters on his third attempt of the night.

Dockery’s third-place finish also gave the Wilmington University track and field team six points at the 2025 NCAA DII Outdoor Track and Field Championships, sitting 18th after Day 2 in Colorado.

Dockery won every triple jump event he entered this year, includ-ing the Penn Relays, CACC Championships, and IC4A/ECAC Championships.

— Dan Lauletta