Acayo Set to Compete at 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships
3/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
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One centimeter.
The sport of track and field comes down to precise measurements. Success or failure can be separated by a fraction of a second or the measurement of the smallest distances.
For Kent State graduate triple jumper Penina Acayo (pronounced uh-CHAY-oh), the difference was one centimeter.
The width of a fingernail. A dime. A paperclip.
It was the Monday before the 2012 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the day the participant field would be announced. In terms of being invited to the collegiate finale for indoor track and field, Acayo was on the outside looking in.
Event fields for the NCAA Indoor Championships are determined by a descending order list. Including ties, fields can expand to 20 participants; but most often, the field is cut off at the top 16 performances nationally from the indoor season.
At the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Ind. March 3, Acayo turned in her best performance of the season – a jump of 12.97 meters, or 42' 6.75". Her jump was a personal best, and was the sixth time this season she climbed further up the Kent State all-time top 10s.
But the 16th-best triple jump in 2012 was 12.98 meters.
The width of a staple. A Cheerio. A pea.
It was cut and dry - Acayo's best jump of the season did not make the top 16 nationally. And when the NCAA announced the Meet Participants List for 17 national championship women's events, Acayo's name was absent from the list for triple jump.
The Alex Wilson Invitational was one of many "last chance" meets across the country for competitors looking to improve their times and marks to be one of a qualifier for the NCAAs, Acayo's final jump in the preliminary round was second-best in team history, and gave her three more jumps at the meet to better her mark and guarantee her spot in the NCAA Championships.
However, it was another obstacle of one centimeter that Acayo would run up against: when she seemingly surpassed the 13-meter mark, she had foot-faulted by just a fraction.
The length of an eyelash. A piece of popcorn. A Lego.
All of this after an indoor season where Acayo won the Mid-American Conference title in the triple jump, one of six first-place finishes on the season. She placed third at the SPIRE Indoor Track Invitational Feb. 11, the only time in seven outings where she was not the champion, where she jumped a then personal-best of 41' 10.75".
Her only consolation was she would be the first alternate – leaving her to hope someone, anyone, would scratch from the event. Her chance at a second chance was dependent on someone else.
Then, at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, just three days before the first events at the Jacksons Indoor Track in Nampa, Idaho, the phone call came to Bill Lawson, Kent State's Director of Track and Field and Cross Country.
Nebraska's Mara Griva, who initially qualified for both the triple jump and the long jump, scratched.
"Peni" was in.
With the phone call confirmation from the NCAA came the whirlwind of excitement and the tornadic fury to get accommodations lined up for a four-day stay in a city 20 miles west of Boise, Idaho, in less than 48 hours.
Not to mention get in one last training session.
"On paper she's the lowest seed going in there, but some of the jumps she had that she fouled on last week, she had some pretty big jumps," Kent State jumps coach Phil Rickaby said. "We think it's very realistic for her to finish on the podium to cap of a fantastic indoor season."
If the storyline wasn't already compelling for Hollywood, a quick glance back to Acayo's road to Kent State is even more so. A native of Kampala, Uganda, Acayo came to the United States in 2008 to play volleyball for Goshen College in Indiana. She thrived not only as a student but as an athlete, earning All-America honors and setting school records in volleyball while earning an undergraduate degree in art.
But along the way, Acayo was persuaded to give the triple jump a try. Once again she found athletic success, where she went on to set the Goshen College record in the triple jump for both indoor and outdoor track and field and was a two-time All-American in 2010.
Acayo arrived at Kent State to pursue her graduate degree in visual communication design and held one year of eligibility for track and field.
"Peni has been a wonderful addition to the women's program," Lawson said. "She has worked exceptionally hard, she's a great athlete. But more importantly, she's a great student and great part of this community. We're proud and pleased that her hard work paid off."
The fact that she has improved her personal best over the course of the indoor season's four-month span is a tribute to her dedication as well as those that want to see her reach her fullest potential.
"This is a great accomplishment for not only for her, but for her jumps coach Phil Rickaby and the Kent State track and field program," Lawson said. "She's jumping extremely well, and it would not surprise me if she makes the finals. She has a great chance at standing on the podium on Saturday."
![Four Kent State track and field athletes pose together on the awards podium wearing light blue Under Armour uniforms and gold MAC Championship medals. Left to right: Chaz Sakala (bib 1196), Sean [last name partially visible] (bib 1157, holding a relay baton), Ryan Gross (bib 1167), and Jacob Stanley (bib 1192). The group smiles for the camera following their relay event at the MAC Outdoor Championships.](https://images.sidearmdev.com/resize?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net%2Fsidearm.nextgen.sites%2Fkentstatesports.com%2Fimages%2F2026%2F5%2F21%2FIMG_2657.jpg&height=340&type=webp)
