Jerry Carino

@njhoopshaven

PHILADELPHIA — In a span of 24 hours, Rutgers men’s track standout Emeka Eze experienced the extremes of the Penn Relays.

The Sayreville High School graduate fouled out of the long jump Friday, an event he was hoping to win.

“Obviously I was bummed out about it, but then was like, ‘I have to come back for the triple jump,’” the postgraduate said. “It’s a new day. Put everything in the past and try to get that triple jump.”

He came pretty darn close Saturday afternoon. With a crowd of 35,000 clapping along --- the triple jump is a fan favorite at Franklin Field because of its location in front of the homestretch stands and its high degree of difficulty --- Eze popped a big-time distance of 52 feet, 11.5 inches. That added nine inches to his own program record and earned second place, just behind Oklahoma’s Hayden McLain (53-3).

“I can’t be mad, especially after what happened (Friday)” Eze said. “But it would have been nice if I got that first place, that watch.”

Gold watches go to all winners. Rutgers teammate Chris Mirabelli picked one up earlier in the day after throwing the javelin 251 feet.

“A watch and a second place? Definitely a great day for Rutgers,” Eze said.

Next up for Rutgers’ dynamic duo? The Big Ten Championships at Penn State May 12-14 and them the NCAA Regional in Lexington, Ky. May 25-27.

Penn Relays: CBA grad Gorman wins with Oregon

More local highlights

Here are some other local alumni notables from the college portion of the meet:

Rutgers’ Brendan Jaeger (Hunterdon Central) split 48.63 on the third leg of the 4x400 as Rutgers placed eighth in the Championship of America in 3:10.24.

George Mason’s Steven Flynn (Edison) placed fourth in the men’s 5,000 (13:57).

Stevens’ Amy Regan (Watchung Hills) placed fifth in the women’s 10,000 in 35:09.

Princeton’s Jackie Berardo (Hunterdon Central) split 2:10.41 on the 800 leg of he Tigers’ seventh-place distance medley (11:16).

Binghamton’s Peter Fagan (Westfield) placed seventh in the men’s pole vault with a height of 16-6.75.

Harvard’s Marlena Sabatino (Hillsborough) won the non-championship section of the women’s pole vault with a height of 12-5.5.

College Corner appears Tuesdays in the Courier News and Home News Tribune. Send tips to Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com.