The RoundHouse | 5/27/2022 9:46:00 AM

More than a year ago, Wichita State coaches needed someone to triple jump in a track and field meet early in the 2021 season.
 
Yuben Goncalves did more than fill a spot in that indoor meet, his first in NCAA Division I. He competed in the triple jump for the first time as a collegian and finished third with a distance of 49 feet, 5 ¾ inches in Manhattan in January 2021.
 
Goncalves, a junior from Portugal, considers himself more a hurdler than a triple jumper. When he returns home this summer, he will hurdle.
 
However, his versatility and willingness to compete are highlighting his career. On Friday, he will triple jump in the NCAA West Preliminaries in Fayetteville, Ark., after qualifying with his first jump of the outdoor season 12 days earlier.
 
With that jump of 51-3 ¾, he also finished second in the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championship, grabbing crucial points for the Shockers on their way to the men's team title.
 
"They knew I could do it," he said. "It's a mental thing. I was jumping at practice and my teammates were pushing for me. The coaches believed in me."
 
Goncalves enters NCAA competition seeded No. 23 in the West and No. 47 nationally with his personal-best of 51-3 ¾ in the conference meet. The top 12, from a field of 48, in the preliminary advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
 
Goncalves focused on the hurdles this spring, in part to protect a sore back from the stresses of practicing the long and triple jumps. In the conference meet, he was ready to help by also finishing fourth in the long jump (24-3/4). He finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.07 seconds.
 
While he didn't practice jumps often, he did work on technique and watch video.
 
"He's explosive and bouncy," assistant coach Heidi Benton said. "He was confident, and I was confident from watching his (jump) practices. A less talented athlete wouldn't be able to do that."
 
He totaled 17 points for the Shockers, with his jumps providing points that pre-meet form charts missed. Wichita State finished with 185.5 points to Houston's 179.
 
Goncalves finished 15^th in the NJCAA meet for Cloud County Community College in 2019 in the 400 hurdles (55.38 seconds) to help the team win the title. His performances in the hurdles and long jump didn't overwhelm, but they hinted at his potential.
 
"When he got here, we could see he was a pretty talented guy," said John Wise, assistant director of track and field. "He had some good marks in a lot of different events. You know he can jump far – it's a matter of 'Can he hit the board?' When it's the first time you do it, you never know how it's going to go. And then the conference meet happened."
 
Goncalves' background helped in the conference meet. European track athletes practice for long stretches and compete less often than American athletes. They are used to performing without frequent track meets.
 
"I told them I only need one jump," he said.
 
His experience at Wichita State helped him by showing him the importance of versatility and team. Americans compete more often because track and field often values team scores at duals, triangulars and conference meets. Helping the Shockers over the past two years pushed Goncalves.
 
"Back home, I only did one competition a weekend," he said. "I learned how to practice here. I learned how to compete. That's good. That's track."
 
 Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.