Southern Connecticut State’s Davis beats out Olympian, breaks javelin record at Texas Relays

Former Sheehan High School standout and Southern Connecticut State star Jordan davis broke then ca a Division II national record in the javelin throw at the Texas Relays over the weekend, taking the title in a field that included the best track athletes in the nation.

His 83.77 meter throw was also thebes tin theu.s. regardless of division so far this year, the fourth-longest in the world and the fifth-longest in NCAA history, regardless of division.

The senior and Wallingford native beat out 2021 U.S. Olympian and former Mississippi State javelin thrower Curtis Thompson for the title in Austin.

Davis and Thompson went back and forth throughout the meet, and after Thompson over took him in the last round with an 81.09 meter throw, Davis knew he had to unleash all of his energy on the final attempt. He cleared Thompson by more than two meters.

“It was a good feeling, you kind of knew right away. You didn’t know how far it was exactly, but I definitely knew it was a far throw, and then the number came out and we all got real excited,” Davis said. “It’s definitely cool, especially coming from a small school. Everyone always asks, why Southern, why such a small school? But I just see it as we have something special here.”

Davis said his goal is to put himself in position to compete for a spot in the Olympics. He’ d need to reach 85.5 meters to earn an automatic qualifying spot, but he sees it as a possibility.

“It’s definitely possible. We’re going to go for it, try and represent the school and where I’m from. it’d be cool to havean Olympic athlete in a place like this, from division ii .”

Davis chose Southern in part to play football, but after winning the Division II national title in javelin last season, he decided to focus solely on track this year. It’s clear he’s not intimidated going up against athletes from bigger schools.

“I don’t see divisions. If you see divisions in a statistical sport, you’re doing it wrong. So it’s cool to represent Division II and more importantly our school in that way. At the end of the day, track is track, numbers are numbers. It’s cool being the top guy right now.”