Chris Carper was the reigning NEC Rookie of the Week and the league leader in the javelin until his Robert Morris teammate unleashed a bomb at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational hosted by the University of Cincinnati. Jackson claimed the gold medal in Cincinnati by setting Robert Morris’ program record for the javelin. Outdueling Carper (65.67m) who finished second, Jackson threw the implement 66.23m (217’ 3”) to take over the NEC lead and far surpass the qualifying standard for the IC4A Championships. Jackson and his fellow freshman Carper are the lone NEC javelin throwers to exceed 200 feet thus far this season.