Jah-Nhai Perinchief ticked another box after securing his spot at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

The University of Tennessee senior punched his ticket with a seventh-place finish in the triple jump at the recent NCAA East Preliminary Championships in Jacksonville, Florida.

Perinchief qualified with a wind-assisted best leap of 16.05 metres (52ft 8in) in the second round.

“The whole goal of this meet is to survive and advance, that’s all,” Perinchief told The Royal Gazette. “So that was the main objective and I succeeded.

“All in all, my performance was good because I did what I was supposed to.”

Perinchief also competed in the long jump, finishing seventeenth with a best leap of 7.46 metres (24ft 5¾in) at the championships that were hosted by the University of North Florida and the Jacksonville Sports Council from May 26 to 29.

“I missed it [qualification] on the long jump, but that gives me a better chance to be fresh and focus fully on the triple jump,” he added.

The 23-year-old is now poised to make his debut at the national championships, which will be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, from June 9 to 12.

“National championships is my main goal so I will be prepping for that,” Perinchief added.

“In all honesty, I don’t really think deeply into upcoming competitions. I have a couple goals I set for myself as a challenge, but other than that my plan remains the same, which is to jump far, compete and win.

“Everything else for me goes out the window. I put in the work already, so as long as I execute my jumps everything else will set itself up.

“The NCAA has great and competitive athletes that will bring the best out of me and everyone else competing, so I’m just going to have fun and execute.”

There will be much more than school bragging rights at stake for Perinchief, who also hopes to secure a spot at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

“The NCAA Championships is just another chance to qualify, so I’m hoping to get the standard at that meet and if not I have a few more meets to get the standard in,” he added. “I just have fun and let the jumps come.”

The Olympic qualifying standard for the triple jump stands at 17.14 metres.