The Thundering Word: Butler Calms Inner ‘Jumps,’ Reaches NCAA

Antonique Butler jumped 12.75 to qualify for the NCAA East Regional on the same track at North Florida. (courtesy Marshall Sports Information)HUNTINGTON – For Antonique Butler, having big success for Marshall in the triple jump was more than a hop, skip and a jump.

In her first two years at Marshall, Butler admittedly spent much of her time battling herself … and veteran MU track and field coach Jeff Small agreed with that assessment.

Once she figured out that someone other than the face in the mirror needed to be her opponent, Butler soared to the NCAA Outdoor East Preliminaries to cap her junior season last month.

“I was very proud of Antonique’s performances this year,” Small said. “She had…