Men's Indoor Track and Field | 12/10/2021 10:40:00 PM
PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Kyle Rollins made headlines on Friday night as the two-time high jump National Champion met his personal-best mark in his signature event as the St. John Fisher College men's indoor track & field team wrapped up 2021 at the Nazareth College Alumni Opener held at the Golisano Training Center.
The graduate student coasted through his first six attempts at the high bar, the final at 2.17 meters, which he achieved on his first try at the height, effectively breaking his facility record of 2.13 meters which he set in 2020. Tonight's performance marked the first time since April 19, 2021 that Rollins hit his career-best height. To put that into perspective, Rollins won national championships in the high jump with marks of 2.12 meters (2019) and 2.11 meters (2021). Rollins, who already held the national lead in the event, betters his chances to remain at the top of the country's list while also qualifying for the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference (AARTFC) Championship, which will be held later this season, joining Sean Cochrane who qualified in last week's meet.
Transfer junior Ivan Lopez-Testillano also made the AARTFC list as he recorded his best performance in the triple jump since March 2020, as his mark of 14.07 meters earned him a second-place finish in the event. In the long jump, Matthew Stasiw placed third to come up just .09 meters short of his career best mark, at 6.62 meters.
A career day was enjoyed by Matt Carr in the pole vault. A junior, Carr managed to best his personal record mark at 3.70 meters, then turned right around to improve upon that mark and set a new PR at 3.90 meters, earning a fifth-place finish in the event. Additionally, Jordan Kostera tied for sixth place after hitting 3.70 meters to tie his own career best mark.
In the pit, Jack Bickford and Joe Jerkovich paired up for a 5-6 finish as they enjoyed respective PRs of 14.07 meters and 14.05 meters in the weight throw.
Ethan Billings had another standout performance on the track as he set an 11-second best mark in the 3,000-meter run at 9:05.88 to finish in sixth place. Additionally, Anthony DiRubbo made a statement by finishing in 12
th place and setting a 21-second personal record, although he ran more than half the race with only one shoe on.
The Cardinals will now enjoy the semester break before returning to action on January 8
th, 2022 when they travel down to Ithaca to compete in Cornell University's Southern Tier Collegiate Invite.