Men's Outdoor Track and Field | 5/26/2021 12:11:00 PM
Just days after he was named to the All-Atlantic Regional team by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), Kyle Rollins has been recognized as the Atlantic Region's Men's Field Athlete of the Year.
Each of the eight regions – Atlantic, Central, Great Lakes, Mideast, Midwest, New England, South/Southeast and West – honored both genders' top track athletes and field athletes as well as the top men's and women's head coaches and assistant coaches.
Now in his senior campaign, Rollins has cemented himself as one of the most decorated Cardinals in St. John Fisher College athletic department history.
Within the Empire 8 Conference, Rollins has been nearly untouchable over the course of his career. As a freshman, he was honored as the conference's Rookie of the Year in both of the indoor and outdoor seasons. Since then, he has repeated as the conference's Field Athlete of the Year in four consecutive seasons, including being named Field Athlete of the Meet at both Empire 8 Championships this year.
Rollins was also named the USTFCCCA's National Athlete of the Week twice this year – once following first place finishes in three events at the Empire 8 Indoor Track & Field Championships (March 23) and again after he broke both of his own program records in the high jump and in the triple jump (April 27).
This is now his seventh-straight appearance on the All-Atlantic Region list and his first-ever selection as the Atlantic Region's Men's Field Athlete of the Year. His accomplishments this year have also made him the Cardinals' first student-athlete to ever be honored as a regional athlete of the year.
This spring, the Groveland native competed in ten events and took first place finishes in all but one of them (having placed second in the outlier). He currently holds the national lead in the high jump with a mark of 2.17 meters and the second-best mark in the triple jump at 15.45 meters, both new program records.
A six-time All-American, Rollins will look to make it eight times at this weekend's NCAA Division III National Championships, set for May 27-29 at the Irwin Belk Track Complex in Greensboro, N.C. as he will compete for gold in both events. Rollins will compete in the high jump starting Friday at 2:30 p.m. and triple jump on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.