Men's Outdoor Track and Field | 5/29/2021 1:27:00 PM
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Fresh off of yesterday's national championship win, senior Kyle Rollins was back in action at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field National Championships at the Irwin Belk Track at North Carolina A&T State University, as he took third place in the triple jump.
After clearing a 2.11-meter-high bar (6 feet, 11 inches) and emerging as the victor in yesterday's high jump national championship, Rollins was set to make another run for a title in the triple jump. Headed into action, he was seeded second in competition as he marked a program record distance of 15.45 meters (50 feet, 8.25 inches) at the Cardinal Classic.
Slated in flight two, Rollins waited for event's first eight competitors to attempt their fate before taking to the starting line. In his first three attempts, the senior grabbed his best mark of the day at 15.02 meters (49 feet, 3.5 inches) on his second try at the line. At the time, that mark moved him into first place, but his mark was surpassed shortly after by the event's eventual winner, by .09 meters (3.54 inches). However, the mark was enough to advance him into the top-nine finalist round in second place.
Despite a valiant effort, the Groveland native could not better his day's best mark, as his final three tries measured 14.54 meters, 14.92 meters, and 14.80 meters. At the same time, another competitor matched Rollins' second-place mark and, due to the triple jump's tiebreaker rules, bumped Kyle to third place. Both competitor's next best jumps determine the tiebreaker – Kyle's next best mark was 14.92 meters, while his competitor's next best distance was 15.01 meters.
Now an All-American for the eighth time in his career, Rollins remains the only Cardinal to win more than one national title and to do it in consecutive seasons.
By competing in two events and placing first and third, Rollins scored 16 points for the team leaderboard. At 12:39 P.M. on Saturday when the results became finalized, 11 events had been scored and Kyle's efforts put Fisher in ninth place, behind the leader Wisconsin-Eau Claire who had scored 45 points up to that moment.
Rollins and the rest of the Cardinals have concluded another standout season and now look forward to improving upon this season's performances and hosting the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championship at Polisseni Track & Field Complex.