Men's Indoor Track and Field | 3/12/2022 1:18:00 PM
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – For the third-straight season, graduate student Kyle Rollins, of the St. John Fisher College men's track & field team, secured the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championship in the high jump with a dominant performance in today's competition at the JDL Fast Track.
Later in the day, Rollins became St. John Fisher College's first-ever ten-time All-American with a seventh-place finish in the triple jump
Rollins, who has already cemented himself as the only St. John Fisher College student-athlete to win multiple national championships, has now done it three times – all in consecutive seasons – with a chance to extend that number later today and in the upcoming outdoor season. Rollins is the sixth individual national champion and fifth from the track & field team in Fisher's history.
Despite the last two indoor national championships being canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, Rollins is the reigning champion in the even across indoor and outdoor seasons as he won both the 2019 and 2021 outdoor championships in the event – the last two track & field championships to be held.
After passing on the first three entry heights, Rollins entered competition at 2.03 meters – a height which he cleared on his first attempt and only six total participants surpassed.
When the bar raised by .03 meters, the Groveland native again met the height with no reservations and the competition dwindled to just two.
He then cleared a height of 2.09 meters with flying colors and was pushed into an ultimatum by his lone remaining competitor, who passed on the height, and made the defending champion go back-to-back on attempts – this time, at 2.12 meters.
Unphased, Rollins stepped up to the plate and exceeded the height easily, while his competitor missed his final three attempts of the event.
Competing in the triple jump later in the day, Rollins put his best foot forward on chance number two where he recorded a mark of 14.55 meters, which stood as the sixth best mark at the time.
As the competition heightened, he used his third attempt for a 14.51-meter leap, but had to trust in his best attempt of the day to carry him to the final round. Despite falling two places on the leader board, the Groveland native stood in 8th place in an event where the top nine competitors earned three more attempts.
Although his fourth attempt was successful, it was overshadowed by the following chance – which turned out to be his best of the day at 14.64 meters (48 feet, 0.5 inches) and stood strong to earn a seventh-place finish. In four appearances in the triple jump this year, today's performance was his second-best distance and became the second-best mark in the indoor season in his storied career.
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