EUGENE, Ore. – For the first time since 2018, fifth-year senior Tejaswin Shankar has been crowned the 2022 NCAA Men's High Jump Champion on Friday (June 10) at Hayward Field.
The title came after a jump off between Shankar and Georgia senior Darius Carbin. Both Shankar and Carbin fouled three times at the height of 2.24m/7-4.25 and had the same number of misses, forcing a jump off between the two. On his first attempt, the New Delhi native cleared 2.27m/7-5.25 while Carbin knocked the bar down, immediately crowning Shankar as the national champion and a First Team All-American.
"He did a good job today," stated Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto. "I thought he did great during warm up and I thought he was a little nervous on the first jump. This is technically his fourth meet of the outdoor season, which isn't a lot. I really felt like he was ready to compete to win. He just competes well. We've had a couple guys be eight time All-Americans, but he has scored at all the seven national meets in which he has competed."
This is Shankar's second outdoor national title (2018, 2022) during his career at K-State, while he was the national runner-up in 2019 and 2021. He finishes his career as an eight-time All-American in the high jump (combined indoor and outdoor), including a four-time First Team Outdoor All-American.
"It feels great to be a national champion," said Shankar. "I wanted to give my best and go out with a title. For that to happen is just a blessing. This one I will cherish the most. This meet was my last meet and I wanted to go out there and make it memorable for myself, make it memorable for the university. In the last five years, the university has done so much for me. I would like to dedicate this to the athletics department and the Little Apple. K-State is High Jump U."
Fellow teammate and fifth-year senior Kyle Alcine also competed in the high jump, clearing a mark of 2.10m/6-10.75, tying for 15th place and claiming Second Team All-American honors.