Shankar becomes fifth Wildcat in past 21 years to capture high jump crown, third athlete from India to win Division 1 title

By Jake Willard for DyeStat

EUGENE – With the famous Oregon rain falling around him, Kansas State freshman Tejaswin Shankar slapped his legs and smacked his head as he prepared for his final attempt at 7 feet, 4.25 inches (2.24m).

If he cleared the bar, he would be the NCAA Division 1 high jump champion.

Running his approach in sync with the clapping crowd, Shankar flung his body into the air, clearing the bar with room to spare. He landed, let out a victorious roar and ripped off his bib. He had entered the competition with the top collegiate mark, and now he was the NCAA champion.

“If you’re leading, then everyone is actually chasing you, and you don’t have anyone to chase,” said Shankar, who became the fifth Kansas State high jumper to win the Division 1 outdoor title in the past 21 years.

“I was feeling that pressure.”

Shankar’s victory makes him the third Indian-born athlete to win an NCAA track and field title and the first since Vikas Gowda won the discus for North Carolina in 2006.

After moving to the U.S. from India to compete in the collegiate system, Shankar set three goals for himself: to compete at the Commonwealth Games, NCAA Indoor Championships and NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Although his preparation for competing at the Commonwealth Games ultimately conflicted with the indoor championships in March, Shankar’s sixth-place finish in Gold Coast, Australia in front of 40,000 people was a big help to him in order to deal with the environment at Hayward Field.

“I think that experience really helped me today with everyone cheering on me,” he said. “Clearing 2.24 in this condition was probably the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.”

Shankar was perfect on the first four heights until he clipped the bar with his calf on his first attempt at 7-4.25. After one more miss at the height, the freshman had one more chance to clear and avoid a jumpoff with Alabama’s Shelby McEwen. Shankar rose to the occasion, clearing with room to spare.

“TJ is great, on and off the track. He’s always got a smile and he’s so friendly, but he’s a killer and he’s a competitor,” said Texas Tech senior Trey Culver, a six-time All-American and two-time indoor champion, who placed fourth at 7-3 (2.21m).

“If you don’t bring your ‘A’ game with TJ, he’s there to take the win. I respect him as a person and as a competitor and he did his thing out here. It’s amazing what he did as a freshman, with the weather and all that. He didn’t let that mess with him and he did great.”

Shankar missed three chances at 7-6.50 (2.30m), which would have bettered his own Indian national record.

While the title opens the door for a bright future for Shankar, it also closes the chapter on a journey that began six years ago.

Growing up in India, Shankar did not have aspirations in the sport of track and field.

“I was always interested in playing cricket, and I still am,” he said. “That’s my favorite sport.”

It wasn’t until age 14, when he met a physical education teacher, Sunil Kumar Patial, that he was introduced to the red oval.

“When he saw that I could actually high jump and we started training for that, I didn’t really take it seriously,” Shankar said. “But then after I actually started winning some competitions, I was like, ‘Hey, I can do it.’”

The newly crowned NCAA champion gives his former teacher credit for his victory.

The transition to track wasn’t easy. Shankar’s father was not very understanding of his move away from cricket, and did not allow him to practice with his coach. That’s where his mother stepped in.

“Growing up, my mother used to sneak me out of the house when my dad was asleep in the morning so I could go out and train with my coach,” Shankar said.

It wasn’t until he won the Indian school championships that his father accepted his son’s new sport.

After finding success in the high jump, Shankar became a student of his event. He turned to YouTube videos of Olympians jumping to help his training, and ultimately moved to the United States to train with American Jamie Nieto for a season at age 17. After returning to India, he received a recruitment call from Kansas State coach and high jump specialist Cliff Rovelto.

Now, Shankar is the NCAA champion, joining Christoff Bryan, Erik Kynard, Scott Sellers and Nathan Leeper as Kansas State’s outdoor high jump winners.

“I was able to trust my coach, and my coach was able to trust me,” he said. “So, it worked out well in the end.”

While the victory had not fully set in yet, Shankar still had his eyes set on his goals for next year.

“I feel like I still am not a terrific jumper,” he said. “To be a terrific jumper, I have to jump 2.30m.”

But that won’t stop him from celebrating the win.

“I was really looking forward to this, so now I’ll probably go off to Disneyland,” Shankar said.