Bryan Earns First Team All-America Honors in High Jump

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – An intense day of competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships was highlighted by junior Christoff Bryan, who earned First-Team All-America honors in men’s high jump, as competition came to a close on Saturday in College Station, Texas.

The 13th-ranked Kansas State women finished the meet with eight points to claim a share of 27th place, while the 51st-ranked Wildcat men, who were represented by Bryan at the meet, finished in 48th place with three and a half points. Oregon’s women won the national title with a record 84 points, while hosts Texas A&M won the men’s title with 46 points.

Bryan was the only Wildcat to earn First Team All-America honors on the second day of action, tying for fifth place in men’s high jump with a final mark of 2.20m/7-02.50. The 2017 Big 12 Indoor Champion in the event opened competition with a clearance on the first bar of 2.10m/6-01.75.

He was perfect on the second bar, which was set at 2.15m/6-10.75, before recording his first miss of the day at the third bar, set at his final height of 2.20m/7-02.50. The junior took three solid attempts at 2.23m/7-03.75, but could not clear the height to earn him a share of fifth place with Florida’s Clayton Brown.

K-State has now had a male high jumper earn First Team All-America honors in 10 of the last 14 meets dating back to 2004, while Bryan is the fourth athlete to win First-Team All-America honors multiple times in that same period.

In the women’s weight throw, senior Janee' Kassanavoid used a toss of 20.71m/67-11.75 on her second attempt to claim a spot in the event finals. The reigning Big 12 champion in the event, Kassanavoid battled in the finals but fell just one centimeter short of cracking the top eight behind Auburn’s Jasmine Manigault, who finished with a mark of 20.72m/67-11.75.

Kassanavoid, a 2017 NCAA All-America Second Teamer, is the first Wildcat weight thrower to earn All-America status since legend Loren Groves, who finished in sixth place and earned First Team All-America honors in 2008.

Sophomore Shardia Lawrence, competing in the first NCAA Championships of her career, saw improvement on all three of her attempts in the women’s triple jump. She opened with a leap of 12.79m/41-11.50 before cracking the 13-meter mark with a second-attempt jump of 13.00m/42-08.

The St. Catherine, Jamaica, native bettered her previous two marks on her final attempt in the series, leaping 13.15m/43-01.75. Her mark kept her on the bubble of final qualification through the final competitor, but it was not enough as she missed the finals by one centimeter. She claimed Second Team All-America honors, the first triple jump All-American since Chaytan Hill in 2005.

K-State now turns its attention to the outdoor season, which begins on March 25 as the team travels to Coral Gables, Florida, to compete in the Miami Hurricane Invitational. More information on the meet, including a complete schedule, can be found here.

For the latest on K-State track and field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.

NCAA Championships

Gilliam Indoor Stadium

College Station, Texas

Men’s High Jump

T5. Christoff Bryan – 2.20m/7-02.50

Women’s Triple Jump

10. Shardia Lawrence – 13.15m/43-01.75

Women’s Weight Throw

9. Janee’ Kassanavoid – 20.71m/67-11.50

Kansas State University Athletics

Bryan Earns First Team All-America Honors in High Jump

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

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