Bryan Wins First Career Outdoor National Title in High Jump

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 3

EUGENE, Ore. – Battling cold and rainy conditions throughout the entire high jump competition, junior Christoff Bryan recorded a clutch clearance on the second attempt of what ended up being his winning bar of 2.21m/7-03 to emerge victorious and claim his first-career high jump national championship on Friday at the NCAA Championships.

Notching the program’s sixth men’s outdoor high jump crown and the first since 2012, Bryan joins Wildcat greats Erik Kynard, Jr. (2011, 2012), Scott Sellers (2007, 2009) and Nathan Leeper (1998) as the only men to win a national title in the event in school history.

“I am really happy for this win,” Bryan said about his first national championship. “It has been a tough outdoor season for me so far, but once you are mentally tough, you can achieve anything. I have been working really hard for this, so I am just so happy right now. I want to thank my whole family. I could not have done this without them.”

Bryan came into the competition at 2.08m/6-0.75, which he cleared with ease on his first attempt to get off to a hot start. He recorded a miss on his first jump at 2.13m/6-11.75, but came back and glided over the bar to advance to the next height.

He faced adversity at the third bar, recording two misses at 2.18m/7-01.75. With his back against the wall and the pressure mounting, Bryan used a clutch clearance on his third and final attempt to become one of only three athletes in the field to move on to jump at 2.21m/7-03.

Once again posting a miss on his first attempt, a big jump on his second jump at 2.21m/7-03 saw him advance to the next height (2.24m/7-04.25) with Texas Tech high jumper Trey Culver, who cleared 2.21m/7-03 on his third attempt. Bryan and Culver both missed all three attempts at the final bar, resulting in Bryan sealing his title on misses.

“All that matters throughout the season is physically being ready and prepared to perform well at the NCAA Championships,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said about Bryan’s efforts. “Christoff did just that. He is a gamer and came out and competed hard and got the job done.”

With Bryan’s victory, the Wildcat men closed out the competition tied for 26th place with 10 points.

Freshman Nina Schultz was also in action on Friday, closing out day one of the heptathlon in fifth place with a day-one score of 3,486 points.

Schultz got off to an impressive start despite the wet conditions on the track, missing her lifetime best in the 100-meter hurdles by a tenth of a second with a time of 13.70 (0.2) to earn 1,021 points. The rain continued into the high jump, where the freshman finished in a tie for fourth place with a final clearance of 1.72m/5-07.75 to earn 879 points and move up two overall positions to fifth place.

Her best performance on Friday came in the shot put, where she recorded a monster lifetime best with a toss of 12.74m/41-09.75 to claim 710 points and finish in second overall. Opening with a throw of 11.31m/37-01.25, she did not record an improvement on her second attempt to put the pressure on.

Battling the pouring rain, Schultz launched her winning mark of 12.74m/41-09.75 to vault her into second place overall in the heptathlon through three events with 2,610 points. The throw is also the sixth-best mark in program heptathlon shot put history.

The freshman closed out day one of the heptathlon on the track, running a time of 25.12 (-2.7) in the 200-meter dash to finish in ninth place in the race for 876 points.

“She had a really solid day,” Rovelto added about his freshman heptathlete. “The conditions were horrendous. I thought she did a really good job competing through that. It is rough to compete in weather like that, especially in a heptathlon.”

Saturday’s action will begin at 1:30 p.m., CT, with Nina Schultz resuming action in the heptathlon. Tickets for the NCAA Championships will be available on an all-meet and single-session basis and can purchased here. Fans who cannot travel to Eugene can catch the action on the ESPN family of networks, which can be found here, while live results for all four days of competition will be provided by Flash Results and can be accessed here.

More information on the meet, including ticket information, heat sheets and full schedule, can be found on NCAA’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship homepage, which 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 Day 3

Hayward Field

Eugene, Ore.

Men’s High Jump

1. Christoff Bryan – 2.21m/7-03 (National Champion)(10 pts.)

Heptathlon 100-Meter Hurdles

7. Nina Schultz – 13.70 (0.2)(1021 pts.)

Heptathlon High Jump

T4. Nina Schultz – 1.72m/5-07.75 (879 pts.)

Heptathlon Shot Put

2. Nina Schultz – 12.74m/41-09.75 (PR)(710 pts.)

Heptathlon 200-Meter Dash

9. Nina Schultz – 25.12 (-2.7)(866 pts.)

Kansas State University Athletics

Bryan Wins First Career Outdoor National Title in High Jump

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 3

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