Freshman Tejaswin Shankar Named Big 12 Athlete of the Week
May 01, 2018 | Track & Field
MANHATTAN, Kansas – Freshman Tejaswin Shankar earned his first career Big 12 Athlete of the Week honor, the league announced on Tuesday, after jumping an NCAA-leading 2.29m/7-06 at the Texas Tech Corky/Crofoot Shootout on Friday.
Shankar becomes just the ninth Wildcat to win the honor during the outdoor season on the men's side and the first since Miles Bearden claimed the award on May 20, 2017. He also becomes the first Wildcat freshman on the men's team to win the award during the outdoor season in program history.
Shankar's jump also set a series of records, including a new Indian outdoor national record, meet and facility record. He surpassed the previous Texas Tech Fuller track record of 2.27m/7-05.25 set by JaCorian Duffield of Texas Tech in 2014, while also clearing his own national record of 2.28m/7-05.75, which was set earlier this season at the 22nd Federation Cup Indian Championships in Patiala, India.
"TJ [Tejaswin Shankar] had PR but honestly I do not think he jumped exceptionally well," Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said of Shankar's performance. "That is a big positive because when he puts it all together he will do something special."
Shankar entered at a starting height of 2.11m/6-11 on Friday, clearing each of his first three jumps before his sole miss of the evening at 2.25m/7-04.50. He responded by clearing the height on his second attempt, before advancing to a new personal best and NCAA-lead of 2.29m/7-06. Shankar's jump marked the sixth best jump in the world and the sixth-best jump in K-State history.
The Texas Tech Corky/Crofoot Shootout marked the second competition of the outdoor season for Shankar, after competing at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Carrera, Australia in April, where Shankar went on to place fifth overall in the event, clearing 2.24m/7-04.25.
With his NCAA lead, Shankar will set his sights on the Big 12 Outdoor Championship which take place on May 11-13 in Waco, Texas, before competing in the NCAA West Preliminary in Sacramento, California on May 24-26.
Shankar becomes just the ninth Wildcat to win the honor during the outdoor season on the men's side and the first since Miles Bearden claimed the award on May 20, 2017. He also becomes the first Wildcat freshman on the men's team to win the award during the outdoor season in program history.
Shankar's jump also set a series of records, including a new Indian outdoor national record, meet and facility record. He surpassed the previous Texas Tech Fuller track record of 2.27m/7-05.25 set by JaCorian Duffield of Texas Tech in 2014, while also clearing his own national record of 2.28m/7-05.75, which was set earlier this season at the 22nd Federation Cup Indian Championships in Patiala, India.
"TJ [Tejaswin Shankar] had PR but honestly I do not think he jumped exceptionally well," Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said of Shankar's performance. "That is a big positive because when he puts it all together he will do something special."
Shankar entered at a starting height of 2.11m/6-11 on Friday, clearing each of his first three jumps before his sole miss of the evening at 2.25m/7-04.50. He responded by clearing the height on his second attempt, before advancing to a new personal best and NCAA-lead of 2.29m/7-06. Shankar's jump marked the sixth best jump in the world and the sixth-best jump in K-State history.
The Texas Tech Corky/Crofoot Shootout marked the second competition of the outdoor season for Shankar, after competing at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Carrera, Australia in April, where Shankar went on to place fifth overall in the event, clearing 2.24m/7-04.25.
With his NCAA lead, Shankar will set his sights on the Big 12 Outdoor Championship which take place on May 11-13 in Waco, Texas, before competing in the NCAA West Preliminary in Sacramento, California on May 24-26.
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