Chasing the Dream

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Coming off a miraculous, herculean sixth and final attempt to capture the triple jump crown at the Big 12 Championships, Kansas State junior Jhavor Bennett leaps into the NCAA West Preliminary ranked sixth in the country while taking the next step toward the first First Team All-America honor of his career.

Bennett's first five triple jump attempts this past Saturday at the Big 12 Championships in Lawrence, Kansas, weren't the story. But something magical happened, and the native of Jamaica launched to a 16.21 meters (53 feet, 2 ¼ inches) — a personal best by a whopping three feet and the sixth-best distance in the NCAAs this outdoor season. The jump also ranked No. 8 all-time in K-State outdoor history while Bennett became the first K-State triple jumper to win the Big 12 title since 2014.

"Me and my coach started screaming," Bennett said. "I blacked out, to be honest, when I saw that 16 meters. That sixth and final attempt, I was feeling all the feels. I thought about how much I had practiced. During the season, my coach told me to be patient with each of the phases of the jump. I executed that well. It was the most technically-sound jump I had.

"I knew when I landed that it was a big jump."

Travis Geopfert, who was named K-State Director of Track and Field/Cross Country nearly one year ago, watched Bennett's heroics unfold at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence.

"It's pretty awesome, isn't it?" Geopfert said. "After his first two attempts, the message was, 'Just execute.' His third attempt, you could see his confidence. Then he said, 'I feel it. I feel it. I've got it now.' He has talent, and he's motivated."

Geopfert is anxious to watch Bennett compete in the NCAA West Preliminary, which gets underway on Wednesday in College Station, Texas.

"He just needs to continue to go out and execute at the NCAA first rounds," Geopfert said. "It's a pressure cooker. I know his mindset is on being a First Team All-American. It's a pretty cool thing. That title of First Team All-American remains with you the rest of your life. He has that opportunity now. He's chasing that dream. It's pretty cool."

Bennett credits his success and opportunity to compete at this high level to K-State jumps coach Clive Pullen, who joined Geopfert in Manhattan prior to this academic year. Pullen has coached six NCAA Champions and 15 First Team All-Americans in a career that has included coaching stops at Arkansas, Tennessee and Kansas.

Pullen also represented Jamaica in the triple jump in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

"If it wasn't for Coach Clive," Bennett said, "I wouldn't be here right now."

Bennett said that he has a history of injures and most recently suffered a high-ankle sprain in the Big 12 Indoor Championships in late February, which required a four-week rehab.

"I've been in the NCAA for two years now, and this is my third year," Bennett said. "My first year wasn't the best because I had a lot of injuries. My second year was even worse. Coming off the indoor season, I wasn't getting it right — injuries, injuries and no breakthroughs.

"I had thoughts of not doing track anymore, and Coach Clive motivated and inspired me to just keep on going. He had a lot to do with what I accomplished last weekend."

Bennett is a native of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, where kids grow up competing in track and field, futbol, basketball and cricket. Although Bennett began track at an early age, he paused, and then he got back into the sport in the 10^th grade in 2018.

"Jamaicans always have that mindset that track and field can take us places because it's just the culture in Jamaica," he said. "We always know from an early age where track can take us. It's just finding the program that's going to take us there."

A three-time medalist in the Western Championship in triple jump, Bennett captured the 2020 Western Championship title, and one year later took first place in triple jump and long jump.

When it came to recruiting, Bennett largely reached out to colleges in the United States. Nobody offered him a scholarship. Then came K-State and Bennett received a scholarship offer two days later.

He has taken pride in wearing purple and white ever since.

"I have a lot of pride in representing K-State," Bennett said. "Knowing where K-State has come from to where K-State is now, we've come a long way from where the team was a few years ago to where the team is now. There's a lot of pride and expectations in the coming months and coming years. We've improved so much these past months and weeks. There are a lot of people winning Big 12s now.

"Our work is showing in our performances."

Arguably no journey is quite as unique as Bennett's path. From scrapping for a college scholarship to fighting injuries to nearly giving up to winning the Big 12 title with the sixth-longest triple jump in the NCAA, Bennett's tale offers a myriad of twists and turns.

In the end, it's led him straight to an opportunity to shine in the NCAA West Preliminary next week.

"I want to make the national team and am focused on finishing in the top 12," Bennett said. "I've never been more excited to compete — ever. Coming off the Big 12s, I'm on a high right now. I've never been ranked this year or jumped this far.

"I'm pumped to go out there and show what I can do."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jhavor Bennett

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