K-State’s Shankar wins second high jump national title

EUGENE, Ore. (WIBW) - K-State high jumper Tejaswin Shankar is bringing a national title back to Manhattan for the second time in his career.

Shankar was crowned the 2022 NCAA Men’s High Jump Champion Friday with a jump of 2.27m/7-5.25.

The title came down to the wire in a jump off between Shankar and Georgia’s Darius Carbin. The pair both fouled three times at 2.24m/7-4.25 and had the same number of misses. Shankar went on to clear the 2.27m/7-5.25 on his first try, while Carbin knocked the bar down — making Shankar this year’s champion.

“It feels great to be a national champion,” Shankar said in a statement. “I wanted to give my best and go out with a title. For that to happen is just a blessing. This one I will cherish the most. This meet was my last meet and I wanted to go out there and make it memorable for myself, make it memorable for the university. In the last five years, the university has done so much for me. I would like to dedicate this to the athletics department and the Little Apple. K-State is High Jump U.”

Shankar also won the outdoor national title in 2018. He was runner-up in 2019 and 2021.

The New Delhi native finishes his career as an eight-time All-American in high jump.

“He did a good job today,” Cliff Rovelto, K-State director of Track and Field and Cross Country, said. “I thought he did great during warm up and I thought he was a little nervous on the first jump. This is technically his fourth meet of the outdoor season, which isn’t a lot. I really felt like he was ready to compete to win. He just competes well. We’ve had a couple guys be eight time All-Americans, but he has scored at all the seven national meets in which he has competed.”

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