Ohio Wesleyan junior Cirrus Robinson won her second consecutive national championship in the high jump at the NCAA Division III outdoor championship meet on Friday at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
Robinson cleared the first 5 heights on her first try, and when the bar moved to 5-8, there were 7 jumpers remaining. All 7 competitors missed all 3 of their attempts at 5-8, and Robinson won the national championship based on the fewest missed attempts.
“This was the largest (finals) field I’ve been a part of, and at that point I was pretty pleased as far as (the height),” Robinson said. “Watching the dominoes fall, and knowing it was such a strong field and still being able to pull this off was very rewarding.”
The national championship was Robinson’s second in the outdoor high jump and her fourth overall, including 2 national titles in the indoor high jump. She is a 5-time All-America honoree in the high jump.
“I think this was the most satisfying (of the four national championships), because I’ve worked so hard for some sort of comeback. This has been a season of doubt (for me) in the high jump, so this is very rewarding.”
Robinson was one of 3 competitors who entered the meet with the 10th-highest mark at 5-6½.
Robinson won the 2018 national championship with a jump of 5-8½ at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. In that meet, she cleared her first 5 jumps to get to 5-6 unscathed, then cleared 5-7¼ on her final attempt to remain alive as the field narrowed to 5 competitors. After a weather delay, Robinson cleared 5-8½ on her last chance, while the remaining 4 competitors each missed all 3 attempts at that height.
In her first outdoor national championship meet in 2017, also held at SPIRE Institute, Robinson won All-America honors with a third-place finish. She cleared her first 2 heights on the first jump, then cleared the next 3 heights on her second attempt. When the bar raised to 5-9¼, there were 3 jumpers remaining. One cleared that height, and Robinson and the third competitor each missed all 3 attempts, with Robinson finishing in third place after the tiebreaker was applied.
