Eugene, Ore. ? It took more than 41/2 hours to complete, but Kansas University’s Jordan Scott won the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships pole vault title on Thursday.
Scott, a junior competing in the first NCAA finals of his career and who failed to qualify for the NCAA Indoor, shook off a lengthy rain delay to win the title by clearing 17-feet, 81/2 inches.
Sporting a wild crimson-and-blue mohawk hairstyle, Scott tied runner-up Josh Dominguez of LSU at 17-81/2, but won the crown on misses.
“This feels phenomenal considering what all went down today,” said Scott, a native of Watkinsville, Ga. “We battled a headwind, rain and issues with the bar. It was a long day. To win under all these conditions shows how hard I have been training. I have been doing a lot of mental training and that really helped today.”
Also Thursday, KU’s Andrea Geubelle earned All-America honors after placing 11th in the triple jump at 42-7.
Scott’s crown — and Mason Finley’s second-place showing Wednesday in the discus — helped the KU men take an early lead in the team standings. KU is tied for first with Texas A&M with 18 points.
Scott’s NCAA title is the first outdoor national title for a Jayhawk since Leo Bookman was the 200-meters champion in 2003. It also marks Scott’s first outdoor All-America honor and his third overall All-America honor.