MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State track and field high jumper Tejaswin Shankar has been selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team as chosen by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), the organization announced on Thursday (August 12).
Shankar was one of 46 individuals named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Division I Cross Country/Track and Field teams. The New Delhi native earned a 3.45 GPA in Accounting and was one of two representatives from the Big 12. He is the 20th K-State track and field athlete to be selected an Academic All-American and the first since Morgan Coffman was named to the Academic All-America First Team in 2019.
The honor marks Shankar’s first CoSIDA Academic All-America selection after being named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team for the second consecutive season. He advanced to the Academic All-America ballot after being selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 First Team on July 16.
The academic honor added to an already impressive haul on the field by Shankar, who was the national runner-up in the high jump at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships as well as the Big 12 indoor and outdoor champion. He picked up three All-America distinctions during the 2020-21 track season, including First Team honors in high jump during both the indoor and outdoor season and Second Team accolades in the indoor triple jump. The 2018 Outdoor National Champion, he is now a six-time All-American in the high jump.
Shankar cleared a height of 2.23m/7-03.75 on his second attempt in the high jump to collect First Team accolades for the third consecutive outdoor championship and was one of just four jumpers to clear the mark. He also finished third in the event at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a height of 2.24m/7-04.25, while he placed 11th in the triple jump with a mark of 15.97m/52-04.75.
Shankar enjoyed tremendous success at both Big 12 Championships, earning league titles in the high jump at both the indoor and outdoor meets. He was the Big 12 Indoor High Point Award winner after scoring 21.25 points, as he not only claimed the high jump title, but was also the runner-up in the triple jump and helped the 4x400-meter relay team place fourth. At the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, he scored 15 points by collecting his second straight conference title in the high jump with a R.V. Christian Track and Field Complex record height of 2.28m/7-05.75 to go with a fourth-place finish in the triple jump with a season-best mark of 16.00m/52-06.00.
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