Centre News

On March 13, Chrys Jones '11 won the triple jump event at the
NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championships.

One national championship wasn’t good enough for Centre College junior Chrys Jones.

Last year, during the triple jump event at the 2009 Division III Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Jones won the national title and became the first Centre student to achieve an undisputed national championship. And last Saturday, he took home his second national championship, winning the triple jump at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships.

On the final jump of the indoor championship, Jones jumped 49 feet, 3 ½ inches to gain first place. In an interview with Danville’s Advocate-Messenger, Jones said that jump “gives me a boost for going into the outdoor season. Because I’m looking to hit 51 or 52 feet this season, to hit 49 gives the hope and drive to go get it.”

Jones has long been recognized for this athletic prowess. He was named the 2009 Kentucky Male Collegiate Track and Field Athlete of the Year by the Kentucky Track and Cross Country Coaches Association/United States Association for Track and Field. He is the first Centre student to receive such a prestigious athletic award.

Jones participates in the long jump, triple jump and high jump but says that his favorite is the triple jump, “the most technical of all the events I do. I developed a love for it over the years, and now it’s definitely my favorite,” he says.

Jones and the rest of Centre’s track and field team will begin their outdoor season this Saturday, March 20, in the Rhodes College Open in Memphis, Tenn.