All-American candidate rewrites Centre track and field jumping record books

RELEASED: March 6, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—First-year student Chrys Jones has broken Centre records in every jumping event he has attempted this season. Jones, from Harrodsburg, Ky., and a 2007 graduate of Mercer County High School, is finishing his first collegiate indoor track and field season on a high note. In this season alone, Jones has outperformed even the best expectations with 50' 6" in the triple jump, 23' 8.75" in the long jump and 6' 4.75" in the high jump. These marks not only earned him new indoor school records at Centre, but also NCAA Division III indoor national qualifying marks in two of the events.

Jones's favorite jumping event is the triple jump in which he won numerous Kentucky high school state championships, and currently he's the only high school athlete in Kentucky to have ever jumped more then 50 feet at the state competition. During his senior year of high school, Jones also qualified for the NIKE Outdoor High School National Championships, where he finished second. Jones's best mark of 50' 6" this indoor season is his second-longest mark ever in the triple jump; Jones's personal best mark of 50' 9" was achieved at his high school regional championships last May.

"Chrys is far ahead of where he was this time last year," says track and field coach Lisa H. Owens. "He was jumping around the 44' mark last March in his senior high school indoor season and is close to his personal best marks right now. He's right on track to accomplish the big goals that we've set together for this coming outdoor season." Jones's current mark of 50' 6" ranks him first in NCAA Division III by 10 inches.

Jones also is currently ranked fourth in NCAA Division III in the long jump. His leap of 23' 8.75" is his second-farthest long jump ever; his personal best mark of 24' 1/4" was also achieved at his high school regional meet last May. "Chrys was jumping around 20 feet this time last year," Owens says . "As with the triple jump, I'm very pleased with where Chrys is in the long jump right now. He's very capable of jumping in the 25-plus foot range by the end of the outdoor season."

With the high jump being the third focus of all three jumps, Jones only participated in the event once during this indoor season. Jones's jump of 6' 4.75" was a new personal best height and a new indoor Centre school record. Coach Owens feels that Jones has the potential to hit the 6' 8" range by the end of the outdoor season.

After completing his senior year of high school, Jones was offered numerous full-ride NCAA Division I track and field scholarships. Being at the top of his class, scoring exceptionally well on his ACT exam and being a phenomenal jumper, Jones had his choice of schools to attend.

When asked why he chose Centre, a Division III school, Jones says, "I've always heard about Centre's rich academic tradition. The national ranking of the college plus its educational value makes Centre an excellent choice. I also know Centre's Lisa Owens is a great track coach and she can get me to the next level in my triple jump. I asked myself this question: Great education, great coach...what more do I want?" Chrys plans to major in pre-medicine at Centre and become a pediatrician.

"The fact is that more and more great athletes out of high school are going NCAA Division III these days," Owens says. "The great athletes who have solid academic preparation, such as Chrys, want everything out of a college experience; they want the personalized academics, the athletics, the study abroad programs, the social life and more. Centre is a place where student athletes can achieve all of these wonderful things and leave here prepared to be very successful and happy people in life".

Jones will compete in the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio, on March 14-15. He will perform in the long jump on Friday, March 14 and the triple jump on Saturday, March 15.

"Chrys has an opportunity to be a national champion in one or both events next weekend," Owens says. "Most certainly he should be an All-American in both."

Although next weekend will be Jones's first meaningful test on the collegiate level, bigger goals are in store for the outdoor season. Jones's goal is to perform a provisional Olympic Trial Qualifying mark in the triple jump of 51' 10" by June.

In addition, to his academic and athletic activities, Jones is a member of the "My CENTRE Life" team. This group of six first-year students records the experiences of their first year at Centre in journal entries, photos and video. To see the "My CENTRE Life" homepage, click here.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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