Entering this weekend of competition, only one male athlete in the history of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference had cleared seven feet in the high jump.
On Saturday at the Hillsdale Complex Opener, Chargers junior Cass Dobrowolski became the second.
Dobrowolski was named the G-MAC Field Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career by the conference office on Monday, thanks to a clearance of 2.14 meters in the high jump, 7 feet and a quarter-inch, to win his home meet this weekend. Only Tiffin's Cameron Burrows had gone over seven feet previously among G-MAC competitors.
The mark has been a long time coming for Dobrowolski, who cleared 2.12 previously as a freshman to qualify for the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships, and mark himself as a strong candidate to join an exclusive club of seven foot jumpers at Hillsdale that includes record-holder Dan Gifford and past national champion Jim McHugh.
With the clearance, Dobrowolski now ranks eighth in the nation at the NCAA DII level and should be set to return to the Outdoor Championships at the end of May, with a shot to become Hillsdale's first All-American in the event since Hillsdale's last seven-foot high jumper, Andrew Dodson, in 2009.
First, however, Dobrowolski will compete in the G-MAC Outdoor Championships hosted by Hillsdale College from May 1-3, looking to bring home the high jump title for the second time in three years and help the Chargers battle in the race for the overall crown.
Photo by David Beach