NEW ORLEANS – Taylor Rooney (Sr., Andover) had been knocking on the door of NCAA Division III history for a while.
Well, this past weekend at a dual meet against Bethel, Rooney kicked that door in and firmly entrenched his name among the top sprint hurdlers in divisional history with his 7.87 effort in the 60H. Rooney became the fifth fastest performer in NCAA DIII history in the process.
Just 0.05 seconds separates Rooney from the No. 2 spot on the all-time chart, currently occupied by Terrence Gibson of Worcester State since 2004. Luke Campbell of Salisbury owns the top mark at 7.75 from his win at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships.
That’s not all that Rooney did at the meet: Rooney also tied the NCAA DIII lead in the high jump at 2.06m (6-9) and matched the No. 13 performer on the Descending Order List in the 200.
This is the third time in the past two years that Rooney has been named National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. Rooney previously earned the honor on January 21, 2020 and February 25, 2020, following other notable performances.