Colorado University Athletics
Buffs' O'Quinn Aims For Big Senior Season
February 01, 2018 | Track and Field
BOULDER — After three outstanding years sprinting and high jumping for the Colorado Buffaloes, Rajon O'Quinn is entering her final season with the team. As she gears up for the Colorado Invitational this weekend, she is more determined than ever to show the Pac-12 the strength of Colorado track and field.
As both a sprinter and high jumper, O'Quinn is a rare multi-dimensional college athlete. Whereas some people might consider this to be a disadvantage, O'Quinn believes there are advantages to doing both events.
"I run more than I jump, but I don't think that is a pitfall at all because sometimes when I have not jumped for a while it has benefited me," she said. "Just taking a break, stepping away, coming back and starting over again. There are some walls that I hit jumping, and I can just go focus on running for awhile."
In her freshman year, O'Quinn competed only in the high jump and was not satisfied with the experience.
"I wouldn't want to do one without the other," she said. "I tried just jumping and didn't like it as much. I needed the running."
Since she started competing in both, O'Quinn has become a leader both on and off the track. She believes her work ethic has contributed to her college success.
"I have become a lot more consistent with offseason and summer workouts because as I got older, I realized how important those are to how I perform," she said. "When I got here freshman year, I was probably a little naive in doing those things, but definitely getting into our nutritionist and seeing how I can better my body to last throughout the season has made a huge difference."
Success in two such different disciplines is rare at a high level of competition — so rare, in fact, that O'Quinn last year did something that hadn't been accomplished in USA track and field in seven decades.
"I think the best example I can give for an overall reference about how difficult it is to be as successful in high jump as it is in the sprint events would be last year when Rajon qualified for the USA Championships in the 60 (meter dash) and the high jump," said CU assistant coach Lindsey Malone. "The last time that was achieved was 71 years ago, by Alice Coachman, who later became the first African-American woman to win an Olympic gold medal for the United States."
O'Quinn is hoping her hard offseason work will translate onto the track this spring by giving her new personal and school records. As a high jumper, her goal is to clear at least 6-foot by graduation. Last season her highest jump was 5-10, but she is confident in her ability to leap above those last two inches.
For sprinting, O'Quinn hopes to set new school records with the 4X400 relay and in the 200-meter dash. She's currently 14th in the Colorado record book in the outdoor 200 with a time of 24.63 seconds. If she can shave off 1.18 seconds, she can pass former Buff Ana Holland for the Colorado record.
O'Quinn attended Fountain-Fort Carson High School in Fountain, Colo. She attributes much of her success to her parents and how supportive they were to her athletic and academic careers.
"My mom and a couple of aunts were all track and field athletes in high school," she said. "I was the first to go to school on scholarship for track, but it is definitely in the blood. Once my mom found out I was going to try it out in high school, she was super excited for it and super supportive."
After graduating, O'Quinn is preparing to take a year off from school. She wants to use the year to discover what area of psychology she is passionate about and plan where she wants to get her master's degree in psychology.
O'Quinn and her Buffs teammates will be competing this weekend in the Colorado Invitational on the Skylar Family Track in the CU Indoor Practice Facility. The event starts Thursday and runs through Saturday.
