CARTHAGE ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME
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One of just three student-athletes in Carthage history to win multiple national championships, James came to Kenosha, Wis. from Maywood, Ill. without any track and field experience in high school. After joining the team during his freshman year and placing ninth at the outdoor conference championships in the high jump, he improved to seventh place at the CCIW indoor championships as a sophomore. It was the leap from the indoor to outdoor season that year that put James on the map.
After winning the outdoor high jump conference title with a mark of 6'10 ¼" and setting a school record, James cleared that height again at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships to win a national title. He would later set a new indoor record at 7'0 ¼" and finish second at the NCAA Indoor Championships as a junior, before climbing to the top as a senior to win his second NCAA Championship and set the Carthage indoor high jump record at 7'0 ½". During the outdoor season, James would break his own program record at the 2014 Drake Relays after clearing 7'2 ½", before winning his third consecutive CCIW title and setting a conference championship meet record by clearing 7'2 ¼".
James was named the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Midwest Region Athlete of the Year during the 2014 outdoor season. On top of his three-straight outdoor high jump CCIW titles, he holds two conference championships in the indoor high jump.
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