He was a KU track star, then went on a 3-year hiatus. Now, he hopes to rep Team USA
Cordell Tinch was a star for KU’s track and field team — with a long, bright career seemingly ahead of him.
His freshman resume spoke for itself. He won the Big 12 title in the 110m hurdles and was named the conference’s freshman of the year in 2019. But Tinch dealt with academic issues in his sophomore year. He even qualified for the NCAA Championships but didn’t compete.
That caused his career to take a roundabout path that included a three-year hiatus before a reemergence at Pittsburg State in 2022 ... and now another step as he competes at the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships running July 6-9 in Eugene, Oregon .
Going back to his time at KU, Tinch told NBC Sports he became ineligible due to academic issues over his transfer before his freshman year. He had enrolled for a few weeks at the University of Minnesota before transferring to KU for the remainder of his freshman year, after one of his Minnesota track coaches joined KU’s coaching staff.
Right before the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Tinch tweeted, “Lost part of me a year ago, still searching to put it back in place.” After some soul-searching, he decided to pack his things and leave KU.
“I took that break more so for my mental health,” he told NBC Sports. “We have definitely grown and moved way past that now.”
Tinch didn’t compete in any track and field events for three years. During that time, he had various jobs — laying cable, operating a toilet-paper machine and even working at a cell phone store, NBC Sports wrote.
But the lifeline came when former KU teammate Treyvon Ferguson transferred to Pittsburg State and told the coaches about Tinch. After a couple months of back-and-forth contact, the coaching staff landed Tinch in January 2022.
By February, he made his track re-debut.
In June, he ran 12.96 seconds in a 110m hurdles race in Arkansas and became the 24th man in history to break the 13-second barrier. After a feat like that, Tinch knew it was time to turn pro.
Next up: the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships.
The top three in Sunday’s 110m hurdles final will join world champion Grant Holloway on team USA for August’s World Championships in Budapest.
Tinch has come a long way in his journey, but he enters the week as the world’s fastest hurdler.
“To be able to get a Team USA jersey would be unbelievable, I’ve always wanted one of those,” Tinch said last week. “It would confirm all of my dreams.”
He won’t be alone, as several other local athletes will be competing in Eugene, Oregon in various events:
- Henry Kiner, representing Pittsburg State, competing in men’s long jump
- Courtney Frerichs, representing UMKC, competing in women’s steeplechase
- Karissa Schweizer, representing Missouri, competing in women’s distance runs (5k, 10k)
- Emma Robbins, representing Kansas State, competing in the women’s hammer throw
- James Colbert, representing KU, competing in the men’s 400 hurdles
- AJ Green, representing KU, competing in the men’s 800m
Grant Lockwood, representing KU, competing in the men’s 400m
Sawyer Schmidt, representing KU, competing in the men’s 1500m
- Rylee Anderson, representing KU, competing in women’s high jump
- Clayton Sims, representing KU, competing in men’s pole vault
- Chris Nilsen, from Park Hill HS, competing in men’s pole vault
This story was originally published July 6, 2023 at 3:56 PM.
