Nick Saunders
 |
Sport:
Track & Field |
Year
Graduated: 1985 |
Year
Inducted: 1992 |
Among the many outstanding team and individual performances
turned in by the Boston University track and field program,
the four-year career of Nick Saunders stands as one of the
all-time greats.
An all-around athlete by nature, but high jumper by speciality,
Saunders dominated the college track and field scene throughout
the early 1980s. He captured first place at the 1984 Indoor
NCAA Championships, becoming the first ever national champion
in University history. A four-time All-American, Saunders
completed his career with a total of 17 first place finished
at the Indoor and Outdoor IC4A, New England and Greater Boston
Championships.
As a freshman in 1981-82, Saunders turned in a stellar debut
campaign, sweeping the triple jump, high jump and 60-meter
dash at the Infoor Greater Boston Championships, and adding
a first in the 55-meter dash at the New England Indoor Championships.
During the outdoor season, he captured his first of four consecutive
Greater Boston titles in the high jump, and ran a leg on the
winning 4x100 meter relay team at the New England Outdoor
Championships.
However, it was the following year that Saunders firmly established
himself as one of the best collegiate high jumpers in the
nation. He gained All-America recognition at both the Indoor
and Outdoor National Championships, won the Greater Boston
and New England Indoor and Outdoor championships and established
Boston University records of 7'6 1/2" indoors and 7'6"
outdoors. In recognition of his efforts he was named the New
England Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
During his junior campaign in the 1983-84, Saunders won the
school's first-ever individual championship, leaping to victory
at the indoor NCAA Championships while adding triumphs at
the IC4A and New England Indoor Championships and the Greater
Boston Indoor and Outdoor Championships. A native of Paget,
Bermuda, Saunders capped the year by competing in the Los
Angeles Summer Olympics in Bermuda.
Returning to the collegiate ranks for his senior year in
1984-85, Saunders again gained All-America stature atthe NCAA
Indoor and Outdoor Championships, won the Greater Boston Outdoor
title and added a win in the 60-meter dash at the Greater
Boston Indoor Championship.
Following graduation, Saunders remained actively involved
at the competitive level of track and field, and again represented
Bermuda at the 1988 Olympic Games is Seoul, Korea.