University of Tennessee Athletics
Jenkins, Martin Inducted Into Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame
July 25, 2019 | Track & Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Former Tennessee track and field greats Randy Jenkins and Kameisha Martin were inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame Thursday night.
Randy Jenkins stood out for the Volunteers in the men's high jump from 1990-94, capturing three NCAA individual titles during his tenure on Rocky Top. He was also a member of Tennessee's 1991 national championship men's squad, finishing runner-up at NCAAs that season as a sophomore to score a key eight points for the Big Orange.
Weeks after helping UT to the 1991 title, Jenkins was sobered by the diagnosis of Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He missed the entire 1992 track season but continued attending classes at Tennessee, setting up one of the most remarkable comeback stories in Vol history.
The Spring City, Tenn. native spent the fall of 1992 working his way back into jumping shape and returned to the team in the winter of 1993. Months later, Jenkins went on to claim Tennessee's first high jump national title at the 1993 NCAA Outdoor Championships. He stamped his legacy with the Vols the following season, sweeping NCAA indoor and outdoor titles with program-record clearances of 2.31m (7-7) at both national championship meets.
Jenkins' leaps of seven feet, seven inches indoors and outdoors still stand as all-time Tennessee records. The five-time All-American is the only high jump national champion in program history.
Formerly Kameisha Bennett, Martin was a five-time All-American for the Lady Vols from 2000-04. Her crowning achievement on the track came at her final NCAA outdoor meet, finishing second in the women's 800m final with a time of 2:03.11 in 2004. She also helped Tennessee to a third-place finish in the 4x400m relay that season to account for 9.5 points as the Lady Vols tied for seventh nationally.
Post-collegiately, Martin earned a silver medal at the 2005 U.S. Outdoor Championships to secure a spot on Team USA and represent her country at the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. She retired from professional running in 2008 after narrowly missing qualifying for the Beijing Olympics.
Married to former UT football standout David Martin, the couple had their first child, Darius, near the end of Kameisha's junior year of college in 2003. In her final year at UT, Martin would go to practice then rush to the day care to pick up Darius. During one visit, the day care provider told Martin that Darius may have autism. He was officially diagnosed with autism in 2006.
Though it was a scary time for the Martins, the family has grown since then, including another son, Devyn. Darius now plays basketball at his high school, while Devyn plays baseball at his middle school and with an AAU team.
Martin has used her degree in child and family studies and her personal experience with her son to work at an agency called Breakthrough Autism. She works with people who have been diagnosed with autism to help them find jobs and internships in Knoxville.
For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee track & field, follow @Vol_Track on Twitter.
Randy Jenkins stood out for the Volunteers in the men's high jump from 1990-94, capturing three NCAA individual titles during his tenure on Rocky Top. He was also a member of Tennessee's 1991 national championship men's squad, finishing runner-up at NCAAs that season as a sophomore to score a key eight points for the Big Orange.
Weeks after helping UT to the 1991 title, Jenkins was sobered by the diagnosis of Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He missed the entire 1992 track season but continued attending classes at Tennessee, setting up one of the most remarkable comeback stories in Vol history.
The Spring City, Tenn. native spent the fall of 1992 working his way back into jumping shape and returned to the team in the winter of 1993. Months later, Jenkins went on to claim Tennessee's first high jump national title at the 1993 NCAA Outdoor Championships. He stamped his legacy with the Vols the following season, sweeping NCAA indoor and outdoor titles with program-record clearances of 2.31m (7-7) at both national championship meets.
Jenkins' leaps of seven feet, seven inches indoors and outdoors still stand as all-time Tennessee records. The five-time All-American is the only high jump national champion in program history.
Formerly Kameisha Bennett, Martin was a five-time All-American for the Lady Vols from 2000-04. Her crowning achievement on the track came at her final NCAA outdoor meet, finishing second in the women's 800m final with a time of 2:03.11 in 2004. She also helped Tennessee to a third-place finish in the 4x400m relay that season to account for 9.5 points as the Lady Vols tied for seventh nationally.
Post-collegiately, Martin earned a silver medal at the 2005 U.S. Outdoor Championships to secure a spot on Team USA and represent her country at the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. She retired from professional running in 2008 after narrowly missing qualifying for the Beijing Olympics.
Married to former UT football standout David Martin, the couple had their first child, Darius, near the end of Kameisha's junior year of college in 2003. In her final year at UT, Martin would go to practice then rush to the day care to pick up Darius. During one visit, the day care provider told Martin that Darius may have autism. He was officially diagnosed with autism in 2006.
Though it was a scary time for the Martins, the family has grown since then, including another son, Devyn. Darius now plays basketball at his high school, while Devyn plays baseball at his middle school and with an AAU team.
Martin has used her degree in child and family studies and her personal experience with her son to work at an agency called Breakthrough Autism. She works with people who have been diagnosed with autism to help them find jobs and internships in Knoxville.
For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee track & field, follow @Vol_Track on Twitter.
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