In track, he set USA Track & Field (USATF) and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) national 15–16-year-old boys high jump records with a heights of 2.16 metres (7ft 1.0in) and 7feet 2inches (2.18m), respectively, as a sophomore. As a junior, he posted the highest jump of the year by an American high school student in Spring 2013 with a height of 7feet 3.25inches (2.22m). He was the 2013 Nevada Track & Field Gatorade Athlete of the Year. He won the NIAA state high jump championship as a freshman, as a junior and as a senior.
During his freshman year at USC, he became an All-American by placing 8th in the year-end National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) outdoor championships. During the subsequent summer he became the U.S. Junior National high jump Champion and won a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships. He won the 2016 NCAA outdoor championships as a sophomore and was an All-American as a junior. He won the NCAA indoor championship as a senior.
Career
Football
Cunningham attended nearby Silverado High School in Las Vegas for his freshman season. His father, who had previously coached his youth teams, was hired as the football team's offensive coordinator and for the track team's staff in December 2009.[1] In August 2011, his father resigned his positions and transferred his son to Bishop Gorman just prior to his sophomore year.[2]
Due to NIAA rules which require a transfer student to wait a year before participating in athletic activities, Randall II was required to sit out his sophomore year in both football and track and field at Bishop Gorman.[3] Then, he backed up four-time state champion starting quarterback Anu Solomon as a junior. That season, he compiled 298 yards and two touchdowns on 21–32 passing with four interceptions and added 42 rushes for 483 yards and seven touchdowns.[4] By his junior year, his 40-yard dash speed was laser-timed at 4.6 seconds.[4] As a senior, he inherited a team that Solomon had led to four consecutive state championships.[4] Despite not starting until his senior season, he entered the year with football scholarship offers from Mississippi State, LSU, Baylor, Syracuse, Arizona State, Utah and UNLV.[5][6]USA Today predicted that Baylor and LSU may be favorites because of their strong track programs.[7]
During his senior season, the team played a schedule of out-of-state schools for its first 6 games before beginning league competition. Bishop Gorman won 4 of those games. Its October 4 contest with Miami's Booker T. Washington High School was broadcast on ESPNU at a time when Washington was the number one ranked high school in the country.[8][9] By that time, he had added offers from Kansas State and Yale.[10] In the five previous seasons under head coach Tony Sanchez, Bishop Gorman had gone 60–5 and not lost by more than 14 points.[9] Bishop Gorman entered the game with national rankings of 18 by Rivals.com,[9] 32 by Student Sports.[11] Gorman trailed 14–12 with 8:35 remaining when Cunningham fumbled. Washington scored a touchdown and then another following Cunningham's third interception, resulting in a 28–12 defeat.[12][13] Subsequently, Cunningham led Gorman through an undefeated Southwest League regular season, marking the seventh consecutive such occurrence for the school.[14] By mid-November, Cunningham stated "I like USC, UCLA, Kansas State, Texas, ASU, and Indiana - and Oregon as well".[15] On December 7, he led Gorman to a 48–14 victory over Edward C. Reed High School in the state championship, rushing for 4 touchdowns and 213 yards on 22 carries and throwing for a touchdown and 111 yards on 9-of-11 passing.[16][17] Cunningham was briefly recruited by Clay Helton, USC quarterback coach under Steve Sarkisian, but USC did not make him a football scholarship offer. After accepting a track scholarship to USC, Cunningham announced he would attempt to walk-on to the football team.[18]
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of heightand weight.
In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:
Track
On August 1, 2010, Cunningham placed second in the 13–14 age group at the USATF National Junior Olympics with a high jump of 5feet 8.75inches (1.75m).[19] As a freshman, he won the May 20, 2011 NIAA AAAA high jump championship with a jump of 6feet 7inches (2.01m).[20] As a sophomore, he sat out of NIAA competition after transferring.[6] His father's best high jump in high school was 6feet 9inches (2.06m).[21] On June 24, 2012, Cunningham established the USATF 15–16 age group Outdoor Track & Field record with a jump of 2.16 metres (7ft 1.0in).[22][23] Cunningham won the August 2012 National AAU Junior Olympic Games high jump with a jump of 7feet 2inches (2.18m).[24] He actually won the 15–16 age group with a height of 6feet 9inches (2.06m).[25] The Junior Olympic age group record of 7feet 0inches (2.13m) by Johnnie Bartley had stood since 1986,[25] but Cunningham continued to jump past his winning height to establish a new Junior Olympic record.[26] By April 11 of his 2013 junior season, he had already cleared 7 feet (2.13m), which was the NIAA state championship record, four times that season.[6] In the May 18, 2013 NIAA state championships, he achieved a high jump of 7feet 3.25inches (2.22m), which was the best height by a high school high jumper in the nation that year.[3][27] He earned the 2013 Nevada Track & Field Gatorade Player of the Year award.[28] In the August 2013 AAU Junior Olympics, he was second or third in the 17–18 age group with a height of 6feet 10inches (2.08m) or 7 feet (2.13m), depending on the source.[26][29] On January 3, 2014, he made a verbal commitment to the USC Trojans track team, shunning over 30 football scholarship offers.[18] In 2014 at the annual Mt. SAC (Mt. San Antonio College) Relays, he set the American high school season best for boys of 7feet 2inches (2.18m) on the same April 12 day his sister Vashti did so for girls with 6feet 2inches (1.88m).[30] He was surpassed by Bryant O'Georgia of Arizona by one quarter inch in May.[31] Cunningham placed first in the May 24, 2014 NIAA state championship with a high jump of 6feet 11inches (2.11m) and second with a long jump of 22feet 8.25inches (6.92m).[32]
As a freshman at the University of Southern California, Cunningham finished second at the Pac-12 Outdoor Championships with a height of 2.16 metres (7ft 1in)[33] and tied for 8th at the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships (2.16 metres (7ft 1in)).[34] Two weeks later, he won the U.S. Junior National Championship with a 2.20m (7ft 2+1⁄2in).[35] His top 8 finish in the NCAAs earned him All-American recognition.[36] In his freshman year, Randall was coached by 2-time Olympian Jamie Nieto who took over as the USC assistant coach in charge of jumps and multi-events on August 20, 2014.[37] Later that summer he earned a gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships with a jump of 2.16m (7ft 1in). His sister Vashti also won gold at that same competition.[38]
As a sophomore, he was second again at the Pac-12 Outdoor Championship with a height of 2.18 metres (7ft 1.8in) and won the 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a height of 2.25 metres (7ft 4.6in), which is an outdoor personal best.[39][40] Cunningham no-heighted at the July 8, 2016 Olympic Trials qualifying round after three unsuccessful attempts at 2.14 metres (7ft 0.3in). The trials were held during a torrential downpour that was deemed severe enough to suspend the women's pole vault event and that seemed to impair the men's discus event.[41]
As a junior, Cunningham was recognized on March 6 as the west region Men's Field Athlete of the Year for the indoor season by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.[42] He placed fourth at the March 11, 2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships with a height of 2.23 metres (7ft 3.8in), earning him another All-American recognition.[43]
In a highly anticipated birth,[46] Cunningham II was born to Randall Cunningham and Felicity (née De Jager)[47] in Las Vegas on January 4, 1996.[48][49] He is well known as the son of 2-time All-American punter and 4-time Pro Bowl quarterback Cunningham.[4] He is also the nephew of College Football Hall of Fame running back Sam Cunningham.[6] In addition, he has two other Cunningham uncles (A.C. and Bruce) who played Division I football.[6] His mother, Felicity, is a native South African who was formerly a professional ballerina with the Dance Theatre of Harlem.[4][47] His younger sister, Vashti Cunningham, is a World Indoor Champion[50] and subsequently signed a professional contract with Nike while still in high school.[51] His brother, Christian, died at age 2.[4] Cunningham also competed in the long jump in high school.[6]
As of his junior year in high school, Cunningham intended to compete in both football and track in college,[4][6] although his father's alma mater, UNLV, did not have a men's track program.[4] Baylor, who made him his first offer, had coined the nickname RC2, a reference to RG3, for him.[4] He aspired to break the national high school record of 7feet 5.75inches (2.28m),[4] and he also aspired to be an Olympic high jumper, but the automatic qualifying jump for the 2012 team was 2.28m (7ft 5+3⁄4in).[7] The qualifying standard for the 2016 Olympics was 2.29m (7ft 6in).
Randall Wade Cunningham Sr. is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Eagles and is also known for his Minnesota Vikings tenure. A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Cunningham is fourth in NFL quarterback rushing yards, which he led at the time of his retirement.
Kenny Harrison is a former track and field athlete competing in triple jump. He won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta.
Samuel Lewis Cunningham Jr, nicknamed "Bam", was an American professional football player who was a fullback for 10 seasons with the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, where he earned first-team All-American honors and was the MVP of the 1973 Rose Bowl.
Hollis Conway is a track and field high jumper and a two-time Olympic medalist. He is currently employed by Lafayette Consolidated Government as the PARC Director in Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory's administration. Conway previously served as the assistant director of Diversity, Leadership, & Education for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football team under head coach Billy Napier. Conway was the top-ranked high jumper in the U.S. seven straight years from 1988 to 1994 and in the world for two of those years. Conway, John Thomas and Dwight Stones are the only Americans to win two Olympic medals in the high jump.
The UNLV Rebels football program is a college football team that represents the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The team is a member of the Mountain West Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision conference of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). The program, which began on September 14, 1968, plays its home games at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.
Tora Lian-Juin Harris is an American high jumper. He is a Princeton University engineer of Taiwanese and African-American descent. Harris is an Olympian, a four-time national champion and two-time bronze medalist in international competition. He represented Team USA twice in the IAAF World Championships in Athletics, three times in the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics and has served as a representative once in the IAAF Continental Cup. He spent two years as the No. 1 ranked high jumper in the United States.
The 1938 NCAA Track and Field Championships was the 17th NCAA track and field championship. The event was held at the University of Minnesota's Memorial Stadium in June 1938. The University of Southern California won its fourth consecutive team title, and new NCAA records were established in the 120-yard high hurdles, one-mile run, two-mile run and high jump.
The 1939 NCAA Track and Field Championships was the 18th NCAA track and field championship. The event was held at the University of Southern California's Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in June 1939. The University of Southern California won its fifth consecutive team title.
The 1937 NCAA Track and Field Championships was the 16th NCAA track and field championship. The event was held at Berkeley, California in June 1937. The University of Southern California won its second consecutive team championship.
The 1926 NCAA Track and Field Championships was the fifth NCAA track and field championship. Athletes representing 65 universities participated in the event, which was held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois in June 1926. The meet was called "the college Olympics of America."
The 1929 NCAA Track and Field Championships was the seventh NCAA track and field championship. The meet was held at Stagg Field in Chicago, Illinois in June 1929.
The 1931 NCAA Track and Field Championships was the ninth NCAA track and field championship. The meet was held at Stagg Field in Chicago, Illinois in June 1931. Athletes from 80 universities and colleges participated in the meet.
The 1933 NCAA Track and Field Championships was the twelfth NCAA track and field championship. The meet was held at Chicago, Illinois in June 1933.
The 1936 NCAA Track and Field Championships was the 15th NCAA track and field championship. The event was held at Stagg Field in Chicago, Illinois in June 1936. The University of Southern California won the team championship. Athletes from 32 universities and colleges participated in the event.
The 1935 NCAA Track and Field Championships was the 14th NCAA track and field championship. The event was held at Edwards Stadium in Berkeley, California in June 1935. The University of Southern California won the team championship with 74+1⁄5 points.
The 1934 NCAA Track and Field Championships was the 13th NCAA track and field championship meeting. The event was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in June 1934, with 323 athletes from 89 schools taking part. Stanford Indians, coached by Dink Templeton, won the team championship with 63 points. Dean Cromwell's USC Trojans, winners of the next nine team titles, took a close second, with defending champions LSU Tigers placing third.
Vashti Cunningham is an American track and field athlete specializing in the high jump. She is the daughter of retired National Football League (NFL) quarterback Randall Cunningham, niece of retired NFL fullback Sam Cunningham, and the younger sister of Randall Cunningham II. Her mother is Felicity de Jager Cunningham, a former ballerina with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Vashti, like her brother two years ahead of her in school, jumped for Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada until March 2016 when she signed with Nike. She announced at that time she intended to continue her education at a university while competing as a professional athlete.
Marquis Dendy is an American track and field athlete, primarily known for horizontal jumping events. He is the 2015 National Champion in the Long jump. His winning jump, of 8.68 m, though wind aided at +3.7mps, his first jump of the competition, was the longest jump in the world under any conditions in over 5 years. He grew up in Middletown, Delaware.
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