Jack Reichenbach was a standout student-athlete on the basketball court and the track while at Salisbury High School. Following graduation, he went on to compete in track and field at the University of Rhode Island as a Division I student-athlete for five years in both indoor and outdoor track and field.

While a Ram, Reichenbach won the Atlantic 10 outdoor gold medals in the high jump (2022) and long jump (2019) and he ranks in the top 10 on the all-time performance list in long and high jumps both indoors and outdoors.

He’s continued that success this year as a member of the Muhlenberg College program, where he recently won the field athlete of the championship meet as well as the field athlete of the year for the Centennial Conference. He will be competing at nationals in both the high jump and long jump.

According to Reichenbach, it runs in his blood and from his love of another sport.

“Both of my parents were All-Americans at Moravian University and my brother was a very good jumper at Lehigh, so I definitely wanted to try it and I developed a passion for it after doing a few track meets in middle school,” said Reichenbach. “I started playing basketball very young and loved that as well, so I always did both and couldn’t imagine not doing one of them.

“I would have loved to play college basketball, but I would not have received the scholarship opportunities I did for track or be able to complete at such a high level and have as much success. I still played basketball almost every day throughout college because I enjoy it so much.”

Basketball has helped Reichenbach, not only mentally by still keeping the love of the game going, but also with his skill sets in track.

“Basketball helped me in track and field tremendously due to the constant running and jumping in basketball,” Reichenbach said. “I think it kept me in shape until the track season started. It also taught me how to deal with sports pressure in close games or championship games.”

Reichenbach knew he wanted to join the Rhode Island family out of high school. His years there were great and, when the opportunity to work on another masters degree and finish off his eligibility near home presented itself, he jumped at the opportunity.

“Rhode Island was my top choice for a variety of reasons including being offered both academic and athletic scholarships, a great business program, a history of the track team winning the Atlantic 10 conference and the location,” said Reichenbach. “I chose Muhlenberg for a variety of reasons as well. After earning my MBA at URI, Muhlenberg offered a Masters of Organizational Leadership, which was perfect to pair with the MBA.

“Also, the campus is very close to my home and I had met their jump coach previously and knew she was a great coach. She has been an awesome coach to have and has truly helped me tremendously to reach my goals in this last season.”

Reichenbach won gold in the high jump and long jump at Centennial Conference championships earlier this month and set a meet record of 6-9.5 in the high jump.

“Winning both of my events at the conference championships was a goal I had set for myself since becoming a member of the team,” Reichenbach said. “To accomplish it all these months later in front of my friends and family was an incredible feeling. My best finish at the Atlantic 10 championships was first and second in the same championship meet and I had always wanted to win both events and although it was in a different conference, I was able to accomplish that.

“I went into the meet just hoping to break one of the two records and after falling short in the long jump, I was determined to break the high jump record and I was fortunate enough to be able to do that and that meant the world to me. After having both of the school records, I was very happy to get one of the championship meet records as well.”

So, what was his time at Salisbury like and how did it prepare him for the successes he’s having in college?

“Being at Salisbury helped me in collegiate athletics in so many ways,” said Reichenbach. “Coach [Jason] Weaver was a great coach who taught discipline and accountability and I carried that with me through college. The lessons beyond basketball that he taught me really helped me in college track and field. Things like always giving your best effort, being on time, being prepared, academics coming first, etc., all played a part in my success in college.

“My dad was my track coach and, needless to say, he is the reason for any track and field success. He is as knowledgeable in the jumps and track and field as anyone, and he taught me the correct form and how to do the events from freshman year. I can’t give my dad enough thanks or credit for everything he has done for me over the years to help me reach my potential in track and field.”