SHREWSBURY, Mass.—It’s one thing to break a 52-year-old long jump record in the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Olympics. It’s an entirely different story to jump two feet further than that in a major collegiate meet this past spring while competing for Lehigh University and reaping your share of individual and team accolades.
That’s the honor that befell Stephen Tutunjian, who soared to personal bests in the long and triple jumps during the Patriot League Championships.
Named the male field athlete of the meet, Tutunjian won the long jump with a leap of 24 feet, ¼ inches, and set a school record of 49 feet, 7¾ inches while finishing second in the triple jump.
The talented junior qualified in both events for the IC4A Championships, pitting some of the best athletes in the college ranks. His performance in the triple jump has given him a good shot at repeating as a qualifier for the first round of the NCAA Division 1 national indoor championships.
Just last summer, Tutunjian bettered a LJ mark in the AYF Olympics that stood since 1958 when Leo Derderian turned the trick. Had the measuring tape been stretched to China on this particular afternoon, Tutunjian would have given it a whirl.
Among those ecstatic over Tutunjian’s performance at the Patriot Championships was his Lehigh coach Matt Utesch.
“Steve’s an outstanding individual and a respectful, hard-working young man and team leader,” said Utesch. “He won the long jump against some very good competition and on his final attempt, topping his previous best by a substantial margin.”
Tutunjian described himself as an average jumper when he arrived at Lehigh from Worcester Academy, where he was a three-sport athlete. He credits the program’s training and practice regimen for making him stronger and improving his form.
I’ve really worked hard on my consistency,” said Tutunjian. “I had a tendency to foul last year on some of my bigger jumps and I’ve eliminated a lot of those little mistakes. It’s really all starting to come together for me.”
Tutunjian was seeded fourth in the league and was in third place going into his last jump at the Patriot League Championships. He stayed calm and got off the jump of a lifetime.
Moments later, he set the school record in the triple jump, making this the best performance of his college career. Next year as a senior, he’s been nominated as a track captain by the coaching staff and current captains.
“Steve knows what he has to do and doesn’t let the other jumpers rattle him,” his coach said. “Although he isn’t extraordinarily fast, he has maximized his speed at the board in the long jump and converted it to his vertical lift.”
Tutunjian had to relearn his jumping events during his freshman year. He worked out more than ever and was able to place sixth in the triple jump in the indoor Patriot League Championships. He was also named to the league’s Academic Honor Roll.
His sophomore year showed the results of his previous year’s effort. He broke 23 feet in the long jump and 47 feet in the triple jump during the indoor season, placing fifth in the league championships.
That qualified him for the IC4A Championships representing about 100 colleges in the Northeast. Tutunjian earned All-East honors by placing fifth in the long jump at that meet.
He continued to improve during the outdoor season before eclipsing 49 feet in the triple jump to take second place and earn All-Patriot League honors, thus qualifying for the NCAA Division 1 Championships while placing himself among the country’s best.
During this past indoor league championship, Tutunjian fought through the flu to take fifth in the long jump and repeat as a silver medalist and All-Patriot League in the triple jump. Again he qualified for the IC4A Championships in both events while repeating as All-East.
This outdoor league championship proved the highlight of Tutunjian’s career. As the meet’s outstanding athlete with a gold and a silver medal, a Lehigh record, and tons of respect from his fellow athletes and foes, he also walked away with the school’s Most Valuable Performer trophy.
Tutunjian holds the AYF records in the long jump (22’1”) and triple jump (46’5”). He remains undefeated in both events during his four years of competition and has scored 55 total points as a member of the Providence “Varantian” Chapter.
At the rate he’s going, Tutunjian should be considered a viable candidate as a Division 1 NCAA champion and perhaps the Olympic Qualifying Team. In order to get there, he’s got to be around 55 feet for the triple and 26 feet for the long jump if he wants to compete for Armenia.
That also assumes Armenia doesn’t have a jumper that is already qualified.
As far as the longest jump by an Armenian American, records tend to be a bit sketchy. According to his dad Bob, a track historian, both the long and triple jumps are the longest since he’s been following the circuit over the past decade.
Robert Emmiyan from Soviet Armenia posted the third furthest long jump in history and is still the European record-holder.
After Bob Beamon and current world record holder Mike Powell, he’s the only athlete to break 29 feet.
Should all go as planned, Tutunjian will be back wearing a Providence uniform at this year’s AYF Olympic Games in Chicago.
Tom Vartabedian
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Such great memories of the AYF Olympics we had here on the West Coast. One was at Chabot College in Hayward, CA and the late (and great) Coach Hairabedian from CSUF was one of our main trainers. Great times!!! Glad to see the tradition still is going on.
I’m glad to see someone who shares my last name has been an athletic success. However, describing the achievement as a “quantum leap” is a misfire.
The phrase means a very, very tiny move forward–the opposite what you mean.