Marquis Cha-Cha

Published by SPIKES on July 9, 2015

All four horizontal jumps titles availble at the 2015 USA national champs and NCAA champs went to Florida University alumni, three claimed by 22-year-old Marquis Dendy alone. Here are seven things you need to know about the latest Gator to snap at the heels of greatness.

1. Track in the blood

Marquis Dendy grew up in Middletown, Delaware, and first tried track as an eight-year-old. Though he played basketball and football through his teens, he made the decision to focus on athletics in his sophomore (second) year at high school. 

The influence of close relatives might have played a part. Mark, his father, was a prolific high school sprinter. His mother, Dionne Jones-Dendy, was inducted to the University of Delaware's Athletics Hall of Fame after an excellent college career. One of his aunts, Terri Dendy, was also a sprinter and a member of the U.S. Olympic Team at Seoul 1988.