FREDONIA, N.Y. -- As a youngster, Kym Orr dreamed of success on the basketball court. However, at 5'9'', that was a tall task. While at G. W. Fowler High School in Syracuse, the school track coach, John Smith, saw him dunking over three people on the basketball court. Impressed, Smith would go on to convince Orr he could make him into a top-flight high jumper, and Orr's career took off from there. Literally. 

Orr would clear 6'11'' in high school, capturing the attention of college coaches and leading to multiple scholarship offers to consider. However, he chose Division III Fredonia State to embark on his collegiate career. Orr would be part of four State Championships in his four years -- part of a larger run that saw the Blue Devils rattle off 20-straight SUNYAC Championships.

Orr raised the bar so high for NCAA Division III high jumpers that very few athletes have been able to reach it nearly four decades later. He set two NCAA DIII records as a senior in 1985. His first came indoors when he topped 2.21m (7'3'') at the Fredonia State Early Season Open in January. He later cleared 2.24m (7'4¼'') at the New York State Outdoor Championships for a still-standing division best. Between those feats, Orr made history when he won the first men's high jump title ever awarded at the NCAA DIII Indoor Championships.

This seven-time SUNYAC champion finished first in the high jump three times and first in the triple jump three times at the New York State Track & Field Association championships. A four-time All American, Orr set every Fredonia State, SUNYAC, and NYST&FA record in the high jump. As far as the triple jump, Orr's success came without much training. "Back then, we had one coach. Coach Ulrich," said Orr. "He would coach everything: sprints, hurdles, jumps. He had me compete in the triple jump where I had very little training to try and earn points for the meet." Orr not only earned points -- he set records.

One of the highlights of his career was when he jumped against world record holder Javier Sotomayor at a meet at York University in Toronto. He also competed against Greg Joy, who was in the 1976 Olympics. 

Of his coach Jim Ulrich, Orr credits the fellow Hall of Famer with getting him to improve the mental part of his craft. "He would always say, 'How did that feel' after a jump. That would make me think about my jump. [Coach Ulrich] would always get me to think... I learned to visualize a jump as I did it," said Orr.

He earned degree from Fredonia State in Sociology in 1986. After joining the workforce for seven years, Orr went back to school and got his Master's Degree in Education at Alfred University. He then began serving as an Academic Support Counselor primarily for the track and field team at UNC Chapel Hill, where he still works today.