Cole Blair’s Storied Colgate Career

Cole Blair ’25 joined the track team in the fall of 2021 with dreams of becoming a Patriot League champion in the long jump.

Less than a year later, the Georgetown, Texas, native stood at the top of the podium at the Patriot League Outdoor Championship, holding his first gold medal as a Raider.

It didn’t take long for Blair to achieve his goal. But he was only just getting started. 

Fast forward to the spring of 2025, and Blair has wrapped up his Colgate track career in unprecedented fashion. He leaves with six gold medals — two indoor wins, and four more from outdoor competition. 

He has graduated as one of the most distinguished student-athletes in Colgate history, with a laundry-list of distinctions. His most recent achievement happened on May 3, when Blair won another gold medal in outdoor competition at the Patriot League Championship. 

That victory made him the first student-athlete in conference history to win the long jump in four consecutive seasons.

Blair said his time with the Raiders has been a thrilling ride, full of great memories and the satisfaction of achieving everything on his list. 

“I have accomplished all my goals,” he said. “I am leaving here satisfied and content. Some people leave their athletic careers thinking, ‘What if?’ Being able to leave here without asking that question is very nice.”

The 2024-25 conference track season is complete, but Blair’s Colgate athletic career is not quite over. 

The only competition left on the calendar is the NCAA East Preliminary Round, where he will compete for a chance to advance to the NCAA Championship. 

The top 12 athletes in their specific events advance. The last time Blair took part in the NCAA East Preliminary Round was as a sophomore. He finished at No. 16.

Blair said he’s learned much since his first trip to the NCAA East Preliminary Round. 

“I’m a lot more prepared than my sophomore year,” he said. “I know what I need to jump to make it to nationals. Having that clear goal, and the experience of being there before, and being a senior, will help me.”

As he prepares for his final event as a Raider, Blair is sticking to the formula that has led him to dominating the Patriot League. His success, he said, comes down to consistency when training and having the expectation to win.

“Second place is never an option,” he said. “A funny saying, which my teammates will make fun of me for, is, ‘If you’re not first, you’re last,’ which I kind of abide by.

“The keys to success for me have been my mental state—wanting to win, not wanting to come in second—the consistency of training, every aspect of training to be taken seriously, whether that be dedication in the weight room, working out as hard as you can, and enjoying it at the same time. A positive attitude goes a long way.” 

In addition, Blair credits his parents, David and Laura Blair, with playing an important role in his success. His father was a track athlete in college, and has used his experience to advise Cole Blair, while his mother has pushed him to be better in anything he does.

“My dad has done a lot for my competitive edge, but looking back, my mother doesn’t get enough credit. She has always been a driving force, through academics and athletics.”

Blair has achieved things that have placed his name in the record books. But another accomplishment that is significant to him is helping Colgate Track & Field bounce back after years of struggle. 

Blair said the victory that’s most special to him was his first gold in the Patriot League Championship as a rookie. By winning the top prize, Blair became Colgate’s first individual conference champ in 10 years. 

It also set off a period of success for the program.

“Every single year the track team has gotten better,” Blair said. “We’re not finishing dead last any more. People are scoring, people are going to regionals. Clare Gillis won the gold medal. Ethan Eisner has done amazing things with the program. The distance team has done amazing. I like to think that my win began a transitional period, but it would have happened inevitably.”

Blair has also made the best of his experience as a student. He’s an international relations and Spanish double major, and has tried different clubs in search of new opportunities. In doing so, he and a few other students teamed up to establish a club for those with an interest in law.

Their efforts led to jump-starting the Pre-Law Society, which had once existed before becoming dormant for years. While Colgate does not offer a pre-law program, the club has helped fill the gap by bringing in lawyers who graduated from Colgate to talk about their profession. 

The club went from zero members to 186 in only a couple of years. In the process, numerous students—including Blair—came away with valuable information to help them pursue a career in law after Colgate.

When Blair leaves Colgate, he will relocate to New York City, where he will work in a paralegal program at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis. The two-year program will teach Blair the ins and outs of the legal profession, setting him up for law school.

Blair said getting involved in various activities at Colgate was crucial to his overall success. 

“I have no regrets at Colgate because I’ve always applied myself,” he said. “If you’re fully locked in to being an athlete, you will struggle to find success. Every person who is successful has a little diversity within their choices. Fully applying yourself to one thing causes burnout. I definitely felt it at times. But being able to fall back on other things was really helpful.”