Records Fall When Malin White '24 Tackles Them

As he straightened his knees back out and knew the bar would hold steady, more than one-third of a ton on his broad shoulders, Malin White knew he had rewritten Cornell history.

The 685 pounds he squatted that day broke Kip Melstrom's 20-year-old school record of 680 pounds and surpassed hundreds of Big Red athletes tested since - but that's just what White does.

At 16, the senior linebacker from Syracuse's West Genesee HS became the youngest black belt in Kenpo Jutsu Karate dojo's nearly 50-year-history.

Now, trading in the black belt for a red record-breaking red one plated in gold with Cornell's block C in its center, White was surrounded by whooping teammates in the Friedman Strength and Conditioning Center last fall.

Both his strength and flexibility have combined to make White a key member of the Big Red defense from his linebacker slot. His combative martial arts background has influenced his football every bit as much as his weightlifting power has.

After his freshman season was wiped out with injury and he found himself behind a class of more than 50 seniors as a sophomore, White earned his first varsity letter in 2022. He saw action in nine contests with two starts, registering 11 tackles with two for a loss and a sack, as well as a pass breakup and two hurries. In his collegiate debut, a win at VMI, he had four tackles and his first sack since his high school days, when he was a two-time all-league pick.

As a senior, White will be expected to play a bigger role on the field and as a leader in the locker room for the Big Red. If all goes well and Cornell claims an Ivy title, as White and his teammates plan, he'd have rewritten more history - giving the program its first championship since 1990.

But don't expect him to surpass 700 pounds this fall.

"I put a lot of effort into getting the squat record in the first place," White said. "I'd love to hit the 700-pound mark, but my football talents are more important than my weightlifting ones."

Don't count him out, though. If there's a record to be broken, White's a great candidate to do it.