Vashti Cunningham turns pro, signs with Nike

Bishop Gorman high jumper Vashti Cunningham of Las Vegas, right, poses with her father, former UNLV and NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham, at a news conference announcing she will turn professional and signed an endorsement deal with Nike at Remnant Ministries Monday, March 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @davidjaybecker)

Bishop Gorman high jumper Vashti Cunningham reviews her notes at a news conference at Remnant Ministries Monday, March 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. Cunningham announced she is turning professional by signing an endorsement contract with Nike. David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @davidjaybecker

Bishop Gorman high jumper Vashti Cunningham smiles as she speaks with people after a news conference at Remnant Ministries Monday, March 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. Cunningham announced she is turning professional by signing an endorsement contract with Nike. David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @davidjaybecker

Bishop Gorman high jumper Vashti Cunningham, right, looks up to her father, former UNLV and NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham, after a news conference at Remnant Ministries Monday, March 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. The younger Cunningham announced she is turning professional by signing an endorsement contract with Nike. David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @davidjaybecker

Bishop Gorman high jumper Vashti Cunningham, right, receives a hug from Cheryl Kuchka after a news conference at Remnant Ministries Monday, March 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. Cunningham announced she is turning professional by signing an endorsement contract with Nike. David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @davidjaybecker

Bishop Gorman high jumper Vashti Cunningham plays with her younger sister, Sofia Cunningham, after a news conference at Remnant Ministries Monday, March 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. Vashti Cunningham announced she is turning professional by signing an endorsement contract with Nike. David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @davidjaybecker

Bishop Gorman high jumper Vashti Cunningham stand after a news conference at Remnant Ministries Monday, March 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. Cunningham announced she is turning professional by signing an endorsement contract with Nike. David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @davidjaybecker

Bishop Gorman high jumper Vashti Cunningham gestures after a news conference at Remnant Ministries Monday, March 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. Cunningham announced she is turning professional by signing an endorsement contract with Nike. David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @davidjaybecker

Bishop Gorman high jumper Vashti Cunningham, sits between her father, Randall Cunningham, left, and mother Felicity Cunningham at a news conference at Remnant Ministries Monday, March 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. The younger Cunningham announced she is turning professional with an endorsement contract with Nike. David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @davidjaybecker

Bishop Gorman high jumper Vashti Cunningham, right, with her father, former UNLV and NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham attend a news conference at Remnant Ministries Monday, March 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. The younger Cunningham announced she is turning professional by signing an endorsement contract with Nike. David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @davidjaybecker

Bishop Gorman high jumper Vashti Cunningham smiles at a news conference at Remnant Ministries Monday, March 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. Cunningham announced she is turning professional by signing an endorsement contract with Nike. David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @davidjaybecker

Bishop Gorman high jumper Vashti Cunningham, between her father, Randall Cunningham, left, and mother Felicity Cunningham signs a document at a news conference at Remnant Ministries Monday, March 21, 2016, in Las Vegas. The younger Cunningham announced she is turning professional with an endorsement contract with Nike. David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @davidjaybecker

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By DAVID SCHOEN LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

March 21, 2016 - 3:23 pm

Rising track and field star Vashti Cunningham said Monday she will turn professional and signed an endorsement deal with Nike.

Cunningham’s announcement at an afternoon news conference came one day after the 18-year-old senior at Bishop Gorman High School won the gold medal in the women’s high jump at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon.

“It wasn’t really a specific date, it was just kind of me seeing over time that it would be a smart decision for me to do this, to sign pro (rather) than to go to college,” Vashti Cunningham said.

Cunningham, the daughter of former UNLV and NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham, burst onto the world track and field scene in recent weeks.

She cleared 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 meters) Sunday at the Oregon Convention Center to become the youngest woman ever to win an IAAF world indoor title. That winning mark was short of Cunningham’s world-leading jump of 6-6¼ (1.99 meters), which she accomplished in winning the USA Track and Field Indoor Championships on March 12.

Randall Cunningham did not disclose any terms of his daughter’s contract with Nike but called it “very lucrative.”

By signing, Vashti Cunningham now is ineligible to compete for Gorman and at the college level.

Cunningham is a leading contender to qualify for the U.S. team that will compete in the Olympics this summer in Rio de Janeiro. The U.S. track and field trials are July 1 to 10 in Eugene, Ore.

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ