In 1988, Darrin captured gold in the Junior Olympic National High Jump Championships. In 1989, he was named the Illinois Male Track Athlete of the Year. Darrin received a scholarship to Southern Illinois University-Carbondale where he was a 4-time All-American. In 1991, Darrin won the NCAA Division I national high jump championship with a leap of 7-6 ½ and followed that up as repeat national champion in 1992 with a leap of 7-8 . After winning two national titles, Darrin went on compete in the 1992 Olympic Trials where he jumped 7-8 ½ to qualify for the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. He took a 17th place finish at the Games. After the Olympics, Darrin competed internationally for the next two years before he retired.