Boys' High Jump Preview
The reigning state champ and state meet record holder Kyle Garland is, unfortunately, out of Sunday's state meet. That means that the door is wide open for a new indoor state champ and it's expected to be a very close matchup for the top spot in the state.
A pair of boys share the top seed headed into Sunday, Jonathon Squadrito of LaSalle and Jordan Winslow of Milton Hershey. Squadrito is the reigning outdoor AAA champ in the event. In the spring, he was a surprise winner, but now he's firmly on the radar. He jumped 6-8 to take the Meet of Champs win last week and appears in good form to compete for a state crown Sunday. Winslow jumped a career best of 6-8 at the Armory in December. He'll look to get back up to those heights and contend for the win.
Reading's Juan Mato-Segura will also be in the mix for the win. He's claimed four wins in the event this season, including at Golden Bear (Kutztown) where he cleared 6-6 and at the PTFCA Carnival. He's been consistent and will be one to watch.
Three boys are tied at PA#6 and have each cleared 6-5. In this open field, they should also be seen as title contenders. Mount Lebanon's Mason Ventrone claimed the TSTCA title this past week. Penn Hills' Emmanuel Mitchell jumped 6-5 to win TSTCA Meet #4. Perkiomen Valley's Cole Peterlin has seen a big improvement since last year and has jumped 6-4 or better on a three occasions.
At 6-3, we have three boys. Penn Charter's Akeel Blake, Malvern Prep's David Bolles, and Bermudian Springs' Kolt Byers are all tied at PA#9 and will be in the hunt for medals come Sunday.
Boys' High Jump Entries:
Event 26 Boys High Jump (15)
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Meet Record: 6-10.75 2/25/2017 Kyle Garland, Germantown Acad
Name Year School
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1 Blake, Akeel 10 Penn Charter
2 Bolles, David 12 Malvern Prep
3 Byers, Kolt 10 Bermudian Sp
4 Hamilton, Stanley 11 State College
5 Johnson, Ahmir 12 Wissahickon
6 Jones, Tristan 11 Plym Whitemarsh
7 Mato-Segura, Juan 11 Reading
8 Mitchell, Emmanuel 12 Penn Hills
9 Peterlin, Cole 11 Perk Valley
10 Polignano, Vincent 12 Pennridge
11 Rizzo, Elijah 12 Bensalem
12 Savage, Kasey 9 Hatboro Horsham
13 Squadrito, Jonathon 12 LaSalle College
14 Ventrone, Mason 10 Mount Lebano
15 Winslow, Jordan 12 Milton Hersh