PIAA States Preview: Boys' Jumps


AA Boys' High Jump Preview

Greg Lauray captivated crowds during his two seasons of competition. It culminated with him jumping 6-11 to win the AA state crown last spring. Lauray is off at Pitt, and what we'll get in the AA boys' high jump is a very close competition for the state title.

The top returner from the state meet last year is Darius Johnson of Valley. He took fourth a year ago as a junior. Now a senior, he'll look to cap it off with a first place finish. But he was second at the WPIAL Championships, as Hopewell's Dantae Ranieri won on attempts (both boys cleared 6-04 at districts). Ranieri was 14th last season at states.

The only other returning medalist in the field is John Reichenbach of Salisbury. He took sixth a year ago and will once again be in the hunt. At his conference championship, he jumped a T-PA-AA#1 of 6-08, and won the D11 title in some bad weather.

Then there's the indoor state champion, Kolt Byers of Bermudian Springs. He was a surprise in the winter, but Byers has been making noise all year. After not making states last year, he took first in the state indoors and jumped a career best of 6-08 during the regular season. He jumped 6-04 to win the District 3 crown.

Canton Area's Connor Hess will be in the mix. He went 6-04 to win District 4 and has a season best of 6-06. District 9 champion Samuel Hetrick of Redbank Valley should factor in with a PR of 6-05. Dylan Lanoue of Boiling Springs was second to Byers at D3 and will be worth watching for. He also has a season best of 6-05. Freshman standout Jake Hogg of Youngsville cleared a big PR of 6-04 to win the District 10 title and has thrown his name in the hat in this open field.

ENTRIES:

Event 612  Boys High Jump AA (24)
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 NFHS Record:   7-06  2017        Vernon Turner, Yukon HS, OK                  
 PIAA Record:   7-01  1992        Matt Benson, Sheffield 10                    
NFHS Hnr Rol:   6-10                                                           
             6-04.00  SQS
           Name                        Year School            Seed Mark     Finals
===============================================================================
  1        Johnson, Darius               12 Valley 07           6-04.00   SQS  
  2        Hess, Connor                  12 Canton Area 04      6-04.00   SQS  
  3        Ranieri, Dantae               12 Hopewell 07         6-04.00   SQS  
  4        Byers, Kolt                   10 Bermudian 03        6-04.00   SQS  
  5        Hogg, Jake                     9 Youngsville 10      6-04.00   SQS  
  6        Caputo, Dominick              11 Montoursville 04    6-02.00        
  7        Wilson, Noah                  12 Sthrn Hntngdn 06    6-02.00        
  8        Pfister, Logan                 9 Chestnt Ridge 05    6-02.00        
  9        Forker, Joshua                11 Faith Chrstn 01     6-02.00        
 10        Soltys, Dane                  12 Pburg-Osceola 06    6-02.00        
 11        Meredith, Jacob               12 Tyrone Area 06      6-02.00        
 12        Rainey, Deavon                 9 Greenville 10       6-02.00        
 13        Hetrick, Samuel               10 Redbank Val 09      6-02.00        
 14        Lanoue, Dylan                 12 Boiling Spr 03      6-02.00        
 15        Reichenbach, John             12 Salisbury Twp 11    6-00.00        
 16        Cortina, Anthony              11 Saint Marys 09      6-00.00        
 17        Smith, Curtis                 10 Gar Memorial 02     6-00.00        
 18        Coffey, De-Angelo             11 Brookville 09       6-00.00        
 19        Berdar, Michael               11 Beth-Center 07      6-00.00        
 20        Moyer, Zach                   10 Nrthrn Lehigh 11    5-10.00        
 21        Blasiak, Shae                 12 Lehighton 11        5-10.00        
 22        McQuiston, Conner             12 Riverside 07        5-10.00        
 23        Berry, Noah                   12 Quaker Valley 07    5-10.00        
 24        Niemann, Michael              10 Lansdale Cath 12    5-06.00