San Antonio Long Jump Preview

6A Boys

Usually the long jump is dominated by sprinters, but in 6A boys this year that does not appear to be the case except at the top. Judson's Anthony Evans has proven to be a track athlete who comes through in big moments. He was challenged last year at the district meet and he pulled out a jump of 24-2.75 on his final jump to win. 

Overall, this is a strong group with 12 returners who have leapt over 21-feet. Churchill's Ty Webb is one who is likely anxious for the season to begin. He won his district with a jump of 23-3 and then did not advance past the Area meet. Cole Tavarez of New Braunfels and Jaden Perez of Brandeis each had huge freshman seasons last year and will be back looking to move into the 23-feet range. Reagan also has a pair of jumpers knocking on the door of 22-feet, Jay Esquivel and Jayden Bagley.

6A Girls

The 6A boys look like they will be really good this year, but the 6A girls are going to be better. It is a loaded group that lost the two State qualifiers to graduation and change of classification. Harlan's Iyanna Webb will be trying to do what Reagan's Taylen Wise did last year, make the State meet in the 300 hurdles, long jump and triple jump. She was third in the Region last year with a jump of 18-7.5. I expect Brandeis' Alyssa Rodriguez to push Webb all season long for top honors in the area.

After Webb and Rodriguez, I think Reagan's Isabella Dagrosa is the next best contender. She was a 17-6.5 jumper last year, but recently went 18-3.75 at the LSU Indoor High School Classic. Madison's Londyn Hall is another returning 18-foot jumper. There are also six more 17-foot jumpers back. Johnson has a strong group of returners with three athletes who have jumped at least 16-7.

5A Boys

I don't know if I'm looking at a list of the best football players in the area or the best long jumpers when scanning the list of 5A boys. Smithson Valley's Freddie Dubose, Rett Andersen of Alamo Heights, Duece Adams of Canyon and James Peoples of Veterans Memorial are four of the biggest football names in the area and each is among the top four returning long jumpers in 5A.

Dubose is the biggest question mark since he is coming off knee surgery in the Fall and I do not know if he will even try to long jump, but he leaped 23-0.5 last year. Boerne Champion's Brock Lewis is a name I have mentioned many times during this series and he is once again at the top with a 22-7.5 mark. Smithson Valley has another jumper, Elijah Hudson, who is a senior and he will not have to navigate football workouts for the first time. He jumped 21-7.75 last year.

5A Girls

The first person to mention in the 5A girls is someone who I coached last year so I might be a little biased, Smithson Valley's Alyssa Jones. However, I think everyone will agree that Jones is one of the top long jumpers in the State. She finished fifth last year and ended up jumping over 20-feet during the summer and started the indoor season with a jump of 19-8. She will be the one to beat in the Region and likely the State this year.

After Jones, there are four others who have jumped at least 17-feet, including two who competed at the 6A level last year, Keviyana Lee of Wagner and Faith Edens of Smithson Valley. Southside's Aneesa Sheppard actually had the best result at the Regional meet last year with a sixth place finish and jump of 16-9.

4A Boys

After deep groups at the 5A and 6A level, the 4A boys do not have many top returners. Wimberley's Gabriel Wray is the top long and triple jumper in the area but is better at the triple jump. He went 22-3.75 last year and was an Area champion, however he was only 10^th at the Regional meet. Pearsall's Jose Ramirez finished ahead of him, but his best jump is 21-4.

The remainder of the top five includes Darion Brown of Davenport, Shane Moss from Canyon Lake and Ethan Talley from Wimberley. Moss is also ranked among the top returners in both the 100 and 200 meters.

4A Girls

Wimberley is loaded in the long jump and their top returner is Emily Thames who took fourth in the State last year with a jump of 18-4.5.  They have two others who are among the top five returners in the area, Baylee Gold and Laney Hennessee. Gold is one of the best and most well-rounded 4A athletes in the area while Thames and Hennessee are both top sprinters.

Bandera's Kinlee Lawlis is the only other returner who has jumped at least 17-feet. She went 17-0.75 as a freshman last year. Devine has the next best group of jumpers with three athletes among the top returners. The best of the bunch is Neenah Guerrero.

3A Boys

Karnes City's Jerrick Beaver returns for the second straight preview as the top-rated jumper in 3A. He finished seventh in the State last year and has leaped 21-11.5. While Beaver is the top individual jumper, Marion has the top returning group of jumpers. They bring back four jumpers who have jumped at least 19-2 including Dominic Castellanos who has jumped 20-11 and Chase Hallmark who is just under 20-feet.

There are two other jumpers who have jumped about 21-feet in the past. Great Heart Northern Oaks' Brendan Smith has eclipsed the mark while Dilley's Dorian Aranda is the only athlete who is among the top five in long and triple jump. Overall, there are eight returners who have jumped at least 20-feet.

3A Girls

Randolph super sophomore Taylor Nunez makes this a strong group even if she was the only person in the group, but that is not the case. Randolph and Cole each have two of the top 10 returning long jumpers in the entire Region. Nunez is a clear-cut top choice after winning a State title and jumped an even 20-0.

Cole boasts Maddison Kitson and Ashia Delaine. Kitson went 17-11 last year and finished fourth in the Region while Delaine jumped 16-8. Kitson was an Area champion in the triple jump and she consistently jumped mid-to-high 17-feet in the long jump last year. Randolph can also look to Jourdann Cathro who jumped 17-1.25 last year. The rest of the returning jumpers all leaped less than 15-6.

Other Boys

I am combining the private schools, smaller public schools and home school athletes into one group. It is a solid group of long jumpers led by Antonian's Carlos White who jumped 23-11 at the TTFCA Meet of Champions. Joining him at the top of the list is TMI's Carter McCray who was a State champion last year with a top jump of 22-3.25.

There are four other jumpers in the group that have gone over 20-feet. TMI's Jaylen Gardner, the top high jumper in the area, has jumped 21-5 while Holy Cross boasts a strong pair of jumpers as well in Xavier Garza and Joe-Angel Perez. Antonian's Marcus Miller is the only other jumper over 20-feet. The top public-school jumper is Layton Hermann of D'Hanis.

Other Girls

The "Other" girls group is similar to the boys with a solid list of quality jumpers. Incarnate Word's Giana Hilliard is the best of the bunch after finishing as the bronze medalist at State last year and jumping 17-5.5. Olivia Peak of San Antonio Christian and Madeline Seebeck of John Paul II are both knocking on the door of 17-feet as well. Seebeck finished fourth in the State with her mark.

D'Hanis has a number of solid jumpers and should score good points at the Regional meet with Mabry Herrmann and Ryley Phillippe. Herrmann has jumped 16-2.5 and Phillippe has gone 15-11.

* Please note that all times are taken from the MileSplit website. There is always a possibility that someone I mentioned no longer competes for the school they did last year or that they are even competing in track and field anymore. These articles are just a very early preview of the upcoming season.