San Antonio Triple Jump Preview

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - The preview on the triple jump is the thirteenth in the series of preview articles for the San Antonio Metro area. The area is strong in the triple jump this year with high quality and a high quantity of good-to-great jumpers. This is always one of my favorite events to watch and it should be a great year to watch all over the city.

6A Boys

Exavion Harris of San Marcos enters the season as the clear-cut top 6A boys triple jumper in the area. He finished fourth in the Region with a 46-5.5 mark but bombed a 48-0 jump at the TTFCA Meet of Champions.  He went over 46-feet on five occasions. New Braunfels and East Central each have jumpers who have gone over 44-feet, Landon Marsh and Dylan Tovar, respectively.

Jaden Perez of Brandeis comes in as the fourth-rated triple jumper and he went 43-4.5 as a freshman last year. He is an excellent long and triple jumper and will be one to watch. There are a total of six returners who have jumped at least 42-feet. Judson's Anthony Evans and Churchill's Ty Webb are the top two long jumpers in the area and are among the group of 42-footers.

6A Girls

Harlan's Iyanna Webb is a superstar track and field athlete who will challenge for a State title in the triple jump. She was the Regional champion last year and finished fifth in the State and has a top jump of 41-8.75. She is the only returning 40-foot jumper in the Region and is the top returning junior in the State.

There are eight more returners who have jumped more than 36-feet led by Alyssa Rodriguez of Brandies and Alexis Jessie of Judson. Rodriguez is a top-level jumper who is being recruited by a number of Southland Conference schools. Jessie did not triple jump last year but matched Rodriguez's best jump of 39-3.75 two years ago. Webb has a teammate, Catalina Devia, who has jumped 37-feet while Judson has two other jumpers around 36-feet, Sa'ryah Washington and Anette Ndayishimiye.

5A Boys

Freddie Dubose was the 6A Regional champion in the triple jump for Clemens last year but he has moved to Smithson Valley this year and he is coming off a knee injury in the Fall. He jumped 47-2.75 last year and is the top returner IF he is able to triple jump. The next in line is Rett Andersen from Alamo Heights. He was a District and Area champion last year and was third at the Regional meet.

Smithson Valley has three of the top six returners. After Dubose, they have Elijah Hudson who has jumped 42-10.75 and TJ Hunt who jumped 41-6 in his first year triple jumping. Champion's Hayden Brace went 43-7.5 as a sophomore last year and should be a contender at the Regional meet this year.

5A Girls

There are eight girls who have jumped over 34-feet at the 5A level but only one has jumped over 37-feet, Canyon's Grace Conley. Conley jumped 37-7.75 last year and has finished fourth in the Region each of the last two years.

Four of the six best returners are coming to the 5A level from 6A. Three of those are girls from Smithson Valley and the fourth is Jasmine Kenny from Wagner. Sophie Goodwin consistently improved last year and nearly made it to the Regional meet jumping 36-3 to take fifth place. SV's Alayshia Paul has jumped 35-2 and Southside's Aneesa Sheppard is another 35-foot jumper.

4A Boys

Wimberley's Gabriel Wray is one of the top returning triple jumpers in the State and is one of the best in the entire city of San Antonio. He finished third in the State and jumped 46-7.75. Unfortunately for Wray, El Campo's Oliver Miles was the silver medalist and he returns to the Region after jumping 48-0.5 last year. Boerne's Riley Pechacek is far and away the next best jumper after going 44-8.75 last year.

There are three more athletes who have jumped over 41-feet. Pearsall's Jose Ramirez is knocking on the door of 42-feet while Wimberley's Jay Lynch and Boerne's Charlie Stahl are in the 41-6 range heading into the season. Canyon Lake's Dalton Stromquist was the top freshman in the Region last year and figures to improve his 40-foot mark last year.

4A Girls

The Wimberley girls are the top jumping group in the area. Heading into the season they have the top two returners in Baylee Gold and Emily Thames. Gold and Thames are the only two jumpers who have gone over 35-feet and they have both jumped in excess of 36-feet. They have a third jumper, Holland Wyatt, who has jumped over 33-feet.

There were not many seniors among the top triple jumpers in the Region last year so it could be extremely tough to get to the Regional meet this year. Ciarah Garcia of Pleasanton and Addie Schoessow of Fredericksburg figure to be right on the edge of qualifying this year after jumping 34-8 last year. Schoessow was the top freshman in the Region last year. Canyon Lake's Sofia George and Avery Cruz from Devine are the other returners who have jumped at least 34-feet.

3A Boys

A sophomore leads the way in the 3A boys, Aiden Martinez of Great Hearts Monte Vista. He jumped 41-1 as a freshman, but his best event is the 110-meter hurdles, an event he made it to State in. After Martinez, Dilley's Dorian Aranda and Poth's Gabriel Silansky are right there pushing up against the 41-foot mark.

There are a few others who have reached 40-feet. Cole's James Livingston has jumped 40-3 and Marion's Chase Hallmark has gone 40-0.75. After that, only one other returner has even jumped 39-feet, Zane Raabe of Poth.

3A Girls

Cole dominates the 3A girls triple jump with four of the top five returners from last year. Maddison Kitson is the best of the bunch. She jumped 36-9.75 a year ago and was an Area champion. Kyra Brown is the team's second-best jumper after going 32-0 last year and winning a JV District title. Of course, I am failing to mention someone who was the State Runner-Up last year and that is Briana St. Louis who competed for Randolph as a freshman last year but appears to have moved to North Carolina.

There are three more girls who have jumped over 31-feet or close to it: Olivia West of Poth and Kamyra Childs and Dakota Gaston of Cole. All three are underclassmen this year.

Other Boys

I am combining the private schools, smaller public schools and home school athletes into one group. It is a very tight bunch at the top of this list with four jumpers within six inches of each other. Holy Cross appears to have an excellent returning group that includes three who have jumped over 40-feet.

Antonian's Marcus Miller edges out Gilbert Alvarado of Holy Cross and Caleb Cavilier of Falls City as the top returner. He has jumped 42-6.5 while Alvarado is at an even 42-6 and Cavilier went 42-5.25 at the Regional meet last year. Holy Cross' Xavier Garza has also jumped 42-feet while Karson Solis of Cornerstone Christian jumped 41-3 last year. In all, there are eight returners who have jumped 40-feet.

Other Girls

Madeline Seebeck of John Paul II is the big name in this group after winning a State title last year with a jump of 36-2.75, but she is not the returner with the farthest jump. That honor belongs to Antonian's Jorden Spencer who jumped 37-9. Mabry Herrmann of D'Hanis should be in contention to make the State meet this year after jumping 34-11 last year.

The triple jumpers are a deep group this year with five girls who have jumped 33-feet and seven more who have jumped 32-feet. Incarnate Word has three girls that reach the qualifications while Falls City, FEAST and St. Mary's Hall each have two girls who have jumped over 32-feet.

* 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.