It should be an exciting season for San Antonio long jumpers. Some of the very best high school girl long jumpers in the State reside in San Antonio while there should be a great competition to determine who is the top high school boy long jumper.
6A Boys
New Braunfels junior Cole Tavarez has put together two outstanding seasons to start his career and heads into the season as the top 6A long jumper in the area. Last year, he went over 23-feet on three occasions including at the District 27-6A meet to win. Unfortunately, he could not match that at the Regional meet where he finished in sixth place but he should be a serious contender for a State meet berth this year.
There are four others who jumped at least 22-feet last including East Central Austin Vivier and Steele's Sterling Robinson who will both be competing against Tavarez in the same district. Vivier is one of the top all-around athletes in San Antonio and was a Regional qualifier last year with a top mark of 22-8.5. Brennan's Micai Thompson and Warren's Lee Thompson are the other two returning 22-foot jumpers.
6A Girls
The competition among 6A girls this year should be outstanding. The top three returners in the entire Region come from San Antonio schools. Reagan's Isabella Dagrosa went 19-2 last year and had a leap of 18-8.5 at the Region meet, but missed out on making the State meet because Harlan's Iyanna Webb bested her by a half inch. Both have already committed to big time programs in Vanderbilt and Baylor, respectively. The third returner is Steele's Justice Boston who went 18-3.5 last year and was fifth at the Regional meet.
Ayleceia Pierson of San Marcos had a top jump of 18-5 last year but did not make it to the Regional meet. She should be a contender this year. Jada Tyler of Stevens and Mahogany Pierce of Brennan each bring the experience of competing at Regionals into this year. Overall, there are nine returners who jumped at least 17-feet last year.
5A Boys
Boerne Champion's dynamic duo of Joshua Hierholzer and Hayden Brace scored a mess of points for the Chargers last year and it should continue this year. Hierholzer finished third in the Region with a leap of 22-5.5 while Brace took fourth and just missed 22-feet. Deondrey Alvarado of Veterans Memorial is the only other returner who jumped over 22-feet.
After the top three, look for Carter Hewitt of Medina Valley to have a great season. He went 21-10 last year and even though he struggled at the Regional meet he was still a District and Area champion in 2023. There are a total of nine returners who went over 21-feet last year including Tivy's Guy Flores who was the best freshman around with a 21-1.75 mark.
5A Girls
Seguin's Daisha Shular enters the season as easily the top 5A long jumper in the Area and she could make a push to be the top overall jumper with a good season. She started the year slowly in 2023 but gradually ramped up and went over 18-0 at the final seven meets of the season. She posted a best mark of 19-3 at the District 26-5A meet and advanced to the State meet.
Veterans Memorial's Nyima Williamson should be a top contender to qualify for the State meet this year after jumping 18-4 and finishing fourth in the Region. The rest of the top returners did not jump 18-feet last year but could still finish very high in the Region this year. Brackenridge's Alasia Brown could be a big factor after leaping 17-4.5 a year ago. Canyon's Maia Aldrich is another girl to follow this year after jumping 17-3.25 as a freshman.
4A Boys
The reigning State silver medalist resides in Region IV but that does not mean we won't see an area athlete at the State meet this year. Wimberley just graduated State champion Gabriel Wray but they reload with Nolan Waida back in the mix after he jumped 21-10.25 as a sophomore.
Boerne's Woodrow Goen should challenge Waida. He had the misfortune of being in District 27-4A where even a personal best jump of 21-8 did not advance him to the Area meet. That should change this year with only Waida back from the top four group. There are five others who jumped over 20-feet last year including Davenport's Aryck Singletary and Wimberley's Kaelan Hemmi who did it while competing at the JV level. Canyon Lake's Jace Morales is another one to watch as he went 20-0.5 as a freshman in 2023.
4A Girls
Canyon Lake sophomore Savanna Oberholtzer struggled at the Regional meet last year, but should be the top returner this year after leading 18-2.75 earlier in the year. Oberholtzer is the only returning 18-foot jumper but there are at least three others who were knocking on the door. Jerriana McWilliams of Davenport had the best Regional performance placing fourth with her jump of 17-10.5.
Wimberley also had the girls State champion last year in Emily Thames who has graduated, but the cupboard is not bare as Laney Hennessee should be in contention for a State berth this year after jumping 17-8.75 at the Regional meet in 2023. Hennessee's teammate, Baylee Gold, and Savannah Seibert of Boerne both jumped over 17-feet last year as well. Gold was also a State qualifier in the 100mH.
3A Boys
Randolph's Austin Young is the headliner in 3A boys after winning the Region and taking fourth in the State. He catapulted out to 23-3.25 at the Regional meet and will be the favorite to repeat this year. His top competition will likely come from Dilley's Dorian Aranda who took third in Region IV with a leap of 22-2.25 and was the District 28-3A champion.
Marion's Aiden Batey is currently a close third behind Young and Aranda, but he could move up. He jumped 21-8 last year at his District meet, but then struggled at the Area meet and did not advance. Poth's Tobyn Noll was a Regional qualifier and jumped 20-7.5 while Michael Glowe of Great Heart Monte Vista soared out to 20-5.75 last season.
3A Girls
When it comes to long jump at the 3A level in the State, there is Taylor Nunez (Randolph) and then there is everyone else. Nunez is a two-time State champion and jumped 20-8.5 at the Regional meet last year before winning State with a mark of 20-2.5. Many of the same top girls return from last year's State meet but it would be a surprise if Nunez does not make it three in a row this year.
Cole's Maddison Kitson jumped 17-10 last year at the Ro-Hawk Relays but could not match that same level during the championship season and did not make the Regional meet. She unfortunately has to go up against Nunez at the District and Area meet levels. Poth's Adisen Magill did qualify for Regionals but her best is 16-6.75.
Other Boys
I am combining private schools, smaller public schools and homeschool athletes into one group. Carter McCray of Cornerstone Christian returns with a chance to be the top long jumper in all of San Antonio this year. He went 23-4 last year at the Texas Relays and was over 22-feet at four different meets. Antonian's Carlos White has the next best returning jump of 22-4.25 but did not advance to the TAPPS State meet.
Jeremy Burch (Central Catholic), Nate Griffin (San Antonio Christian) and Alijah Cason (UC First Baptist Academy) each had strong performances at the State meet. Burch took the bronze medal in 6A with a jump of 21-5.75 and he had a top mark of 21-10. Griffin took fourth in 5A with his season's best of 21-7. Cason was runner-up in 2A with a leap of 21-0. Antonian's Marcus Miller is another one to follow after he jumped 21-6 last year and is highly ranked heading into the season in both the triple jump and shot put.
Other Girls
There are only two local returners who competed at the TAPPS State meet in long jump last year, Olivia Peak of San Antonio Christian and Skylear Welch of Fredericksburg Heritage. Peak is the only returner who has jumped over 17-feet, but she struggled at the State meet and will be looking to do more this year. Welch took fifth place in 1A as a freshman to help her team win a State title and has a top mark of 15-5. TMI's Kate Philbin jumped 16-10 at the South Regional last year, but finished sixth so she did not advance. She went over 16-6 at five different meets. Presleigh Adam of San Antonio Patriots took fourth at the Texas Homeschool State championships and has a top jump of 15-10.75.
* 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.