A year deferred was not a year denied. Rochester freshman Gavin White (UPrep) reminded New York that Section 5 has been a hotbed for jumping talent for the last decade. In that time, three Jumping State Records have gone down, with plenty of Class Records to add on top.
At his second meet of the year, Freshman White cleared a bar of 6-8 in the High Jump, winning the competition. That mark not only shatters the Freshman State Record set at 6-3 by hurdler Joe Galleano (Centereach, 1987), it also ties the National Record for the event. Way back in 1998, a young athlete named Ivan Schmidt (Penncrest) in Pennsylvania had just finished his abbreviated basketball Season. With two weeks of training, he was brought to his first meet ever, the PA State Indoor Championships, and cleared 6-8 on a stutter-step for his second jump of the weekend. That mark has stood as the Freshman National Record ever since, and in 2024, now has company.
White is not an unknown talent. Last Spring, White came out for the team, and cleared 6-8 in May. Unfortunately, shortly after, White was ruled ineligible to compete on a technicality, invalidating the mark. It would have been the 8th Grade National Record had it counted.
White joins a growing list of jumping stars currently in Section 5. Camryn Cole (Webster Schroeder) set the Girls High Jump Record last year, and her teammate Corintia Griffith set the Triple Jump State Record in the same year. Cole is now in College, but Griffith is back, and currently US #1 in the event. On the other side, two boys chasing the same freshman State Record last year, are back at again as Sophomores.