WITH THE BAR at 7-4½ (2.25), Kimani Jack had a difficult decision to make. The Georgia junior from England had been tied with Arkansas soph Scottie Vines as each were flawless through the first four bars.
Here at 2.25, however, Jack — first in the order now with 5 left — missed his first attempt, letting out a surprised yelp. After Jack’s teammate Riyon Rankin also missed, Vines soared over the bar, landing and remaining facedown on the mat, privately enjoying a mix of triumph and relief. Now Jack knew he could not win at that height, but the next bar — 7-5¾ (2.28) — would be one that he had cleared or surpassed in just two previous meets. It was not a slam dunk.
But Jack went ahead and passed, which didn’t just leave him in 2nd, but back in 4th as Grant Campbell (Tennessee) and Jordan Wenger (Oral Roberts) each scaled 7-4½ on their final attempts. That meant PRs for both athletes that elicited much celebration. Wenger, wearing a cap that flew off as he landed, raised his arms to the crowd and roared in triumph. Then the 6-8 (2.03) Campbell cleared two jumpers later, leaping off the mat and dancing over the stands to be congratulated by his coaches. Both jumpers had PRed twice.
Now the bar went to 7-5¾ and Jack, jumping first, would see if his bet had paid off. With great determination, he soared over the bar on his first try. Talk about celebration, Jack bounded up to a huge roar from the Bulldog faithful, danced over to the crowd, revving them up further, before accepting congrats from Rankin.
A third PR of the meet was too much to ask for Campbell and Wenger, but Vines carried a PR of 7-6 (2.29) from back in ’25 and was surely a threat. His final jump was close, but none of the three could clear 7-5¾ (2.28) and the championship was Jack’s.
The 6-2 (1.88) Brit then had the bar raised to a PR 7-7¼ (2.32). That would have been big. Jack’s lifetime best of 7-7 (2.31) had come at come at the Torrin Lawrence meet on his home track 6 weeks earlier. No NCAA jumper had come close to it since.
However, he couldn’t negotiate the would-have-been PR setting on this day. Yet it’s easy to imagine higher bars will be in the 22-year-old’s future as he returns home to London to vie for Commonwealth and European Championship success this summer.
“It wasn’t perfect, but it doesn’t have to be perfect, obviously,” he said of the competition. “Responding to adversity is obviously something Coach Caryl [Smith Gilbert] and Coach [Ryan] Baily are always preaching, and I’m happy I got that challenge and I responded well.”
Considering his entire debut year at UGA and in the U.S., he added, “I feel like if you’d told me what was going to happen this year, last year, when obviously I was home in London, I would have found it quite hard to believe. I’m a confident person, but I’m really, really happy with what I’ve achieved this year.
“The individual success is nice, but I couldn’t have done it without my team. The team’s the priority; I’m happy that I could help them out for sure… Obviously, my season’s not over, I still have to go back home and do what I have to do, but it’s been amazing. I just want to thank my coaches for giving me the opportunity and I want to thank my teammates, especially Riyon and Brion [Stephens].”
MEN’S HIGH JUMP RESULTS
FINAL (June 12)
1. *Kimani Jack’ (Ga-GB) 7-5¾ (2.28);
2. **Scottie Vines (Ar) 7-4½ (2.25);
3. *Grant Campbell (Tn) 7-4½ (2.25);
4. **Jordan Wenger (OR) 7-4½ (2.25);
5. *Riyon Rankin (Ga) 7-3¼ (2.22);
6. Elias Gerald (USC) 7-3¼ (2.22);
7. tie, **Ethan Ruffin (FD) & **Khalil Antoine (MsSt) 7-2¼ (2.19); 9. tie, ***Etoro Bassey (TxAM) & Aiden Hayes (TxSt) 7-1 (2.16); 11. *Kyren Washington (Ok) 7-1; 12. tie, *Aleksandr Gerasimov’ (Nb-Rus) & *Tito Alofe (Harv) 7-1; 14. Arvesta Troupe (Ms) 7-1; 15. **Kenyatta Bennett (KennSt) 7-1; 16. tie, ***Jonathan Kapitolnik (Il), ***Gage Voyles (KennSt), Kampton Kam’ (Penn-Sgp) & *Osawese Agbonkonkon (Tx) 6-11 (2.11); 20. Brion Stephens (Ga) 6-11;… nh—*Antréa Míta’ (Hous-Gre), **Tyler Hughes (SnMs), ***Tshephang Dankuru’ (TxSt-SA), **BJ Jennings (TxT).
| 6-11 | 7-1 | 7-2¼ | 7-3¼ | 7-4½ | 7-5¾ | 7-7¼ | |
| Míta | xxx | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hughes | xxx | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Washington | xxo | o | xxx | — | — | — | — |
| Alofe | o | xxo | xxx | — | — | — | — |
| Kam | o | xxx | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jack | o | o | o | o | xpp | o | xxx |
| Antoine | o | o | xo | xxx | — | — | — |
| Hayes | o | o | xxx | — | — | — | — |
| Stephens | xo | xxx | — | — | — | — | — |
| Voyles | o | xxx | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kapitolnik | o | xxx | — | — | — | — | — |
| Ruffin | o | o | xo | xxx | — | — | — |
| Agbonkonkon | o | xxx | — | — | — | — | — |
| Rankin | o | xo | xo | xo | xxx | — | — |
| Dankuru | xxx | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jennings | xxx | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Vines | o | o | o | o | o | xxx | — |
| Bennett | xxo | xxo | xxx | — | — | — | — |
| Bassey | o | o | xxx | — | — | — | — |
| Troupe | xo | xxo | xxx | — | — | — | — |
| Gerasimov | o | xxo | xxx | — | — | — | — |
| Wenger | o | xo | xo | xxo | xxo | xxx | — |
| Gerald | o | xo | xo | xxo | xxx | — | — |
| Campbell | xxo | o | xo | o | xxo | xxx | — |
| 2.11 | 2.16 | 2.19 | 2.22 | 2.25 | 2.28 | 2.32 |
