RELATED: High School results for May 9
Phillips unleashed his personal best on his first jump of the competition. His leap surpassed the meet record of 22-08.75 held by Bellefontaine’s Jorrell Johnson since 1999.
“Today I felt like I had a lot of power coming off the board, more than usual,” Phillips said. “This pit is really nice to jump at. The board is super bouncy and I like that.”
In addition to chasing Johnson’s meet record, Bellefontaine gave Phillips added motivation when Chieftains Dezmin Lyburtus and Trey Stahler each went past 21 feet. Lyburtus finished second with 21-08 and Stahler was third in 21-02.25. They were the only three to surpass 20 feet.
“The guy from Bellefontaine jumped 21-8 feet so I was like, ‘Oh man, I’m going to have to clutch it up this time.’ I guess I did,” Phillips said.
The meet started Tuesday with finals in the boys discus, long jump, pole vault and the girls high jump and shot put. The boys and girls 3,200 relay finals were also held. The remaining action consisted of preliminary heats to determine Friday’s championship final field.
Phillips’ best prior to Tuesday was 22-04. His next stop? He’s going for 24 feet. Should he do that, then Phillips will have to make good on a bet he made with a friend.
“I’m not planning on running track in college,” said the Ohio State University-bound Phillips. “My friend made a deal with me that if I jump 24 I have to walk on at least. … Maybe it will (get me noticed), but I haven’t seen anything yet.”
One person certainly to take interest in Phillips’ distance is Cincinnati Reading junior Justin Dreyling. He held the state’s best mark in Division II this season at 22-10.5, until Tuesday. Dreyling finished fourth at state last year at 22-02.5 and Phillips was fifth at 22-01.75. St. Clairsville’s Jordan Vincent won the D-II state title with his 22-11.75.
“I really wanted to hit over 22-10 before I saw (Dreyling) at state,” Phillips said. “That makes me really confident going into the postseason. He’s a good jumper. Hopefully we’ve got a little competition going.”
The Cougars have a shot at sweeping the boys and girls state championships. Kenton Ridge senior Jamari McDavid won the state championship as a freshman and finished second the last two seasons. Phillips said they have a friendly competition to see who can place higher at regional and state meets to help push each other.
“I don’t think I’ve beaten her yet,” he said.
Phillips would settle for a tie in the form of dual state championships.
“That would be awesome. For both of them, it’s been on their radar,” Kenton Ridge coach Melissa Sherrock said. “That was nice to see him hit that on the first jump (Tuesday). He said he was feeling good. When I hear him say he’s feeling good I know it’s going to be a good day.”
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