A new name is rising in the ranks of New York State High Jump. Jyles Etienne of The Stony Brook School on Long Island may not ring a bell. Partially it is because Etienne plays basketball in the winter, therefore not a factor for the first half of the combined track season (Indoor-Outdoor). Or, it may be partially because Etienne wasn't always jumping in New York State.
Etienne is a transfer student from the Bahamas, competing for Queen's College through middle school, and early high school. He transferred to The Stony Brook School his sophomore year, and opened with a school record 6'8" in the high jump, just two inches off the State Record for Sophomore Class. His junior efforts haven't gone unnoticed, as he quickly switched from his basketball days to competing for his native Bahamas at the CARIFTA Games, winning the U18 High Jump at 6-8.
Two weeks later, in much colder conditions, Etienne took home the New York Relays title in a State Leading 6-11. It was the highest jump from a New Yorker in 6 years, and Etienne wasn't done yet. Moving on to Penn Relays, Etienne had only one miss over the 6-5 bar. He was only one of two athletes to clear 6-9, before taking three misses at the ultimately winning mark of 6-11.5. With his performance, he surpassed Indoor State Champion Dan Claxton, setting up for another match up on Long Island over the High Bar. The Junior State Record is 7-2, a height Etienne has approached in the past, and only time will tell how close he will get.
