Record keeping can be a messy business. Larry Byrne had managed to sort out that mess for over 50 years, before his passing this winter. The duty had since been passed to us, via the Byrne Archives, with help from numerous sources across the State, primarily XC and Spring State Coordinator Dan Doherty, and TullyRunners founder Bill Meylan. So when Jyles Etienne (Stony Brook HS) produced a winning jump at St. Anthony's this weekend, it was off to the Archives to see how to handle it.
Etienne won the St. Anthony's high jump in huge personal best, clearing 7-2.5. However, because of the rain, the event was moved indoors, to Saint Anthony's Indoor Track and Field Facility. So how do we handle a jump from Spring Track, produced indoors?
There is precedent here. On June 5th, 1982, the Outdoor State Meet was undergoing some serious weather issues. So the field events were moved indoors. Ed Ellis (Pathogue-Medford) threw 64-9.75 to win the Shot Put, while AJ Wydner (St. Agnes) jumped 6-10 to win the High Jump. Both were recorded as Indoor Records.
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So what does that mean? Jyles Etienne is the new US #1 High Jumper for the Indoor Season. His 7-2.5 surpasses the previous leader, Nate Patterson (Plymouth, IN). This also makes him the new State Leader. He now also holds the Section 11 and Suffolk County Indoor Records in the event, adding to his records he cleared Outdoors earlier this year. The biggest irony here? Etienne is a basketball player, who doesn't even compete for the Indoor Track team. Essentially, he has traveled back in time to rewrite history.
While this may all seem like good news, there is a caveat. We reached out to the Boys State Coordinator for Outdoor Track and Field, and the marks will be no good for State Seeding. Therefore, the events won't land in the State Rankings, nor would they count towards a Season's Best. To bump up that mark, the feat has to be achieved outdoors. There is always Loucks next week.