SHIPPENSBURG — In March, the triple jump was mostly new to Jim Thorpe’s Rayan Green.
By May, Green had developed into a league and district champ in the event.
Now, he’s a state medalist in it, too.
Green, a junior, got off to a strong start and finished seventh in the Class AAA boys’ triple jump during the PIAA Track and Field Championships on Friday afternoon at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium.
Green’s best jump was 45 feet, 8.25 inches, a distance he reached on his first attempt of the day. The jump had Green third after the preliminary round, but he wasn’t able to reach that distance again or hold his third-place position.
Still, the distance gave Green his first career PIAA medal. He was happy overall with his showing but somewhat down that he didn’t do better in what was his first time competing in the event at states.
“It’s kind of a disappointment, but you got to be satisfied,” said Green, who came into the event seeded second. “I came a long way from my first year doing triple
jump. I just want to get stronger, ready for next year.”
Gettysburg sophomore Ravaughn Dillard hit 47-11 on his final attempt to pass Carlisle’s Deshawn Millington and win the championship. Millington, last year’s champ as a freshman, finished at 47-7.5.
Green’s specialty during his first two years of competing for the Olympians was the high jump. Green won Schuylkill League titles in the event as a freshman and sophomore, and qualified for states in the event last year with a runner-up finish at the District 11 Championships.
Green had experimented with the triple jump the past two years. At the beginning of this season, Jim Thorpe jumping coach Jason Jacobs told Green he was going to do the triple jump because Jacobs felt Green could excel in the event. That feeling was based on Green’s 6-foot, 5-inch height.
“I just said to him that it is going to end up being your best event in my opinion,” Jacobs said. “The high jump is a tough event for him. He jumps really well, but it is a tough event for him because he is so long. Triple jump, just watching him in practice, going through bounding drills and stuff like that, he is just a natural triple jump jumper. I definitely thought coming into the season triple jump was going to be his best event, the event more likely to medal at states. We are working it more and more.”
The work paid off.
Green won his first Schuylkill League title in the event May 6 at Blue Mountain High School’s Eagles’ Nest, finishing with a 43-9.5. Green followed that with a district title May 13 at Whitehall High School’s Zephyr Complex at 47-9, a career best and school record.
It also earned Green his second seed for states.
“I knew there were going to be guys jumping like 47s, 46s at my level,” he said. “The best man got it. You can’t really say much. I am happy for the guys who got second, third and fourth. I came out here, did my best and I am satisfied with how I placed.
“I should have jumped further. It just wasn’t my day. I was kind of nervous.”
If he was, Green didn’t show it on his first attempt. Like he did at districts, Green opened strong with his 45-8.25. He then jumped a 45-3 on his second attempt and a 44-8 on his third.
“I try to set the tone, but it was not happening for some reason,” Green said. “I try to set the tone and then one guy jumped a 47 and another guy jumped a 47.”
That would be Millington and Dillard, who were the only two ahead of Green after the preliminaries. During the finals, Green jumped a 45-6, 43-5 and then scratched on his final try as Carlisle’s Isa Pachall (46-6.75), Woodland Hill’s Isaish Brooks (46-0.75), Bishop McDevitt’s Brandon Stanback (45-11.75) and Western Wayne’s Alex Long (45-11.25) eventually passed Green.
Jacobs didn’t sense any nerves from Green at all. In fact, Jacobs felt Green’s first two jumps of the day could have been farther had Green brought his feet together during the jumps.
“I think he wanted it really bad,” Jacobs said. “To be honest with you, his first two jumps were probably 46, close to 47 feet, it is just he didn’t bring his feet together. Technique stuff that he wasn’t doing. It was just one thing here or there that didn’t get it done.
“I think he was pretty even keel, ready to go. He got a little nervous once it started going a little bit, feeling like ‘OK I have to get out there.’ I think he might have reached a little bit. In the morning he wasn’t nervous at all. He was up before us.”
Still, it was the technique where Green made the most improvement in the event this season. During practice for districts at Whitehall, Jacobs had Green switch from a left, left, right jump to a right, right, left.
“It put all the phases together,” Jacobs said. “The reason why he jumped 47-9 and 46s at districts was because we switched his feet and had a second phase. I think doing that, plus learning the event as the season went on, helped him out tremendously, and understanding ‘I can do this.’ I think that was the biggest thing.
“When he first started out his freshman year when we tried him triple jumping, it was hard for him to get through the routine and he kind of stumbled over his own two feet a little bit. He shied away from it his sophomore year. This year, he just took off with it.”
It was hard to keep the smile off Green’s face Friday as he posed for pictures with his family and coaches just outside the main sentence to Seth Grove Stadium after the event.
His weekend also isn’t over.
Green will compete for his second state medal this morning in the high jump after he won his first district title in the event at districts on May 13 at 6-3. Green was 20th in the event at states last year, reaching 6-0.
Green is seeded ninth today.
“I should be used to it by now because I did it last year but I didn’t do as well,” he said. “Hopefully I can do better than I did last year.”