Kentridge’s Cronk breaks school record, takes over nation’s top high school high jump

The top high school high jumper in the nation so far attends Kentridge High School.

Tyler Cronk, a 6-foot-7 junior, had a leap of 7 feet, 1 inch at the Ray Cockrum Relays in Wenatchee on Saturday – which is the best in the country through Monday according to dyestat.com.

Cronk improved by six inches on his best high jump from last year, when he cleared 6-5 at the Kent All City Meet. His 7-1 jump was one inch higher than Frank Harris of Basic, Nevada – who is No. 2 in the nation at 7-0 according to Dyestat as of Monday.

Cronk broke Kentridge’s 30-year-old high jump record previously held by Jeff Hone, who cleared 6-9 in 1987. Franklin’s Rick Noji holds the Washington state record in the high jump when he cleared 7-4.5 in 1984.

It’s still early in the season and some of the best high jumps last year in the country didn’t come until April and May. Vernon Tucker of Yukon, Oklahoma, cleared 7-4.5 on May 14 last year. But with Cronk’s vast improvement since last year, it might be safe to assume there’s more improvement still to come.

This story was originally published March 27, 2017 at 11:32 AM with the headline "Kentridge’s Cronk breaks school record, takes over nation’s top high school high jump."