At 6 feet, 8 inches tall, Tyler Cronk is hard to miss. And when he’s high jumping, the Kentridge High School junior is even harder to miss.<\/p>\n
Cronk, who set a school record with a 7-1 jump this year, is ranked fourth in the country among high school high jumpers, according to the track and field website Athletic.net.<\/p>\n
His record-setting jump was at the Ray Cockrum Relays on March 25 in Wenatchee.<\/p>\n
“I really thought I wasn’t going to do that good because in long jump I didn’t do that well,” Cronk said. “When I started to jump, it felt really good. I was in the rhythm. I just went up by 2 inches each time. When I went up to 7 feet, I was like wow, something is going on. My adrenaline was going. … When I made 7-1, it is was a really good experience, but I was kind of tired as well.”<\/p>\n
His performance earned him celebrity status at the meet.<\/p>\n
“I got noticed by a lot of people,” he said. “People wanted pictures, people from other schools. … It felt weird because I really don’t get noticed. Last year, I only jumped 6-5. I was just one of those sophomore kids. This year just coming out of the blue people didn’t know me as well but now they do.”<\/p>\n
Cronk’s skills were tested at the Pasco Invitational on April 15 when he faced some of the state’s top high jumpers. With a 6-10 jump, Cronk finished second behind Jakobe’ Ford, a senior at Spokane’s Shadle Park High School, who jumped 7-0. Ford won the 3A state title last season with a meet record jump of 7-1. Mitchell Jacobosen, a Walla Walla High senior, took third at Pasco with a 6-10 jump.<\/p>\n
Cronk’s performance in Pasco pleased Kentridge coach Al Waltner.<\/p>\n
“I was curious to see how he would respond after now everyone knows about him,” Waltner said. “Now you are the No. 1 high jumper going into this competition. How are you going to do when you are in a big meet? He really responded well. In fact, his first jump, my goodness, he made 6-2 by a foot. It was his best jump of the day. When I saw him do that all the sudden I was like Tyler is OK.”<\/p>\n
Cronk hopes to jump even higher.<\/p>\n
“I know I hit 7-1,” he said. “I want to be able to reach higher then that, go 7-3, maybe 7-5, maybe hit one of those,” he said. “I am just going to have to keep working on my technique.”<\/p>\n
After narrowly missing a state berth last season, he is more motivated to qualify for the championship this year and hopefully earn a spot on the podium.<\/p>\n
Cronk, who also plays basketball for the Chargers, first tried high jumping in middle school but took his freshman year off to focus on school.<\/p>\n
“My sophomore year, I was like I am going do track because my grades were better,” he said. “I just went straight to high jump. I started jumping 6 feet. I was like ‘OK, I’ve grown since eighth grade.’”<\/p>\n
Cronk’s height gives him an advantage, Waltner said.<\/p>\n
“There’s other people who high jump, but they aren’t going to be 7-foot high jumpers,” Waltner said. “He has the build of a high jumper. He is going to be a high jumper.”<\/p>\n
Waltner said he is excited to see how much Cronk improves.<\/p>\n
“There’s a handful of kids that jump 7-feet every year,” Waltner said. “He’s one of the best and he’s just a junior and he is still learning. … You don’t get an athlete with that kind of talent and all the right pieces. Those don’t come around that often.”<\/p>\n
Not only is Cronk a talented athlete, he also sings bass in the school choir. He missed a couple of meets in early April while on a choir trip to Southern California.<\/p>\n
“I am one of those interesting dudes that does basketball and track and knows how to sing,” he said. “I can’t really sing the high notes, but I can hit the lower notes.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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