Texas' best high school boys track and field athletes: Meet the state's Top 20 jumpers

Ahead of the UIL state championships next week, here's a closer look at the top boys jumpers in Texas

With the 2022 Texas high school track and field state championships taking center stage next weekend in Austin (May 12-14), SBLive is highlighting the top boys and girls track and field athletes in the state.

Earlier we took a look at the top boys sprinters and the top boys distance runners in the state. Now we turn our attention to the top boys jumpers.

There are hundreds of outstanding jumpers in Texas, and these lists are not intended to be comprehensive. Tag us on Twitter or Instagram @SBLiveTX and let us know about other jumpers worthy of fans’ attention.

TOP 20 JUMPERS IN TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL BOYS TRACK & FIELD

(The list is in alphabetical order)

Jarvis Anderson, Jr., Taylor

Personal bests: 110-meter hurdles, 14.02 seconds; 300 hurdles, 37.27; Long jump, 22 feet, 5 ½ inches; Triple jump, 51-1

Anderson jumped a 3½-foot personal-best and moved into second place on the all-time UIL 4A triple jump list with his victory last week at the Region III championships. He also swept the regional titles in both hurdles races — he took fourth in the 300s at last spring’s state meet.

Micah Bell, Jr., Kinkaid

Personal bests: 100, 10.41; 200, 20.89; Long jump, 24-5¼; Triple jump, 45-9½

Bell repeated as Southwest Preparatory Conference champion in the long jump this spring with a personal-best jump while adding titles in the 100 and 200 (he was runner-up in both sprints last year) and a second-place finish in the triple jump.

Aaron Davis, Sr., Humble Summer Creek

Personal bests: 110 hurdles, 13.84; Long jump, 25-5¼

Davis earned a wild card into the UIL 6A state meet in the hurdles, but his best event is the long jump, in which he jumped his state-leading mark to win the District 21 title. The University of Houston signee will reprise his rivalry with Katy Tompkins’ Jayden Keys at the state meet in two weeks after Keys beat him for the Region III title last week — Davis’ first loss of the season.

Nathaniel Figgers, Jr., Bryan Rudder

Personal bests: High jump, 6-10; Triple jump, 47-7

Figgers picked up the high and triple jumps for the first time this season, and in the high jump, he’s gone undefeated, going 6-9 on March 26 at the Prairie View A&M Relays and then improving his personal-best in winning the UIL 5A Regional III title last week.

Karson Gordon, So., Fort Bend Ridge Point

Personal bests: 200, 22.33; Triple jump, 49-11½

Just like a year ago, Gordon is peaking at just the right time as a triple jumper. As a freshman, he came up big in the postseason, eventually finishing with a fifth-place finish at the UIL 6A state championships. This spring, he popped a personal-best to finish second behind Damilare Olukosi at the Region III meet and take the No. 2 seed to state in two weeks.

Eric Grassel, Sr., Bushland

Personal bests: Pole vault, 16-8

Grassel has steadily improved over the course of the season, moving into fourth on the UIL 3A all-time list with his victory at the Bushland Regional Qualifiers Invitational. He remained unbeaten this spring by winning the Region I title and is the top seed at the state tournament in two weeks.

Jayden Keys, So., Katy Tompkins

Personal bests: 110 hurdles, 14.08; 300 hurdles, 38.07; Long jump, 25-4¾

Keys placed third at last spring’s UIL 6A state meet and now enters this year’s meet among the favorites after knocking off state leader Aaron Davis of Humble Summer Creek to win the Region III title. Two weeks earlier, he jumped his career best to win the District 19 meet.

Ryley Klefstad, Jr., Concordia Lutheran

Personal bests: Long jump, 20-8½; Pole vault, 17-2¼

Klefstad broke the TAPPS all-classification record in the pole vault in winning the Cooper Dragon Invitational on April 9. He has since won the 6A District 4 and South Regional titles and looks poised to defend the state championship he won last spring.

Jack Mann, Sr., Austin Lake Travis

Personal bests: Pole vault, 17-0¾

The Texas A&M signee improved upon his winning vault at last spring’s UIL 6A state championships by clearing 17 feet for the first time to win the Bluebonnet Invitational on his future home runway. He won the Region IV title last week.

Linus Mannino, Sr., Woodville

Personal bests: High jump, 6-10

Mannino had never gone above 6-7 in a meet until two weeks ago, when he cleared 6-10 to win the UIL 3A Area 21-22 title. Last weekend, he repeated that performance to win the Region III title, making him the clear favorite at the state meet in two weeks after placing third there a year ago.

Anthony Meacham, Sr., Woodsboro

Personal bests: 200, 22.10; Pole vault, 17-0

Meacham is a two-time UIL 2A state champion, winning as both a freshman and a junior and being named the Texas Track and Field Coaches Association Boys Field Athlete of the Year for Class 1A-4A last spring. However, the University of Kansas signee partially tore a left hamstring tendon at a December meet, putting a damper on hopes of breaking the overall state record of 18-3½ this spring. He will be at the University of Texas in two weeks vying for a three-peat after winning the Region IV title.

Damilare Olukosi, Sr., Fort Bend Travis

Personal bests: Long jump, 22-5½; Triple jump, 50-9

Olukoski has ranked among the state leaders all season in the triple jump, but he took over the UIL 6A lead just in time for the state championships in two weeks by winning the Region III title with a personal-best leap.

Jace Posey, Jr., Houston Strake Jesuit

Personal bests: High jump, 6-10

Posey opened the season by clearing his personal-best in finishing second at the Texas A&M Bluebonnet Invitational. He hadn’t approached those heights again until last week, when he went over 6-8 to win the UIL 6A Region III title. Posey enters this year’s state championships in two weeks as part of a tightly bunched group of five jumpers who’ve gone 6-8 or higher this spring — but the only one with state meet experience, having placed fourth a year ago.

Chris Preddie, Sr., Little River Academy

Personal bests: Long jump, 24-5; Triple jump, 49-11

The Texas State signee is back to defend his UIL 3A state title in the triple jump and improve upon his second-place finish in the long jump. He moved to No. 5 on the UIL 3A all-time list in the triple jump in winning the Taylor Cotton Boll Relays in early March and won Region III titles in the long and triple jumps last week.

Donovan Ramirez, Sr., Odessa Compass Academy

Personal bests: 110 hurdles, 15.39; Long jump, 22-9½; Triple jump, 49-10¾

If there’s anyone who can deny Chris Preddie a second consecutive UIL 3A state title in the triple jump, it’s Ramirez, who finished second at state a year ago and comes into the meet as the No. 1 seed after improving his personal-best by 2½ feet at the Region I championships. Ramirez also qualified for state in the long jump.

Colton Rhodes, Sr., Klein Cain

Personal bests: Pole vault, 17-6

The Oklahoma University signee became just the seventh vaulter in state history to clear 17-6 in winning the UIL 6A Region II title last week. Now, last year’s state runner-up sets his sights on dethroning Jack Mann of Austin Lake Travis at the state meet in two weeks.

Devinar Roberson, Sr., Coleman

Personal bests: High jump, 6-9; Long jump, 21-7; Triple jump, 48-8½

Roberson has a chance to sweep the UIL 2A state titles in all three jumps in two weeks after winning Region I titles in all three. He comes into the meet as the top seed in the high and triple jumps — his biggest challenge will come in the long jump, where he’s the eighth out of nine qualifiers. Last spring, he placed second in the high jump and third in the triple at state.

Steven Runels, Sr., Lubbock Monterey

Personal bests: High jump, 6-10

A year after Runels no-heighted at the UIL 5A Region I meet to cost him a shot at qualifying for state, he returned to the regional meet and bested the field, jumping a personal-best. The Southwest Oklahoma signee for football shares the top seed at the state meet in two weeks with Nathaniel Figgers of Bryan Rudder.

Turey Stoudemire, Sr., Conroe The Woodlands

Personal bests: High jump, 7-0; Long jump, 21-10 ½; Triple jump, 45-1

Stoudemire, who became the season’s only 7-foot high jumper to date with his winning jump at the College Park Invitational in early April, saw his season come to an abrupt end after winning the UIL 6A Area 13-14 title two weeks ago. Last year’s state runner-up in the event sustained an injury during the week between area and regional and scratched out of the meet.

Ashton Torns, Jr., Austin Westlake

Personal bests: 100, 10.27; 200, 21.14; Long jump, 24-7½

Don’t count out the defending UIL 6A state champion from repeating this spring despite coming into the meet as the No. 3 seed. After failing to get out of the Region IV meet in the 200 — missing out by one-hundredth of a second — he’ll be free to focus on the long jump in two weeks after winning the regional long jump title for the first time.