Ellen Dipietro brought a little March madness Friday to one of the most storied venues in track and field.
Already the national leader in the girls’ high jump, Dipietro captured the New Balance indoor title by making like a power forward looking for a rebound, adding to her 2014 US best with a winning clearance of 5 feet, 10.5 inches.
“That time I just focused on going up, like just straight up,” Dipietro said of the key to a solid clearance on her third try. “No arms, no anything, just going straight up.
“At practice, we practiced on touching the (basketball) rim, so I just tried to repeat the same exact thing and just went up. It worked.”
As nine jumpers took their first look at the bar at 5-8.5, defending champ Cyre Virgo and fellow Pennsylvanian Megan McCloskey shared the lead with Crystal Jones of Virginia as each still had an unblemished record. Virgo jumped into the driver’s seat with her first try over, while Dipietro also cleared without a miss. McCloskey needed all three attempts in becoming the final jumper to advance.
“I try not to think about stuff like that,” the eventual winner said of the large group that was still alive at 5-8.5. “I just try to stay as calm as possible.”
With the bar up another two inches, Dipietro remained confident, knowing she was the only jumper remaining who had successfully gone higher than 5-8 this season.
“I knew I had jumped (5-10) before so I was really confident going in,” she said. “At the same time, I hadn’t hit 5-10 in a while so I was iffy about it but it definitely felt good that I had that (experience).”
Although she was unsuccessful three times at 5-11.25, Dipietro walked away knowing that she had her closest tries ever at the height and was a national champion.
“It’s so amazing,” Dipietro said of being the nation’s best indoors. “I finally got it in my senior year.
“I have won stuff in Massachusetts (but) just to even be here, it is amazing. The fact that I won it … I am just speechless.”
Virgo claimed the runner-up spot over McCloskey based on misses as both share US#5. Jones was fourth, while fellow Virginian Nicie Grier-Spratley was fifth and Shayla Broughton of Brooklyn was sixth.
Championship Girls High Jump (View Official Results)
| F High Jump - Finals | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Overall | Athlete | Team | Result | Heat | |
| 1 | 1 | Dipietro, Ellen | Marshfield High School | 5-10.50 | 1 | |
| 2 | 2 | Virgo, Cyre | Fleetwood Area | 5-08.50 | 1 | |
| 3 | 3 | McCloskey, Megan | Germantown Academy | 5-08.50 | 1 | |
| 4 | 4 | Jones, Crystal | Colonial Forge | 5-06.50 | 1 | |
| 5 | 5 | Grier-spratley, Nicie | Thomas Edison | 5-06.50 | 1 | |
| 6 | 6 | Broughton, Shayla | Medgar Evers College Preparatory School | 5-06.50 | 1 | |
| 7 | 6 | Singleton, Brionna | Newark Tech | 5-06.50 | 1 | |
| 8 | 8 | Mason, Jailah | Sterling Heights Stevenson | 5-06.50 | 1 | |
| 9 | 9 | Laurel, Isabella | South Carroll High School | 5-06.50 | 1 | |
| 10 | 10 | Carey, Amiaya | Stafford High School | 5-04.50 | 1 | |
| 11 | 10 | Jefferson, Latyria | Desoto | 5-04.50 | 1 | |
| 12 | 12 | Fahrnbauer, Camille | Creekview | 5-04.50 | 1 | |
| 13 | 13 | Reichenbach, Rachel | Foothill High School (NC) | 5-04.50 | 1 | |
| 14 | 14 | Hudson, Lauren | Williamsville North | 5-04.50 | 1 | |
| 15 | 15 | Andre, Claudine | Upper Darby | 5-04.50 | 1 | |
| 16 | 15 | Smith, Grace | Bethlehem Central | 5-04.50 | 1 | |
| 17 | 17 | Gulbrandsen, Kate | The Lawrenceville School | 5-04.50 | 1 | |
| 18 | 18 | Darsney, Kerstin | Triton Regional High School | 5-02.50 | 1 | |
| 19 | 18 | Hibbard, Anika | Bedford High School | 5-02.50 | 1 | |
| 20 | 18 | Jander, Tracey | Lorena | 5-02.50 | 1 | |
| 21 | 18 | Penny, Faith | East Islip | 5-02.50 | 1 | |
| 22 | 18 | Taylor, Hannah | Montgomery HS | 5-02.50 | 1 | |
| 23 | 18 | Zesky, Nina | East Syracuse-Minoa (ESM) | 5-02.50 | 1 | |
| 24 | 24 | Garman, Maria | Scituate High School | 5-02.50 | 1 | |
| 25 | 24 | Stultz, Abby | Oakdale | 5-02.50 | 1 | |
| 26 | 26 | Burns, Shaina | Lakeville South H.S. | 5-02.50 | 1 | |