High Schools

<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Herald staff photo by Michael O'Leary 061908 Max Bryson a high jumper from Arlington recently jumped 6 feet 5.25 inches at recent meet.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Saturday, June 21, 2008 Sky's the limit for young high jumper Arlington's Max Bryson, 14, already has jumped an inch higher, albeit at an unsanctioned meet, than the national record for his age group By John Boyle Herald Writer ARLINGTON -- Amy Bryson worries that her son is trying to do too much. Football drills and weight lifting at night, a high jump workout the next morning, followed immediately by basketball camp. "He's been 1,000 percent ever since he was born in everything he does," she says of her son Max, 14. Starting this weekend, Max Bryson, who just finished eighth grade at Post Middle School, and will be a freshman at Arlington High School in the fall, hopes that a childhood of pushing himself will lead to accomplishments he and his family couldn't have imagined just a couple of months ago. On Sunday, Bryson will compete in the high jump at the USA Track and Field Northwest Association Junior Olympic Championships in Seattle. If all goes well there, it's on to a regional championship next month in Spokane, then possibly the National Junior Olympic Championships in Omaha, Neb., in late July. Based on his recent accomplishments, it seems like the sky is the limit for Bryson. A national title in his age group? Why not? A national record? He's already gone high enough. The United State Track and Field Association only certifies youth records set at sanctioned meets, such as those Bryson plans to jump in this summer, but Bryson's jump of 6-feet-51/4 inches last month is better by an inch than the national record for 13 and 14 year olds. "I've never seen anything like it," said Chris Mattingly, who has coached jumpers for 16 years. "If you get an eighth grade boy who can jump 5-8, you're pretty excited, and if you get somebody who can jump 5-10, you're really excited, so when you're at 6-feet, that's really good. When you hear 6-5, it's kind of ridiculous. It's a pretty special thing." Mattingly most recently coached at Lake Stevens High School, and was working with Bryson earlier this week to help him prepare for this weekend's meet. Mattingly was a decathlete at PLU and is a friend of Arlington High head coach Judd Hunter, an All-American track athlete at PLU. "You don't see it," Mattingly said of Bryson's ability. "You just don't see that kind of thing." Aside from this week's workout with Mattingly and a few others with Arlington coaches, Bryson has been mostly self taught in the high jump. "To tell you the truth, he's almost training himself," said Post Middle School track coach Melinda Skyles. "None of us are experts in jumping. There's been a lot of self coaching. And he's also been a big help coaching the other kids." Bryson was first introduced to the high jump as a fifth grader during a track camp at Stanwood High School. "They had us doing everything, and people were saying I was a natural high jumper, so I stuck with it," he said. A natural indeed. When Bryson started jumping in middle school meets last year, he was winning with ease each week, and jumped as high as 5-feet, 8-inches as a seventh grader, easily breaking his school's record. He came into his eighth-grade season with a goal of jumping 6-feet, but eventually passed that as well. In his final meet for Post, a district meet at Arlington High School last month, Bryson kept clearing new heights after he had beaten the rest of his competition. Six feet, 6-2, then 6-4. Meet officials, realizing something unusual was happening, stopped the competition after Bryson had cleared 6-4 so they could measure the bar to make sure it was accurate. "After he cleared it, once we realized what he was doing, we decided to measure with a tape measure," said Post athletic director Bonnie Walker. It turns out the bar was at 6-51/4, not 6-4. "The goal was 6-2," Bryson said. "I was just going for that and I just kind of went off. It was just amazing. I was really surprised how high I went." Bryson knows now that his big day of jumping last month is going to put pressure on him, not only this summer but when he gets to high school. Already he has jumped more than two inches higher than the Arlington High School record. "I'm just trying to have fun," he said. "I can deal with it. I do good under pressure." Bryson, a wide receiver in football, hopes that either track or football could someday open the door to a college scholarship. At 6-feet, 150 pounds, he acknowledges that his body is currently better suited for jumping that taking hits from linebackers, but hopes his athleticism leads to success in both sports until he gets bigger. The only things indicating elite athleticism on Bryson's otherwise lean frame are the oversized calves that provide the lift to clear heights well over his head. Bryson also plans to play basketball in high school, was a baseball player until this spring, and likes to snowboard in his free time. He says that juggling all of those sports hasn't been too much so far, but realizes that things could change a bit in high school. "Maybe with the school work next year it'll be harder," he said. Who knows, high school might require the always active Bryson to crank it up a little bit past 1,000 percent.

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