¶mHigh Jump: Scott Sellers (Kansas St) 7-3¼¶

[Marlow]

there's also the philosophical question of whether or not when you say "level of competition" do you mean the winning mark--which is of course a very poor indicator--or a great head-to-head battle for the title. I, for one would be much more pleased to watch a half-dozen guys battling at 7-3 for the title than somebody going solo at 7-8.

for a full dozen I would agree.

??!! And yet the 7-8 guy would grab the headline. The Marks Snob says no amount of 7'3 guys, or even 7'5 guys make up for one 7'7 guy. 2.30 is my baseline to pay attention. If you want competition, go watch 12 guys scramble at 6' at your local HS meet.

Random note - we had a big (25-team) invitational last Friday and the guy who ran the HJ had no idea what a Jump-off was, so 3 guys tied for first. Worked for me cuz one of them was my guy who had no business winning the thing.

[Dietmar239]

Depth is nice, but tell me the last time someone has even attempted to break Conway's collegiate record. To me, that would be nice see. The collegiate high jump is just as paralyzed as the world class jumps. Last year Jonas was the closest anyone has been in what feels like eons.

[paulthefan]

there's also the philosophical question of whether or not when you say "level of competition" do you mean the winning mark--which is of course a very poor indicator--or a great head-to-head battle for the title. I, for one would be much more pleased to watch a half-dozen guys battling at 7-3 for the title than somebody going solo at 7-8.

for a full dozen I would agree.

[Bob H]

I wouldn't argue with you about that. But I didn't think that's what paulthefan meant and, in any event, sitting here in College Station, it would have been impossible for me to research the competitiveness of NCAA high jumps going back 15 years or more.

[gh]

there's also the philosophical question of whether or not when you say "level of competition" do you mean the winning mark--which is of course a very poor indicator--or a great head-to-head battle for the title. I, for one would be much more pleased to watch a half-dozen guys battling at 7-3 for the title than somebody going solo at 7-8.

[Bob H]

has the level of competition in the NCAA HJ regressed over the past 15 years?

I don't think so. The winning heights in the four years prior to 2009 (2005-2008) were 7-5, 7-6, 7-7 3/4, and 7-7. There was a stretch from 1996-2002 when the marks were 7-5, 7-6, 7-6, 7-7, 7-5, 7-5. This is one of those off-years, but I wouldn't necessarily infer a negative trend from it.

[Bob H]

Ok, I'm getting mixed info here. The Flash results says Sellers cleared 2.25m (7'4.5") as does the K-state website. Which is it?

Yes, 2.25 (7-4 1/2) is right. I've explained the confusion above, in the correction that I made to the post where I originally reported that he had cleared 2.22.

[Per Andersen]

Does this mean Sellers has fixed his run-up problems?

Derek Drouin, Indiana in 2nd place was the 2nd ranked Canadian junior last year.
Still only 19. Very promising and technically advanced jumper, PB 2.18.

[Dietmar239]

Ok, I'm getting mixed info here. The Flash results says Sellers cleared 2.25m (7'4.5") as does the K-state website. Which is it?

[Bob H]

Full final results:

http://flashresults.com/2009_Meets/indo ... 011-01.pdf

[eldrick]

Nobody cleared 2.12. They went from 2.09 to 2.14.

wouda made 14 clear at 2.09 a more prospective statement...

[gh]

has hoops gotten better?

[paulthefan]

has the level of competition in the NCAA HJ regressed over the past 15 years?

[Bob H]

Nobody cleared 2.12. They went from 2.09 to 2.14.

[eldrick]

Actually, only 7 cleared 2.14 (7- 1/4)

wouda been better if you said how many cleared 2.12...