The spring season is only a few weeks old, but Jyles Etienne has already joined an elite class of high jumpers. Since the last week of February, Etienne has competed in three prestigious events, winning two of them in grand fashion.

On February 27, the 6′ 5″ junior shattered his own school record by three inches with a leap of 6′ 11″ that earned him a 1st place finish in the 10th Annual Roadrunners Classic, held in his native Bahamas. Based upon the top heights during the 2015-16 indoor season, Jyles’ jump slots him as the 4th best high school jumper in America.

On March 12, Etienne competed in the New Balance Indoor National Championships where he took 12th place with a jump of 6′ 5″, despite being only one week removed from the end of basketball season.

Etienne’s most impressive feat thus far; however, was his gold medal performance at the 45th Carifta Games held in Grenada this past weekend. Jyles soared over 6′ 9.5″ (2.07 meters) on the second attempt of a jump-off with Jamaica’s Kobe-Jordan Rhooms to earn the Bahamas’ first ever gold in the Under-18 boys’ high jump against the finest young jumpers in the Caribbean.

The season has already been a banner one for Jyles, and there are still plenty more jumps ahead.

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