On Saturday, Jyles Etienne took top honors in the high jump at the Suffolk Officials Meet with a leap of 6′ 6″, his highest mark in stateside competition. In doing so, Etienne topped Smithtown East’s Daniel Claxton who just one month ago won the title at the New York State Indoor Championships.
Despite a biting wind and temperatures in the low 40s, Etienne and Claxton each dueled to a height of 6′ 6″ before failing to clear the 6′ 8″ mark. Etienne took the title by virtue of fewer total jumps than Claxton. Claxton won this event last year while Etienne took 4th with a jump of 6′ 2″.
While Etienne has previously soared over 6′ 11″ at a meet in the Bahamas, he remained a relatively unknown entity in Suffolk County track. That will no longer be the case after yesterday’s performance.
Top 5 Results
| 1. | Jyles Etienne | Stony Brook | 6′ 6″ |
| 2. | Daniel Claxton | Smithtown East | 6′ 6″ (J) |
| 3. | Darius Brew | Mattituck | 6′ 0″ |
| 4. | Connor Palman | Sachem North | 5′ 9″ |
| 4. | Nakia Williams | Southampton | 5′ 9″ |
| 4. | Courtney Williams | Central Islip | 5′ 9″ |
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