Yesterday evening, Jyles Etienne ’17 opened his junior season for Indiana University with a bang as he set both a personal and meet record with a leap of 7′ 3.75″ to win his third consecutive Hoosier Open. He won in 2017 with a meet-record mark of 7′ 3″ and last year at 7′ 0.5″.
The 2016 New York State Federation Champion passed at the first three heights of 6′ 3.5″, 6′ 5.5″, and 6′ 7.5″ before clearing 6′ 9″ on his first attempt. He then passed at 6′ 10.75″ and followed with a clear at 6′ 11.75″ to win the meet on just his second jump of the competition. 7′ 1.75″ was the next height to fall, again on his first attempt, before he set his sights on 7′ 3.75″. With the crowd at Gladstein Fieldhouse willing him on, he cleared on his second attempt, showing a rare flash of emotion that revealed how much the jump meant to him. He continued on to 7′ 5″ and nearly cleared on his third attempt, but the bar fell while he was still on the mat. It remains a height for another day.
The indoor season is young, but Etienne’s mark is the new #1 jump in America ahead of Tiffin University’s Cameron Burrows who went 7′ 2.5″ on December 6.
Etienne and the Hoosiers are back in action on January 11 in a dual meet vs. Tennessee in Bloomington.
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| 1. | Jyles Etienne | Indiana | 7′ 3.75″ |
| 2. | Jeremy Hayton | Cincinnati | 6′ 10.75″ |
| 3. | Lawerence Mitchell | Cincinnati | 6′ 9″ |
| 4. | Alex Oleson | Saint Louis | 6′ 7.5″ |
| 5. | Albert Kalala | Cincinnati | 6′ 3.5″ |
| 5. | Grayson Rolen | Indiana | 6′ 3.5″ |
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