Raleigh native Jesse Williams won the US High Jump Olympic Qualifier Saturday with a jump of 7 feet, 6.5 inches. Williams, along with Andra Manson and Dusty Jonas, will represent the US in Beijing. I had the pleasure of jumping with Jesse in high school. He was a freshman when I was senior and stood about 5′7″, 120 lbs. when he came out for the team. I knew he could jump because I jumped with his older brother and sister, who were a few years ahead of me, but most people scoffed at him.
We were quite the sight, two pasty white boys in tight track unis competing in the high jump. It was routine for us to get laughed at when we came out for warmups, but those laughs turned to slack-jawed stares as Jesse ran rough shot through the competition en route to three state titles and the North Carolina High School indoor and outdoor records. Jesse began his college career at NC State before transferring to Southern Cal after his freshman year. We won’t hold that against him because he still supports The Pack. At USC, Jesse was a three time NCAA champion and Pac-10 athlete of the year in 2005. After graduating Jesse signed with Nike and set his sites on Beijing. With a personal best of 7-7.5 and rumored to have a hit 8 feet in practice, Williams figures to make some noise in China. On top of being a world class athlete, Jesse is class act. We here at Brahsome salute Jesse and will be follwing closely as he goes for gold. Check out Jesse rocking 7-7.5 at the NCAA Championships below.
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as a freshman at brahton in the early 90s I enjoyed “practicing” with the high jump/pole vault team, which basically involved tanning on the mats and shitting the bed at meets.
You’re forgetting the best part: scoping box as you lay tan on the mats.