Another Virginia athlete with a great shot at a national title this week is Osbourn Park's Sydney Banks. She currently sits at US #4 and is just 0.5 inches off of the national lead in this event. She has jumped 5-10.5 this season and owns a personal best of 5-11.
The strongest case for the 6A State Champion is her new found experience in elite competition. This season her coaching staff moved her from regular competition and either entered her or simulated elite competition for her. What this means is instead of coming in and clearing 5-6 heights she is now getting used to coming in at a very late stage in the competition to keep her legs fresh.
At states she entered at 5-4 and cleared it on her first attempt. She then went to 5-6 and cleared that on her first attempt as well. Don't be surprised if at Nationals she potentially goes for 5-6 as an opening height, or whatever the metric equivalent is.
