Every event has that special boundary. You have the five minute mile for girls, the two minute 800 for boys, the five foot high jump for girls, and the seven foot high jump for boys. One guy pushing for that clearance is Briar Wood's Aidan Clark. He enters the state meet with a 6-10.5 best on the season.
Clark is also looking for his first state title. He, being from Loudoun County, does not have indoor track meaning he has to wait a whole year between states to try and win that title despite a ton of improvement.
Last year he finished 4th at states with a 6-6 best but by indoors this year he had already cleared 6-9. He even went on to finish 3rd nationally and earned an All-American finish.
This state meet he does want to win but you can almost be certain that his real goal is that seven foot clearance. That type of clearance would rank him all-time in Virginia and also make him one of the favorites for the national title in June.
His realistic path to a seven foot clearance involve a few things. The first is good weather. He will need it to not be rainy or windy. The second is he will need to clear everything up to 6-4 or 6-5 without any misses. That will be integral to remaining calm and having fun. The final thing he needs is someone with him to 6-8 so that he can get competitive and have a little extra break between jumps.
Sometimes not having to think of your jump is all you need for your jump.
Regardless if he hits the barrier this weekend, he is only a junior and also has nationals to chase the seven foot mark.
