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Ali second in long jump, but seventh in the high jump

BRIAN FEES/For The Sun-Gazette Qayyim Ali of Williamsport lands in the long jump Saturday.

By MITCH RUPERT

mrupert@sungazette.com

SHIPPENSBURG — Qayyim Ali took a deep breath and tried to put into perspective his disappointment at tying for seventh in the Class AAA high jump at the PIAA Track and Field Championships on Saturday.

“It’s a minor setback,” the Williamsport senior said as he walked away from the high jump area at Shippensburg University.

It took some time for Ali to reach that conclusion. After all, this was the event he was supposed to win like he did two years ago as a sophomore. He was the overwhelming favorite as the only jumper in the field to have cleared 7-feet this year.

But a sporadic rain which fell throughout the day left the high jump area wet. Each time Ali tried to plant to take off, his plant foot slid, never giving him a clean chance to clear 6 feet, 6 inches. Instead, the Florida State recruit walked away from his signature event with a mark nine inches below his personal best and a disappointing finish.

Ali won a pair of medals Saturday, popping his best jump of the season in the long jump to finish second in the event, his third top-three medal of his career. But it couldn’t hide the frustration in his high jump finish.

“My foot slipped every time I went to plant. Just the water threw me off,” Ali said. “I asked them to blow dry it. It was hard for me to jump. I tried to get a serious jump in and almost broke my ankle.”

Ali failed to clear at least 6-6 in the high jump for just the fourth time this season, but three were in each of the last three weeks, and all, prior to Saturday, carried extenuating circumstances. At districts, 6-1 was good enough to win and he quit there to save his legs. At the PHAC meet he stopped after clearing 6-4 because grass on the takeoff area left a dangerous situation much like yesterday’s. And earlier in the season, he won the high jump in a dual meet with 5-8.

Those days all posed reasons for Ali stopping on his own terms. It was not the case Saturday. He just missed on his first jump at 6-6. On his second attempt, his plant foot slid and Ali barely got off the ground. Afterward, Ali looked incredulously at his coaches looking for any answers as to what to do.

On his final attempt, he tried to play it safe so his plant foot wouldn’t slide and he just didn’t have the power to get up and over. Ali pulled his jersey up over his face and nearly ripped it off his own back in frustration.

He settled for a tie for seventh place. LaSalle College’s Jonathon Squadrito won the gold with a height of 6-6. It was just his second time this season clearing 6-6.

“This hurts a lot. I’m not going to lie,” Ali said. “But it’s not the last time I’m going to compete. I’m frustrated. I know that on a good day, nobody here will beat me. It’s just upsetting that in my senior year I didn’t go out the way I wanted to.”

Ali won his only state title as a sophomore when he cleared 6-7 to take the gold medal. He fell back to third place last year behind Notre Dame Green Pond’s Greg Lauray, who won the Class AA title Friday, and Williamsport teammate Terrance Massey-Porter.

He was the top finishing American at the Penn Relays in April and set himself apart from the rest of the state clearing 7 feet in competition three times, including a personal-best mark of 7-1.

“This just teaches you to take the circumstance and accept it and learn to get better,” Ali said.

Ali’s day got started with a surprising finish in the long jump. He was seeded 22nd out of 29 jumpers in the field, but his mark of 21-9 in the preliminaries was good enough to make the finals.

He scratched on what may have been his best jump of the even on his second jump of the finals. It was likely a jump good enough to win the event. But he came back on his third attempt and posted a 22-10 1/4, his best jump of the season, to take second place.

Upper St. Clair’s Har­vey Kane won the event with a mark of 23-0 1/4.

“I came in feeling really good, hit the board good and popped a nice jump,” Ali said. “I know it’s either go in or go home. I went all in and it worked out. I came in seeded terribly, so I can be happy.”

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