As high jumper Jeremiah Gilliam glared at his upcoming opponent, a rusty metal bar with a maximum height of 6 feet and 7 inches, the rising junior had only one thing in mind during the UIL District 6A track meet… win.

“I was so focused on making that jump, everything in my body was tingling and I’ll I wanted to do was go out there and dominate. My countless hours of training and practicing has prepared me to do my best” said Gilliam.

High jump has always been a successful event for Gilliam, as he carries consecutive records dating back to his middle school track days at Spring Branch Middle School. This is wear Gilliam found his true passion of high jumping at a young age.

“I always had knack for jumping high, whether it was trying to reach something or proving to others. I found my passion early on in middle school as I thought it would be something fun and different” said Gilliam.

As a sophomore, standout Gilliam showed much potential as he placed top three in six out of the eight meets he competed in during his 2017 campaign. Gilliam jumped best last year at the 2017 UIL 6A District Meet, as he has lead the Ranger’s to a second place finish in high jump with a height of 6 feet 4 inches, setting a new personal best for the rising sophomore. The star athlete also competed in various other events outside of high jump including 110m hurdles, 300m hurdles, long jump, and triple jump.

When asked about his previous experience competing on the varsity track squad, Gilliam said, “As a sophomore I was really excited to compete with the varsity track team, going against competition of that standard will only make me a better athlete.”

This year the star junior has dominated the competition during his high jump events as he has placed top three in all of the seven track meets this year, and has even placed first in four of the meets. This type of success is hard to come by and doesn’t come without hard work, determination, and overall sheer will to be great.

“This year has taught me a lot of what it means to be a competitor, I’ve learned multiple aspects of what it’s like to be a leader on and off the track.” said Gilliam

Gilliam has recently placed second at the UIL 6A district meet this past weekend where the star jumper qualified for the Regional meet at The University of Texas on April 27-28.