Keyword: Perseverance.

I started the meet w/ the jitters. I knew I had a lot riding on this meet since it happened to be the Biggest Meet of the Year, Showcasing the Best Jumpers From Washington to Maryland. There was a good 3 hr rain delay before prelims and I was starving. So I had my 3 piece from popeyes and started warming up. Doesnt sound like a good idea but I needed something in my belly. 

For some strange reason I couldnt jump over not one bar in warmups before the prelims or finals. I was struggling terribly both times. But i was able to bounce back and didnt really miss a bar through until 2.20 (7ft2.5in).

I feel pretty good with my performance but after realizing that Worlds Qualifying mark is 2.28 (7ft5.75) minimum, its back to the drawing board because I dont feel no where near ready. Thats a whole nother league I might try and dabbling in the future.

FYI: Im claiming Nigerian Citizenship for World Athletics

P.S. Congrats to the BIG 10 and NCAA Television crew especially for making thousands of people watch 3000m steeplechases and 5,000m cross country races on the track but air 5 seconds of the winner but non-winning jump of some of jumping events.

Its been a long season. I thought back to how much work I put in in contrast w/ my recent akeles tendonitis. I rehabed da hell out of the injury and I felt somewhat ready to go. After the 10+ hr bus ride to Penn State my jump practice a couple days before Big Ten Conference Championships was nothing more than straight booty. I couldnt get off the ground and felt like I was carrying 10 lb rocks in my shoes. My approach felt pretty good and I guess that is all I could make sure was right. I knew come showtime that I probably wouldnt feel that way so I tried as much as possible to keep the head high and confident.

Confidence- is generally described as a state of being certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective.

Something I believe is the most important part of High Jump as an event. I felt good over 6'8 all the way through to 6'11.5". At this point it was just 4 of us. Minnesota's Fisher, Indiana U.'s Droudin and Penn State's Fritz and I, the only one with misses at the previous heights. In the end i missed out on a PB(personal best) and the standings resulted with some of the top jumpers in the nation giving me a thrashing. Ill go to the last chance meet this weekend to get another shot at 2.18 which is probable to be the magic # for NCAA National qualifying.

Another day at the office. 

I feel like I've been putting a lot of focus on my strength training and also on video recordings of my meets with the coach. Sooner or later, I keep tellin myself "its all going to pay off". 

This past weekend I was at Notre Dame for the Meyo Invite. I knew what to expect. The great competition, the fast and slightly down hill track and the great atmosphere (loud clappers). Expectation was pretty high going into the meet.

I stayed loose and zoned in on what my weaknesses were from the previous meet. All I did was make sure my approach to the bar was quick and clean as well as my foot placement for takeoff. There were 36 or so jumpers. So I chose to start at 2.05 which is a couple inches higher den normal, hoping the field of jumpers would cripple but nevertheless there were still 20 or so jumpers left. 

I tried to stay aggressive and made 2.05, 2.08, 2.11 and 2.14 all on first attempts. I felt on a roll. First attempt at 2.17 wasnt really good because I didnt commit fully into the jump. Second attempt was a nail biter, just didnt put the money in the bank. Third attempt, I took off a little too close and didnt hit the sweet spot over the bar.

So far my season has been 2.10, 2.10, 2.10, 2.10 and now 2.14

Hope this stays going in the right direction