COLUMBUS – It looked like Olivia DeRodes made it up and over and was moving on.
Competing in the high jump competition at the Division I state track and field meet, DeRodes breezed through her first two heights, at 5-feet and 5-2.
Making her second attempt at 5-4, DeRodes made it up and over the height, only to barely catch it with the heel of her foot on the way down, dislodging the bar and sending her back for her third, and final attempt.
“Five-foot and 5-2 felt really good,” DeRodes said. “At 5-4, my first attempt was kind of rocky and then my second attempt was really close.”
So close, in fact, Ross high jump coach Mike Rankin was so sure DeRodes had cleared it, he turned his back before the bar fell from its perch.
“Foolish me, being too confident, I guess,” Rankin said. “Her back, hips, everything was way over and I’m like, ‘Yes, ok, no problem.’ Then I turned my head again and I saw her heel clip it and said, ‘You gotta be kidding me!’
“The girl from Rocky River had just did the same exact thing the jump before and the bar didn’t fall. It’s just one of those days.”
With little time to get over her near-miss, DeRodes mistimed her third jump, knocked the bar down on her final attempt to clear 5-4, ending her day and placing her 12th in the state.
“It was going really quick so I didn’t have that much time after the second attempt,” DeRodes said. “I think I rushed myself a little bit on the third attempt.”
Rankin said the third jump, facing elimination, is probably the most difficult aspect of the sport.
“You always want to get things on your first attempt because when you’re at your third attempt, you’re everywhere (mentally),” he said. “Your brain is, ‘Ok, what did I wrong on the first two?’…You’re just everywhere, you’re all over the place.
“Olivia is a tough kid, but under pressure like this, even the toughest have their breaking points and I think today this was it. That third attempt, it’s rough. That’s a hard jump.”
While she would have liked to have cleared 5-4 and placed a little higher, DeRodes takes solace from the experience gained and knowing she still had another year and a chance for a third trip to Columbus.
“I felt more comfortable (at the state meet),” she said. “Even in warm-ups, it feelt a lot less stressful than last year. I was trying to stay relaxed and have fun with it. I felt good, but 5-4 kind of hit me hard, but it felt a lot better.”
Looking at the strides DeRodes made in the past year is another reason for optimism. As a sophomore, she cleared just 5-1 at the state meet. After being blocked at 5-2 until the midpoint of her junior season, she finally broke through the height and is consistently clearing it with ease. She also set a program record at 5-feet, 5.5-inches earlier this spring.
If, as a senior, she can continue to shore up her consistency in the 5-4, 5-5 range, a place on the podium in 2019 is a realistic possibility.
“I think I can for sure,” DeRodes said. “I’m excited. It should be good next year too. My goal is 5-7. After clearing 5-5.5, I think I could have gotten 5-6 that day and I think I still have more in me. I think I can clear that by next year.”
Said Rankin: “I think next year, were’ going to come back and try to do a whole lot better.
“I think, personally, with the talent she has and as good as an athlete as she really is, I think she can do it.”