Whitehall junior Ayden Mendoza sent a massive early message Wednesday, March 19, at the Grand Valley State Laker Challenge, breaking the Vikings' school high jump record by posting a mark of 6-10.
The leap earned him first place in the event, with teammate Camden Thompson placing second with a mark of 6-4.
The Whitehall record was previously 6-7, originally set by Mark VanBlargan in 1979. Thompson tied that mark at the 2023 state finals when he placed second.
Mendoza ended the 2024 season by high jumping 6-3 at state, tying his season's best and coming one inch shy of his career best. Adding half a foot to his career high in the nine months since is no small feat and has come thanks to a lot of work with Whitehall jumping coach Harold Schneider.
"Ayden has always loved high jump," Whitehall boys coach Kirk Mikkelson said. "His freshman year, he had high hopes of being great at high jump and he had Cam there to train with, who had just set the freshman school record. Because of his love of that event, Ayden worked extra hard at it. Cam did a great job of keeping him on task and mentoring him."
Mikkelson said by the time he realized what Mendoza was doing - he was making his way through other events - Mendoza had already cleared 6-8 to beat the Whitehall school record. He then saw Mendoza clear both 6-9 and 6-10; very aware of the rarity of Mendoza's accomplishment, fans and athletes alike had eyes on him by the time he cleared 6-10, sending the area into "absolute pandemonium," said Mikkelson.
"I had no words at that point as Ayden was working his magic," Mikkelson added.
Mikkelson is optimistic that Mendoza and Thompson can push each other to great achievement this year and hopes one of them can even take a run at jumping seven feet, which has only been done twice this century at the MHSAA level.
Two other Vikings achieved top-10 finishes outside the high jump. Graysen Olstrom tied for seventh place in the pole vault with a mark of 12-0 to open his sophomore campaign, and Mason Mulnix took eighth in the 60-meter dash, finishing in 7.14 seconds.
Whitehall also finished eighth in two relay races. The team of Andon Palmer, Mulnix, Corde Anderson and Tyler Van Antwerp ran a time of 2:30.95 to
take eighth in the 1,200-meter relay, and Palmer, Drew Boeringa, Van Antwerp and Stewart Waters were eighth in the 2,400 relay.
Reeths-Puffer had a good deal of success in the challenge as well. The 1,200-meter relay team of Mason Darke, London Rankin, Marvin Moore and Cole Piper was the top Rocket finisher, placing second in a time of 2:26.7. Darke was also third in the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.36 seconds.
Reeths-Puffer freshman Raquel Walker was a standout performer in the girls challenge, which took place Thursday. Walker, a freshman, placed fifth in long
jump with a mark of 17-0.5. She also helped the 1,200-meter relay team finish eighth, along with Jersi Bilek, Addison Mitchelson and Melana Johnson, with a time of 3:01.8.
Cami Kraai was the top finisher for the Whitehall girls, placing 11th in the 1,600 run in a time of 5:27.6.
