By Joe O’Leary The Mountain Times
Track and Field is composed of loads of events that all require unique athletic abilities which take countless hours of fine tuning to master. However, no matter the event, the common goal of the athlete is quite simple: get a slightly better time, distance or height than you did the last time.
“There’s not much going through my head [before jumping]. I’m just trying to think ‘jump higher this time. Jump high, run fast,’” Sandy High School sophomore high jumper Topher Gabel said. And jump high he has: this year Gabel has broken the school’s high jump record not once, but twice.
Originally breaking the Sandy record with a 6 -foot 9.75-inch jump on April 5, Gabel’s current personal best is now 6-foot 10-inches,
“In eighth grade I checked national rankings and saw I was near the top. That was when I really realized I needed to start focusing more on it,” Gabel said. Gabel originally planned to start track and field in the sixth grade, but complications from the pandemic caused him to start in the seventh grade instead. Gabel played basketball for quite some time but quit this year to put all of his attention towards track.
“A big part of it is training to run faster. The more speed you can get on your approach the more energy you have to convert into a higher jump. I’m just always trying to get stronger and more generally physically fit,” Gabel explained. Gabel also noted training programs of first-year track coach Noberto Aguilara as a massive help in developing him into the level of competitor he has become. It seems that this year has come with a big increase in general support for the team as a whole.
“The workouts focus on things that have really helped me improve instead of just tiring me out. Then we got new uniforms and track jackets from our booster club,” Gabel said.
It is particularly noteworthy that Gabel’s record-breaking pedigree has come on so early in his high school career. The fact that Gabel has emerged as top competitor in Oregon high school high jumping so early makes everyone, including Gabel himself, wonder what the future may hold.
“I already have a lot of things planned out. Setting goals and planning out what sort of extra things I can add so I can go to college,” Gabel said. There seems to be a great amount of self-motivation behind Gabel’s rise this season – however, the sophomore touched on how important the support system around him has been to his ability to grow inside and outside of athletics.
“My family is definitely important to me. I have a close relationship with my mom. She definitely supports me with a lot of hard times,” Gabel said.
As far as numbers go, Gabel only had one figure as an answer for what he hopes to jump by the end of his senior season. “Seven four. Because that would be a state record.”