Kentridge’s Cronk soars to new heights in high jump

At 6 feet, 8 inches tall, Tyler Cronk is hard to miss. And when he’s high jumping, the Kentridge High School junior is even harder to miss.

Cronk, who set a school record with a 7-1 jump this year, is ranked fourth in the country among high school high jumpers, according to the track and field website Athletic.net.

His record-setting jump was at the Ray Cockrum Relays on March 25 in Wenatchee.

“I really thought I wasn’t going to do that good because in long jump I didn’t do that well,” Cronk said. “When I started to jump, it felt really good. I was in the rhythm. I just went up by 2 inches each time. When I went up to 7 feet, I was like wow, something is going on. My adrenaline was going. … When I made 7-1, it is was a really good experience, but I was kind of tired as well.”

His performance earned him celebrity status at the meet.

“I got noticed by a lot of people,” he said. “People wanted pictures, people from other schools. … It felt weird because I really don’t get noticed. Last year, I only jumped 6-5. I was just one of those sophomore kids. This year just coming out of the blue people didn’t know me as well but now they do.”

Cronk’s skills were tested at the Pasco Invitational on April 15 when he faced some of the state’s top high jumpers. With a 6-10 jump, Cronk finished second behind Jakobe’ Ford, a senior at Spokane’s Shadle Park High School, who jumped 7-0. Ford won the 3A state title last season with a meet record jump of 7-1. Mitchell Jacobosen, a Walla Walla High senior, took third at Pasco with a 6-10 jump.

Cronk’s performance in Pasco pleased Kentridge coach Al Waltner.

“I was curious to see how he would respond after now everyone knows about him,” Waltner said. “Now you are the No. 1 high jumper going into this competition. How are you going to do when you are in a big meet? He really responded well. In fact, his first jump, my goodness, he made 6-2 by a foot. It was his best jump of the day. When I saw him do that all the sudden I was like Tyler is OK.”

Cronk hopes to jump even higher.

“I know I hit 7-1,” he said. “I want to be able to reach higher then that, go 7-3, maybe 7-5, maybe hit one of those,” he said. “I am just going to have to keep working on my technique.”

After narrowly missing a state berth last season, he is more motivated to qualify for the championship this year and hopefully earn a spot on the podium.

Cronk, who also plays basketball for the Chargers, first tried high jumping in middle school but took his freshman year off to focus on school.

“My sophomore year, I was like I am going do track because my grades were better,” he said. “I just went straight to high jump. I started jumping 6 feet. I was like ‘OK, I’ve grown since eighth grade.’”

Cronk’s height gives him an advantage, Waltner said.

“There’s other people who high jump, but they aren’t going to be 7-foot high jumpers,” Waltner said. “He has the build of a high jumper. He is going to be a high jumper.”

Waltner said he is excited to see how much Cronk improves.

“There’s a handful of kids that jump 7-feet every year,” Waltner said. “He’s one of the best and he’s just a junior and he is still learning. … You don’t get an athlete with that kind of talent and all the right pieces. Those don’t come around that often.”

Not only is Cronk a talented athlete, he also sings bass in the school choir. He missed a couple of meets in early April while on a choir trip to Southern California.

“I am one of those interesting dudes that does basketball and track and knows how to sing,” he said. “I can’t really sing the high notes, but I can hit the lower notes.”