Rowan senior Harrison Escoffery joined the 7-foot club last weekend, winning the high jump at the Fastrack National Invite at the Ocean Breeze facility with his first lifetime seven-foot clearance.
Escoffery, a Hackensack graduate, opened at 6-6 1/4 and cleared on his first attempt. He and Tra-C Davis of Shippensburg then were both clean at 6-8 1/4 and 6-10 1/4. Both then missed all three tries at 7-0 1/4, so some sort of jump-off was held.
According to the results, both cleared 6-11 and the bar was moved up to 6-11 3/4 and both missed. But instead of the bar moving back down, according to the results it moved up to 7-0 1/4, which they both cleared. Then it moved up to 7-1 1/2, which they both missed. But instead of the bar moving back down, apparently that was the end of the competition and they tied for first. Davis has a PR of 7-1 from earlier this month
In any case, Escoffery’s previous PR was 6-10 3/4 at a meet at Lehigh back in December. His outdoor PR is also 6-10 3/4 from the NJAC meet last spring.
Escoffery is also ranked 15th in NCAA Division 3 in the triple jump at 47-1 1/2.
Rowan’s school record indoors is 7-0 1/2, set three years ago by Jeffrey Tucker, who is now a Rowan senior and is a three-time All-America in the high jump and long jump. The overall program record of 7-0 3/4 was set in 1982 by Princeton graduate Pete Sharpless.
Escoffery is tied for the No. 1 ranking in NCAA Division 1 with Justin Lewis of Worcester State, who cleared 7-0 1/2 at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association championships earlier this month at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, Mass., just outside Boston. Lewis, a sophomore, has a PR of 7-1, set last spring when he won the NCAA Division 3 national title in Geneva, Ohio. Escoffery was ninth in that meet.
Escoffery was named New Jersey Athletic Conference Field Athlete of the Week for his performance.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 