Abdulbasid Shodolu had a season-best 5-10 in the high jump last spring for Highland, cleared 6-0 twice in his high school career – outdoors as a junior, indoors as a senior – and never finished higher than 12th at states.
Look at him now.
Shodolu, now a freshman at Rutgers-Camden, cleared 6-4 ¾ at Ocean Breeze this weekend, some 4 ¾ inches above his high school PR.
In his first collegiate meet, also at Ocean Breeze, he PR’d at 6-0 ¾, before his huge breakthrough on Friday afternoon.
Shodolu cleared 5-10 ¾ and 6-0 ¾ on his third attempts before PR’ing for the first time with a 6-2 ¾ on his 1st jump and then PR’ing again at 6-4 ¾ on his 1st try. He took three jumps at 6-6 ¾.
Rutgers-Camden’s top high jumper is Shodolu’s high school teammate, Jayden Deleon, who is now his teammate again at Rutgers-Camden. Deleon was the indoor Meet of Champions winner last year – also at Ocean Breeze – and is tied for No. 2 in NCAA Division 3 so far this year at 6-8 ¾, which he’s cleared twice. DeLeon has a PR of 6-10 ¼ from last year’s indoor South Jersey Group 3 Sectionals at Toms River.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 