It is solely a competition… A competition between an athlete and the horizontal bar positioned between the two standards. There is a red mat underneath the bar to cushion his fall. The bar is raised to six feet above the ground. It is time for the track athlete to make his way to the bar and get over it swiftly.
This is the process that high jumper Dillon Page (‘22) goes through every winter and spring during his track season at his meets. This marks Page’s fourth year as a high jumper. He has been competing in high jump since the eighth grade, and his journey began the last year of middle school. Throughout middle school, Page has dabbled into an array of different extracurriculars: theater and cross country one year to name a few. When track season ran around the corner in 2018, Page’s gym teacher at Rosa, Mr. Chuenmark told Page that he would make a great addition to the track and field team as a high jumper.
“It’s funny because it wasn’t really something that I knew I wanted to do.” said Page, “ I just told myself to give it a try and see where it would go.
When Page got to high school, he pursued high jumping when track season started. He slowly saw himself make immense progress with the height he was achieving. Perfecting his technique aided the success that he now claims in high jumping as top five in the state. Page has trained with coaches during high jump clinics occasionally to learn new tricks and techniques and strengthen his ability to perform and overcome his negative self talk.
“It’s not really so much of a problem anymore.” said Page, “but before I would tell myself that I couldn’t do it before I would even attempt the jump.”
Now, Page has a growing mindset on how he tackles his jumps. This includes his thought process from running and speeding up his way towards the bar, to performing the fauzberry jump over the bar, to making the ultimate impact with the cushioned mat underneath. He makes sure to constantly remind himself of his ability in high jumping and that he is capable of jumping over the bar each time it is raised to a greater height off of the ground. He does not let the height of the bar dictate how confident he feels about his next jump.
COVID-19 hit mid March of 2020. The spring track season was just starting up. Page was definitely disappointed that his sophomore year spring track season was lost at the expense of a virus, but that did not stop him from strengthening both physically and mentally as a high jump athlete.
“Covid was weird because I feel like it was supposed to make me worse, but it actually did the complete opposite.” said Page, “It made me almost stronger in a way.”
Before COVID-19, Page’s personal best was 6’ 2’’ and his first meet after Covid 19, one year later, he jumped four inches more than his previous personal record. The immense progress shocked Page and had such a great impact on him since he was not able to compete in such a long time due to the pandemic.
Currently, Page stands as the fourth best high jumper in the state of New Jersey. There has never been a boy’s high jumper to rank that high in New Jersey. He is known for his agility and persistence by coaches. Some of his greatest accomplishments have come from the seasons following the pandemic as well as this winter season. For instance, he was able to set a new record of 6’ 6 ¼ ’’ and was named the first boy in East history to win the NJSIAA Meet of Champions, the highest meet in the state, in June of 2021.
If someone were to tell Page that he would be where he was with a sport that he is so passionate about, he would not have believed you.
“I never knew I would be where I am now with high jump; I never knew that I could jump so high,” said Page.
As any typical high schooler would experience finding their place in such a big school or finding that one sport or club to be truly committed to, this journey was no different for Page. High jump is the sport that is very close to his heart and has made Page the person he is today. Page will be continuing his strong passion at Rutgers University-New Brunswick at the D1 level next fall.
“I’ve done stuff when I was younger by trying this and trying that but I really felt like this was the first time in my life where I felt really, truly passionate about something that I see myself doing for a while,” said Page.
As his senior year nears its ending, he wants Cherry Hill High School East to remember him for not only his ability in high jump, but what he was like as a student in the classroom and as a friend outside of class. He hopes that he has left his legacy on East for years to come and hopes to inspire the future for high jumping at East.
“I’m excited but adjusting from high school athletics to the D1 level will be a great adjustment,” said Page.
Page expressed his excitement to transition to a new and better level for the sport that he loves. He likes to focus on the present and hopes to stay consistent for the rest of his high school track season as a cougar.
“From freshman year, Dillon was already clearing six feet.” said Coach Anthony Maniscalco, “We saw potential in him immediately. He has been one of our best jumpers since..”
Maniscalco expresses the great pride he feels in seeing Page jump the bar each meet and receiving The Jumper of the Year Award his freshman year. Maniscalco knew that Page would work his way to break school records on the high level.
“I am incredibly proud of him. Page has also helped the team with hurdling since he is one of our bests,” said Maniscalco.
High jump will always be something that Page cherishes and be a part of who he is as an individual. When it comes to the competition between him and the bar, Page will do everything he can to beat the bar. He will be taking the end of his high school career and the beginning of a brand new chapter of his life one step at a time, excited about his new athletic journey in the future.