A jump to remember

Carl Nesbitt can’t fly, but he certainly can soar.

The rising senior at Vestavia Hills High School earned All-American honors in the high jump this June by finishing in the top six at New Balance Nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina. Nesbitt cleared the bar at a personal-best height of 6 feet, 8.25 inches to secure a sixth-place finish in the boys championship division.

“Going into it, that was my goal, but I really didn’t think that was too attainable,” Nesbitt said, “because there are 33 people jumping, you have to finish top six, and I’m going against the best people in the entire country.”

Nesbitt’s previous personal best was 6-8, but he hadn’t jumped that high in a meet since winning the Class 7A state indoor title in February 2016. He credited his breakthrough to a transformational stretch of training. 

After settling for a runner-up finish at May’s state meet — where he jumped 6-6 — he said he worked harder than ever before in the six weeks prior to New Balance.

He hired a personal trainer and, for the first time, he started lifting weights. 

“Everyone is three inches to five inches taller than me,” said Nesbitt, 6-1, of his competition. “I have to have a lot more power to get up than those guys do.”

He also modified his pre-jump mechanics. Working with Lance Lenoir, a former University of Alabama high jumper, Nesbitt changed the distance and angle of his approach. Instead of running a tight curve toward the bar, he “smoothed” it out and rounded his trajectory.

“I knew that he had the talent,” said Lenoir, who has held the state’s 5A high school high jump record since 1986. “All he had to do was move out 3 1/2 feet and get his rhythm under control, and everything else would take care of itself.”

Nesbitt’s investment in training paid off June 18. 

On the final day of New Balance, he cleared bars at 6-4, 6-6 and finally 6-8.25. He overcame a precarious start.

In his five-year career, Nesbitt had never faced as tall of an opening height, 6-4, as he did in Greensboro. But that wasn’t why his heart was thumping as he strode toward the pit. 

Due to the volume of the music roaring over the stadium’s public address system, Nesbitt had missed the meet official call his name to jump. He was still on the ground lacing up his spikes when he realized he had only 30 seconds remaining for his opening attempt. 

He cleared it with ease.

“I was incredibly relieved,” he said, “because I was stressed out.”

The stakes rose with the bar, but Nesbitt stayed grounded mentally. He cleared the next height, 6-6, on his first attempt before soaring over the bar that fulfilled his long-held aspirations.

Nesbitt had known he could jump from his days in youth basketball, when he outrebounded opponents thanks more to his springiness than size. But he didn’t think his ability would take him this far. The All-American status is coveted by many but attained by few. 

Nesbitt eclipsed 6-8.25 on his second try, stamping his name into history. 

“He sort of has a personal push there inside him that really drives him to want to get that next height,”  said Brett Huber, VHHS head track and field coach. “If he jumps 6-8.25 today, then tomorrow he wants to jump 6-9.”

After the event concluded, Nesbitt shook the hands of the officials overseeing the competition. Then he found his mother, Carla, on the side of the track and shed a tear on her shoulder.

He had accomplished what he came for. He couldn’t believe it.

“It’s just crazy to think about where God can put you,” he said.