When clearing the bar in high jump, there’s a science behind every approach.
“I tend to do more shorter approach work than full approach work, just so I can get the time and get my speed,” said Ryan Buskey, a senior on the track and field team at Colonie High School.
For Buskey, every step matters when high jumping up to seven feet, especially if he wants to break more records and win another state title.
“It definitely felt natural,” Buskey said. “Forever, I just had a natural gift to jump high.”
For the last two years, Buskey has been the top scholastic high jumper in New York. He’s tied the state record clearing the bar at 7’3”, and winning three state championships along the way.
“It’s definitely a surreal thing, especially for the first time I cleared it,” he said.
As a basketball player growing up, Buskey’s father got him into track and field as a way to stay in shape during the offseason. Right away, he showed he was different.
“The high jump school record was five feet, and the first time I ever jumped, he put the bar at 5’1” and I cleared it. So that’s really what got me into this,” Buskey said.
Buskey was soon hanging up the basketball shoes and going all in with track and field at Colonie High School. Whether it was the 400 meter or the high jump, he was getting a lot of interest.
“When I jumped seven feet in October my junior year, that’s when schools really started looking back into me,” he said.
Buskey has committed to the University of Georgia. But before he heads down south, there’s a few more things he wants to accomplish – a fourth state championship, win New Balance Nationals and break the state record.
“Seven-four is definitely the biggest goal I have this year,” Buskey said. “I’ve taken so many great attempts at it. It’s just the timing. So once I get that timing down, I’m 100% going to clear that bar.”