Goggins Qualifies For USA Junior Nationals In High Jump
6/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
June 16, 2008
Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate standout track & field participant Perrish Goggins has not slowed down since the school year came to an end in May. The rising sophomore cleared a personal best of 6 feet 10 and one-quarter inches to win the high jump at the USATF South Carolina Junior Olympic Championships held at Winthrop University over the weekend.
By clearing better than 6'10", Goggins qualified to participate in the 2008 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships this weekend, June 20-22, at the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium at Ohio State University. He will compete in the high jump at 3:00 p.m. Sunday. In addition, he has qualified for the USATF Junior Olympic Regional Championships to be held July 10-13 in Rock Hill, S.C., and will compete in both the high jump and the decathlon. If he finishes in the top three, he will qualify for the USATF Junior Olympic National Championships July 22-27 at Burke Stadium in Omaha, Neb.
"It was a big step in my track career," said Goggins. "I really didn't expect it. It's a great feeling to be able to make such an unexpected accomplishment. I am going to focus on doing what I have to do to get the job done. I am extremely excited for what the summer could hold. I know I need to work a little harder so that I can do better. I always want to progress and do my best."
"Jumping 6-10 and a quarter is a huge accomplishment," said Upstate head coach Jimmy Stephens "To do that and qualify for Junior nationals, which is a very prestigious event, is awesome. Most college freshman strive to qualify for Junior Nationals. He will be competing against some big-time athletes and he has stepped up to become a big-time athlete himself."
Goggins, from Columbia, S.C., won the event by bettering second place by over eight inches. He participated against seven other individuals in the high jump. Six of the eight participants cleared heights with Goggins clearing the top height. Breon Jackson finished second in the event, while Giorgio Perrett, from Spartanburg, finished third.
Goggins, Jackson and Perrett each cleared heights up to 6'4". However, Goggins cleared his next height, 6'8", and neither Jackson nor Perrett could match his effort, fouling three times. With the title in hand, Goggins set his sights on finishing as high as he could and cleared a personal best 6'10.25" on his third attempt at that height. He was unable to clear his next attempts at more than 6'11", but easily won the championship. He had previously cleared 6'8" at the A-Sun Indoor Championships in March and had cleared 6'6" outdoors this spring prior to his performance over the weekend.
"The improvement was all of the sudden," said Goggins. "I figure it was motivation. There were these three kids, triplets, who were nine or 10 years old from Mount Pleasant and had competed Saturday. I got to know them and they wanted to stay and watch me compete. They were pretty cool kids and I guess I wanted to do well for them. I had a sense of purpose that it was more than just for me. I wanted them to see how fun it could be, that they would like it and that they would learn from it."
"It felt like I wasn't really running that hard, that it wasn't like normal when I usually sprint to the bar. But, I used acceleration and technique that I had been practicing the last week and it worked."
Goggins was a catalyst as the track & field program turned in solid marks in its first ever season at Upstate. The men's and women's track & field programs were established upon the University moving its athletics program to NCAA Division I status starting in 2007-08. Goggins was clearly the top male performer throughout the season. He was named the Outstanding Freshman Performer at the 2008 A-Sun Indoor Track & Field Championships after finishing second in the men's heptathlon, third in the high jump and fifth in the triple jump. He continued to turn in strong results in the outdoor season. He cleared a height of 6'6" on three different occasions (Furman Invitational, Western Carolina Invitational and A-Sun Championships) and was named the A-Sun Track Athlete of the Week during the season. He held the lead in the decathlon after the first day at the A-Sun Outdoor Championships before settling for a seventh-place finish overall.
