Click the thumbnails to see videos and photos from UP Finals, and to hear Hamlin's post-jump interview.
KINGSFORD---In just a few short months, Escanaba sophomore high jumper Andrew Hamlin has raised expectations sky-high as this track season wore on. So much so that winning the Upper Peninsula championship was kind of a disappointment.
That's because Hamlin broke the Eskymo school record three different times in the regular season, with his best being a 6-foot-8 jump. But on Saturday, Hamlin eeked out a UP title by finishing with a 6-foot-2 jump, breaking a tie with Kingsford's Jaron Brown, Junior, to take the championship.
Hamlin was thankful for the championship, but he has set his standards so high that he vowed to “be better”. He is the fourth-ranked sophomore in the country in that event.
“It feels good, I mean, it was a rough, rough finish,” Hamlin said, with several TV stations and other media surrounding him. “I mean, we got it done at the end. I mean, I'm happy to be here (as UP champion) but I'm a little disappointed in myself and how I performed. I know I can do better and I'll be back next year.”
Had he jumped his best (6-8), he would have tied the meet record set by Menominee's Brady Schultz. So what went “wrong”, with that word being firmly in quotes?
“That's a good question,” Hamlin said. “Personally, I'm not even entirely sure. I'd like to know because something really didn't work. I changed my run-up coming into this. I felt good, but I just didn't jump good today. I was jumping too far over the middle of the bar, and there was a lot of stuff together that did not work.”
And, again, remember, he won the Upper Peninsula Division One high jump title.
Hamlin also competed in the long jump, and finished fourth in that event.
Now, Saturday's event in Kingsford was a big one, but Hamlin is getting ready for an even bigger one. He was invited to compete in the NIKE Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, on June 20th.
“It's a huge meet,” Hamlin said. “It's one of the biggest in the country for high schoolers. I've wanted to be in this for the whole year. So, I'm able to jump there, which I'm very happy. Coming off of this, today, with how I jumped today, now I know I've got to fix some stuff, stuff to clean up. It's good for me, though. Hopefully it will push me and I'll be able to do better than I did today.”
And, again, remember, Andrew Hamlin won the UP high jump championship.
