Talk about a jump in competition. High school sophomore Jenna Rogers of Rutherford, New Jersey will be competing with Olympians Vashti Cunningham, Inika McPherson, and Priscilla Frederick in the 111th Millrose Games on Friday, February 3rd at the Armory in New York.
Rogers opened her first ever indoor season with a 5-10 US#1 clearance at the AT&T Coaches Hall of Fame Invitational, moving her up to third all-time among New Jersey indoor high jumpers. Her career best came in the form of a national freshmen and New Jersey state record last spring during New Balance Nationals Outdoor when she cleared a break out height of 6-00.75 for the win. Her best going into that meet was 5-08, an improvement of over four inches from a height already impressive for an athlete her age.
The freshmen national record that was broken? That was Vashti Cunningham's 2013 jump of 6-00.25. Cunningham went on to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics where she cleared 6-04.5 in the prelims before finishing 13th overall at 6-02 in the finals. She also won the IAAF World Indoor Championships that year with her career best 6-06.25, the current World U-20 indoor record.
Cunningham is joined by her USA Olympic teammate Inika McPherson who finished 10th in Rio at 6-04. A talented jumpers duel that will draw a crowd on it's own merit.