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Carly Tarentino, who has been stuck at 5-4 in the high jump this spring, has been waiting all season to raise bar back to the heights she's made in the past.
The sophomore at Johnson finally got the performance she was hoping for on Thursday, and it happened in dramatic and record-breaking fashion when she soared over the bar at 5-6 1/2 on her first attempt to break the meet record at the Union County Championships at Hub Stine Field in Plainfield.
Tarentino''s 5-6 1/2 is NJ#2 this season and it broke the meet record of 5-6 that was set in 1983 by Tracey Young of Union and matched by Alexa Williams of Dayton in 2011.
After she made 5-6 1/2, the bar was moved to 5-8 as Tarentino attempted to equal the overall Union County that is shared by Williams, Young and Rita Christopher of Linden (1979). While she wasn't successful at 5-8, it seems like just a matter of time before this rising star clears 5-8 and higher!
Tarentino burst on the scene as a freshman last year with a sensational year in the high jump.
Last spring, she placed third at the state outdoor Group 2 meet, seventh at the Meet of Champions, and capped off her remarkable rookie year by clearing a personal best 5-7 last June when she was third in the Emerging Elite Division at the New Balance Nationals.
This past winter, Tarentino won the state Group 1 title, was first at the Union County Championships, was sixth at the Meet of Champions, and made 5-6 multiple times.
After she made 5-6 1/2 on Thursday, Tarentino was all smiles when she talked about her performance, her goals, and how honored she is to be the new meet record holder at the Union County Championships. Check out the interview with her above.
