Stephenson returns to reset high jump record

When she woke up last Friday morning, Ally Stephenson didn’t even know if she would compete.

When she went to bed Friday night, she had yet another school record in her possession.

Stephenson won yet another high jump competition and exceeded her own Kingfisher High School mark last week at the Kingfisher High School Invitational.

The freshman cleared 5 feet, 6 inches in her second attempt to beat out Jones’ Tirah Moore for the gold medal.

It also raised the bar on her own school record, which previously stood at 5-5, a mark she set earlier in the month at Deer Creek.

Winning the high jump has become nothing new for Stephenson this year, despite consistently being the shortest competitor at only 5-foot-3.

However, Friday’s meet was far from a sure thing. Stephenson had missed Kingfisher’s previous two meets with a hip flexor strain and hadn’t practiced in more than a week.

“It was a sharp pain in my hip every time I would move my knee to my chest,” Stephenson said.

“It was pretty painful.”

She wasn’t cleared to compete until Friday morning, but once again got the job done and helped the Lady Jackets to a runner-up finish in the team standings (see related story on 8A).

When the season started, the school record stood at 5-1. Stephenson quickly set the new mark at 5-2 and has broken it twice more since.

“She has a rare combination of athleticism and flexibility,” noted KHS track coach Micah Nall. “She has a gymnastics background which allows her to hang in the air. Her timing over the bar to bend and kick is what sets her apart from other taller girls who can’t jump as high.”

And, added Nall, Stephenson has genetics and grit.

“She seems to have springs in her feet and she has the determination to jump even higher,” he said.

Stephenson is tied with Jay’s Brittany Reece with the best jump in 4A this season. Reece achieved her mark April 16 at Vinita.