High School Player of the Week : Patrick Is Getting a Jump on the Competition

Lynn Patrick had never jumped 5-feet 10-inches before Saturday.

In fact, the Serra High School high jumper had only cleared 5-8 twice in her life. The second time was last Friday in qualifying for the state track and field finals at Sacramento.

Entering Saturday’s competition, Patrick knew the winning height would be at least two inches over her previous best.

“Last year, as a freshman, I came in 14th in the state,” said Patrick, 16. “My goal this year was that I wanted to get at least seventh. Everyone was clearing 5-7 and 5-8, so I was getting kind of nervous.”

The field thinned considerably as the bar was raised. Six jumpers made 5-8, but only two, Patrick and Lori Svoboda of Placentia Eldorado, cleared 5-9.

Now she was vying for first place in the state, but the bar was at 5-10 and she would have to surpass her personal best for the second time in a matter of minutes.

“The highest I’d ever tried was 5-10,” Patrick said. “I came close a few times, but I never cleared it. I just mentally told myself I could do it. I usually do better when there’s competition, so I was pretty confident.”

Patrick, The Times’ San Diego County High School Athlete of the Week, cleared the bar. Svoboda failed and finished second. For several minutes after her winning jump, she struggled to comprehend what it meant to win her event at the largest state track and field meet in the nation.

“I guess I was just numb,” she said. “I didn’t really feel it until I walked down from the pit to collect my stuff. Then I felt, I don’t know. It’s hard to say.”

Patrick is much more at ease articulating her goals for next year than trying to recount the sensations of victory.

“I’m just going to try to keep it up and work harder,” she said. “I want to clear 6-0.”

It will be difficult for Patrick to surpass her accomplishments of the past year.

In the fall, she led Serra’s volleyball team to the section playoffs and was named first-team all-section and the City Eastern League’s Most Valuable Player. After the volleyball team was eliminated in the playoffs, she switched to basketball and led the Conquistadors in rebounds and earned all-league honors.

Patrick’s three varsity sports have one thing in common: jumping. She discovered this aptitude while participating in the President’s Physical Fitness Program in elementary school. But for most of her childhood, she confined her athletic activity to sports that kept her closer to the ground.

“I played soccer and softball my whole life,” she said. “When I got to high school, I wanted to do something different . . . so I went out for the volleyball team.”

When Patrick first tried out for track, she tried both high jumping and long jumping, but she quickly gave up long jumping.

“It really didn’t interest me,” she said.

As Patrick looks toward her final two years of high school, she is weighing her priorities. During the past year, she had to juggle her schoolwork with her three sports and her tasks as a student senator. To lighten her schedule in the future, Patrick is thinking of giving up basketball.

“I’m playing year-round volleyball right now,” she said. “But track is up there.”