Fair is Good Enough for Fischer in High Jump Victory

A height of 6 feet 10 3/4 inches was mediocre by Jeremy Fischer’s lofty standards, but it was enough to win the high jump Thursday in the USA-Canada Junior track and field meet at State University of New York at Buffalo.

The U.S. men’s team won 10 of 12 events to take an 80-49 lead over Canada after the first day of the two-day meet.

The victory kept Fischer--a 1994 graduate of Camarillo High--undefeated in outdoor competition this season, but snapped a streak of seven consecutive finals in which he cleared 7 feet or higher.

Fischer, who set a regional record of 7-4 at the Santa Barbara Easter Relays in March, has cleared 7 feet or higher in 11 meets this season. Henry Patterson of the U.S. finished second at 6-8 3/4 Thursday, followed by Canadians Mark Boswell (6-8 3/4) and Kevin Grant (6-8 3/4).

“He just seems to jump better when he has to,” Camarillo Coach Dennis Riedmiller said when informed of Fischer’s performance. “I guess that means he’s going to have to do it in the (World Junior Championships) next week.”

The “it” that Fischer is shooting for is the state high school record of 7-4 1/2 set by Maurice Crumby of San Francisco Balboa High in 1983.

Fischer has taken 15 jumps this season at heights which would have broken or equaled the state record, but fallen short.

After clearing 7-4 in Santa Barbara, he missed three times at 7-5 1/2. He did likewise after making 7-3 at the Mt. San Antonio Relays in April.

He won the Southern Section Division I title at 7-2 1/4 in May before missing three attempts at 7-4 3/4, and he missed three times at 7-4 1/2 after winning last month’s Golden West Invitational at 7-2.

Three weeks ago, he cleared 7-2 1/2 to win the USA Track & Field Junior Championships before missing three times at 7-5.

The World Junior championships in Lisbon, Portugal, July 20-24, will be Fischer’s 23rd--and final--meet of the season.

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