Semiahmoo Secondary graduate Alexa Porpaczy, who now competes at the University of Arizona, set a new personal-best mark when she cleared the bar at 1.83 m last weekend at the Willie Williams Classic in Tucson, Ariz. (University of Arizona photo)

South Surrey high-jumper sets personal-best mark at NCAA meet

Alexa Porpaczy among top-ranked high-jumpers in NCAA and Canada

Five years ago, as a 15-year-old track-and-field star at Semiahmoo Secondary, high-jumper Alexa Porpaczy told Peace Arch News that it was her goal to clear a bar as tall as she was – no easy feet for someone who stands five-foot-11.

“My coach always says that to be a really great high-jumper, you have to be able to jump over your own head, so that’s always been a goal of mine, to get to that point,” she said at the time, noting she would have to clear 1.8 metres in order to accomplish that goal.

And while she’s come close many times – Porpaczy has been ranked at or near the top of her age-group among Canadian high-jumpers for years – last weekend in Tucson, Ariz. the South Surrey athlete, now 20 and competing for the University of Arizona, jumped her height and then some – clearing the bar at 1.83 m (six feet) at the NCAA’s Willie Williams Classic.

The mark was a personal best, and also ranked Porpaczy, a sophomore, second in the entire NCAA among female high-jumpers at outdoor meets. Her height of 1.83 m is actually tied for first, but Porpaczy ranks second as a result of having one more jump than her competitor.

The NCAA’s outdoor season has only just begun, but Porpaczy’s mark is currently the tops in Canada and tied for fifth in the world.


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