Five-feet, one-inch is a height high-jumper Katt Miner has cleared with ease hundreds if not thousands of times in competitions and practices during her Frontier Regional School career.
But 5-foot, 1-inch never looked as high as it did on Jan. 14.
I caught up with Miner Monday afternoon on the phone as she walked across campus in Ann Arbor to practice.
Miner made her freshman debut for the Michigan University women’s high jump team during the Simmons-Harvey Invitational two weeks ago on the Michigan campus. The Wolverines, who just so happen to be the nation’s 11th-ranked women’s indoor track & field team, hosted the event which featured a number of other area colleges, including Eastern Michigan, Michigan State and Detroit.
After months of practice, Miner finally got the opportunity to attempt her first official collegiate jump, and the field came in at 5-1, which, just to illustrate the difference, was a height at the Central/West Division II outdoor meet this past spring. There, only one high jumper cleared the height: Miner. She won the Central/West title by clearing 5-2 that day.
Miner is now at a place where athletes open meets at heights similar to what WMass’ best high school jumpers clear. Heck, only 17 girls at the spring All-State meet cleared that height.
But, again, 5-1 has not been a height that has given the 5-foot-11 Miner much in the way of trouble for at least a few years now as she paved her way into the record book at Frontier, where her record of 5-9 is not likely to be matched any time soon. But there is something to be said about making your collegiate debut and the nerves associated with it.
“I was unbelievably nervous,” Miner said of her first meet. “Some of the other freshmen high jumpers and me were talking before and I’m pretty much shaking at that point.”
It did help that mother Joanne and father Dave made the flight to Ann Arbor to watch her in person.
“I was really happy they were able to come. Their support means a lot,” she said.
So how’d it go?
“I literally forgot everything I know about high jumping and I just hit the bar,” she said laughing. As the meet went on, I settled down and things went really well.
That may actually be a bit of an understatement. Each jumper gets three attempts to clear a height. Miner cleared 5-1 on her second attempt and then began knocking off successive heights. She cleared 5-3 on her second attempt as well, and then breezed over 5-5 on her first attempt. When she arrived at 5-7, she was one of only four jumpers left out of the eight who started, and all four belonged to the Wolverines.
Michigan junior Claire Kieffer-Wright, who also happens to compete on the school’s women’s volleyball team — “She’s such a great athlete,” Miner said — cleared the height on her first attempt, but the other three jumpers (including Miner) missed on their first and then second attempts. Miner separated herself, however, when she cleared 5-7 on her third and final attempt, while the other two jumpers both missed, assuring Miner of at least a second-place finish in her first career meet. And that’s exactly where she ended up. Both Kieffer-Wright and Miner were unable to clear the bar at 5-9, but Kieffer-Wright was named the winner of the event because it took her less attempts at 5-7.
“It was really exciting,” Miner said. “I jumped 5-7 and that’s kind of where I wanted to start the season. I realized that everything I know about jumping is just the beginning. I am going to build from the ground up.”
Miner has been in Ann Arbor since late August and, at that time, the track & field team began its optional-workout program. Miner said that her coaches really stress academics, so they wanted to ensure that she and other freshmen were able to handle the two major commitments they faced, that of being both students and athletes. Miner said that she has been able to tackle both challenges, but the self-titled “terrible procrastinator” admitted it’s not always easy, especially since she said she wanted to excel in both avenues.
“I think that any college athlete will find that it’s very difficult to find the balance because you want to do very well in both aspects,” she said. “You want to achieve greatness in the classroom, and you want to achieve greatness in your sport.”
As far as practice is concerned, Miner said the difference between college and high school is palpable. She said that the biggest thing is the amount of weightlifting the team does because she did not lift weight in high school. She also said that having trainers to work with has been great, especially because the amount of practice time is greater than in high school, which does take a toll on a body not accustomed to it.
“There are just so many resources we have access to here,” she said. “The workouts are definitely on a totally different level. I found out very quickly that I’m not in great shape.”
Miner said that her dad once asked her if she was going to try to run sprints as well, something she did during high school with a good deal of success as well. Her response?
“Dad, have you seen the times that these girls run? I’m not even remotely close to the times that these people run.”
Miner said she has been putting in a lot of work. During the offseason, the team can schedule eight hours of practice per week. During the season, that number grows to 20. Besides working on her strength and conditioning, Miner has been working hard on technique. She said that when she first arrived on campus she was clearing higher jumps in practice, but that number dipped a bit because she began working on new techniques, which she said should help her soar to even greater heights than anything she had previously known.
“My heights have been kind of an ebb and flow,” she explained. “Earlier in the year I had higher jumps in practice, but I was relying on stuff I had previously known. Also, I was not fatigued. I haven’t competed this much before, so it took a bit. But the new things I’m learning are only going to help me jump higher.”
The Simmons-Harvey Invitational was the only indoor meet hosted by Michigan this winter and was the final meet at the school’s current indoor-track building, which opened in 1974. Michigan will be opening an all new indoor facility beginning next winter, something Miner is looking forward to.
She is also looking forward to the outdoor season, which begins during spring break when the women’s team heads to Florida to train and relax. Miner said that she is excited to get into Big 10 play during the outdoor season, where she will be traveling around the country, and will compete in meets featuring a number of Olympians. The indoor season is first, and this weekend Miner has an exciting trip to Indiana, where she will compete in a meet at Notre Dame.
The decision to go to Michigan seems to be working out great for Miner, who does miss her family and friends but has no regrets.
“The distance has been very hard. It’s hard to be away from family and friends, but I talk to them a lot, so they don’t feel as far away as I am,” she said. “I love Ann Arbor, it’s such a great town. I wouldn’t mind if it was warmer or not snowing, but it’s not like I haven’t dealt with that my whole life anyhow.”
This is only the beginning for Miner, but the hard work is already paying off. In a two-day span I got the chance to write about former Greenfield High School pole vaulter Vlad Popusoi setting another school pole vault record at UMass Lowell, and then speak to our area’s Big 10 representative. When I mentioned this to Miner, she said it was nice to hear about another local track athlete finding success at the Division I level.
“It’s great to know that no matter where you are from, even my small town of Deerfield, you can be successful,” she said.
Jason Butynski is a Greenfield native and Recorder sportswriter. His email address is jbutynski@recorder.com. Like him on Facebook and leave your feedback at www.facebook.com/jaybutynski.