Flashback Friday: Qua Stocks Leaps His Way to National Runner-Up in High Jump
By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media
WALESKA, Ga. – On March 2, 2018, Qua Stocks leaped into the Reinhardt record books after he claimed a personal-best high jump performance of 2.07 meters (6' 9.5") and a national runner-up finish in the 2018 NAIA Men's & Women's Indoor Track & Field National Championships at the County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Today's Flashback Friday takes us back to that particular Friday afternoon in Pittsburg, Kan., where Stocks – the Appalachian Athletic Conference's champion in the event – became the first All-American in school history in just the second year as an indoor program.
"Really proud of Qua and his national runner-up performance today," head coach Jordan Turner said. While he was one jump away from being the national champion, he has lots to be proud of with a career and personal-best jump today and an All-American title. We both thought 2.07 meters would be the number it took to win today, and it was one jump away from being enough. Qua showed good composure to hold those emotions in check for the nearly three-hour competition today, which is never easy to do, much less a national championship meet. Qua has a very bright future in track as he competed for just the third time for RU today; he's only taken 28 jumps in competition for RU, and to leave the national meet with a runner-up performance shows his limitless upside on the national level.
"I was very fortunate to have the chance to have former football coach Will Heath introduce me to Qua on his first visit to Reinhardt and I had a good feeling from the moment I met him he was someone meant for great things while at Reinhardt. The entire Reinhardt Nation is proud of Qua today and will be cheering even louder for him at his next national championship appearance."
The event came down to a one-on-one matchup between Lewis-Clark State's (Idaho) Tyler Blakeley and the Eagles' Stocks after the Reinhardt student-athlete went a perfect 4-for-4 in jumps, plus a pass at the 2.04m mark, to go for gold at the 2.10 height (6' 10.75").
Both jumpers had already tied for the best leap in the NAIA this year at 2.07 in the event, with Stocks holding the tiebreaker advantage with no misses on his record on the afternoon. The Acworth, Ga., native and Blakeley each were unsuccessful in their first two jumps at 2.10 meters.
The third and final jump for Stocks wasn't meant to be, as he rose over the bar but didn't clear the height. All was not lost, however, as he could still bring home a national championship for Reinhardt with a miss by Blakeley due to owning the tiebreaker.
Blakeley would come through on his last gasp to claim the national title after the bar stayed still just enough to not fall to the ground at 2.10.
For Stocks, the journey has just begun.
"Overall, I'm proud to be national contender, but at the end of the day there is still work that needs to be done," Stocks said. "We have outdoor coming up soon and I can't wait to get started – we are going to make another run for nationals, and this time we won't come up short."
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