Concord High jumper shows strong form early

When a freshman participating in high school track and field for the first time claims to be a high jumper, Darius Bryson has his doubts.

The Concord High boys’ coach admits he was skeptical when Gabriel Stainback approached him last year and made such a claim.

“But then he ran and jumped over the bar and I said, ‘He can really do it,’” Bryson said. “Kids just don’t have that form and technique at that age. I figured he’s either seen it (high jumping) a thousand times or done it a thousand times.”

Over the past two years, Stainback has proven to be one of the best athletes in the state. As a sophomore who can jump nearly 6 and a half feet, the ceiling is high on his potential for the next two years.

Though his high jump season ended disappointingly at the 3A Midwest Regional on May 2, the 2014-15 school year still included a runner-up finish at the 3A state indoor championship meet in February.

Stainback didn’t qualify for the outdoor state meet in his main event, but he ran a leg on the Spiders’ 4x400-meter relay team that advanced to the state championships on May 8 at Greensboro’s N.C. A&T University. The relay team’s other runners are seniors Denzal Gilmore and Austin Hernandez, and junior Rodi Feldeit.

Stainback began high jumping as a seventh-grader at Concord Middle. He had a leg up on most of his competition because his father had been a high school high jumper and coached him a bit.

Last year, after Stainback quelled his coach’s doubts with his form and technique, Bryson began to appreciate his freshman’s overall athletic ability. By the end of the 2014 season, Stainback was leaping a personal best 6 feet, which was good enough for second place at the South Piedmont 3A Conference meet.

Stainback looked forward to competing at the Midwest Regional meet, especially with his brother Nathanael, a discus thrower who now competes for UNC Pembroke.

Entering the meet, Gabriel was ranked in the region’s top four in the high jump but his day ended in a sixth-place finish when he cleared just 5-10.

Including the time he’s spent on the basketball court, Stainback has always considered himself to be a pretty good leaper. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, he is not the prototypical high jumper. But Bryson attests that his “good springs” counter the additional weight Stainback has to thrust over the bar.

The 2014-15 school year included the arrival of two jump coaches to Concord High: Lawrence Lawson and Todd Allen. Stainback decided not to play basketball, partly so he could concentrate on indoor track and field.

Bryson and Stainback credit the coaches with getting Stainback’s jumps over 6 feet this year. From the start of the indoor season to the end, he improved 2 inches to 6-4.

Coming out of the indoor season, Stainback set a goal of reaching 6-6 by the end of the outdoor season. That would tie him for the school record, shared by Jeff Goins in 1992 and Lance Lewis in 2007.

“I hit 6-5 in the last meet at conference,” Stainback said. “I was pumped. I wasn’t expecting that. I just barely got over it. I was trying for 6-6 but didn’t get.”

Throughout the season, Stainback achieved milestones in other events, including setting the school record in the 110-meter hurdles on April 8. At the Rocky River Invitational, he competed in the discus for the first time and threw an impressive 128 feet.

At the Midwest Regional meet on May 2, Stainback had an off day, reaching the same 5 feet, 10 inches he cleared at last year’s regionals.

Stainback is an A-B student and likes playing rock ‘n’ roll and blues music on his electric and acoustic guitars.

Stainback is scheduled to compete in the New Balance National Outdoors meet on June 19 in Greensboro.

This story was originally published May 8, 2015 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Concord High jumper shows strong form early."