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Delsea's Banks a late-blooming high jumper

It wasn't until his sophomore year at Delsea that Ameer Banks realized his aptitude for field events. The Delsea senior had cleared a jump bar set at 5-foot-7 during a gym class his freshman year. His gym teacher persuaded him to go out for track the following year.

It wasn't until his sophomore year at Delsea that Ameer Banks realized his aptitude for field events.

The Delsea senior had cleared a jump bar set at 5-foot-7 during a gym class his freshman year. His gym teacher persuaded him to go out for track the following year.

Now a senior, Banks tied for fourth place Saturday at the Penn Relays in the boys' high-jump championship with a mark of 6-7.75.

Clayton Brown of Jamaica College won the event by clearing 6-10.25. Williamstown's Devin Bradham was eighth (6-6.75).

"My track career came out of nowhere," said Banks, who cleared 6 feet in his first meet as a sophomore. "It was a field day, I just jumped up, cleared [the bar], and then my [my teacher] brought up high jump."

Entering track late, Banks didn't fully invest himself in the sport until his junior campaign. Instead, he primarily focused on football, where he plays defensive end and fullback.

Because of his interest in football, Banks has had to play catch-up with his competitors.

"I came out for track and field sophomore year just seeing if I liked it, but I wasn't that serious," Banks said. "I was really serious about it last year. . . . I put in a lot of work to catch up, I've worked really hard on my strength and just have been trying to get better with my form."

Banks signed his letter of intent Wednesday to Iowa Western Community College - a junior college - as a multi-event athlete. He hopes to continue to compete in long jump, triple jump, shot put, and javelin as well as the high jump.

After a hectic week that also included his prom on Thursday, Banks had only two regrets - not finishing first, and not trading uniforms with his Jamaican opponents.

"I wish I would have [swapped]," Banks said of the equipment exchange. "Everyone was so focused. ... It was funny, it was a bunch of New Jersey kids and then the guys from Jamaica.

"I was only kind of happy with my result. ... I had prom, so I had a little weaker legs than usual coming in here."

Banks has set his sights on college competition. As a multi-event athlete, he has set higher goals in both shot put and high jump for his freshman year.

"I want to jump 7-2 by college," Banks said. "I also want to get 50 feet in shot put, and 48 in triple jump."

Deptford impresses

The Deptford 4x400 relay team took gold in the South Jersey small schools race with a time of 3 minutes, 23.79 seconds. The Spartans were also second in the Philadelphia Area 4x400 with a time of 3:21.18.

Walter Victor (50.73) kicked things off and Eric Hill (50.55) anchored the race.

Senior third-leg Shaquille Dixon (48.84) said the relay team embraced the opportunity and the challenge of competing against some of the Pennsylvania schools for the first time.

"I knew they were going to give us a good race, I knew they were going to push us to give our best," Dixon said. "It was actually pretty fun, but it was hard. . . . We never get to race these guys.

"I feel like we made a statement. Heading in, I think people slept on us and it felt good to actually prove them wrong. . . . If you would have told me freshman year that we'd be here, I wouldn't have believed you."

RV defends title

Anchor leg Sterling Pierce reeled off the fastest split (48.55) as Rancocas Valley defended its title in the South Jersey Large Schools 4x400. The Red Devils finished in a time of 3:24.39.

Rancocas Valley also placed sixth in the Large School 4x100 with a 42.35 mark. The quartet had just missed qualifying for the Championship of America on Saturday.