Winning is fun for Papillion-LaVista high jumper Marcel Ryan

For Marcel Ryan, it is undoubtedly lonely at the top.

After facing ample competition at last year's Nebraska State Track and Field meet, the Papillion-LaVista (Papillion, Neb.) high jumper is usually the lone competitor left in the field once the bar reaches 6-6 this spring.

Gone from last year's state meet are Omaha Northwest's Stacy Keely and Millard South's Duoth Deng, both seniors a year ago, who finished first and second respectively after registering leaps of 6-10.

Bellevue West's Malik Hluchoweckyj was supposed to be Ryan's main competition in this his senior season. But according to Ryan, the junior decided to drop track and field in order to concentrate on football and basketball.

"It's fun to win. But I wish I had someone to compete against," Ryan said. "It made each of us better. It wasn't just Malik. There were other guys too. If he'd hit 6-10 then I'd have to make 6-10. We pushed each other. Sometimes you'd get this feeling that you were going to lose, but then it was a great feeling once you got over the bar and you won."

Having competed at nationals as well as at the state meet in each of the last two seasons, Ryan is used to making big jumps during high-stress situations. Ryan simply focuses on the task at hand.

There is no big celebration from Ryan after each make. No fist pumping. His simple technique is to approach the bar, get over it, and prepare for the next height.

"If you don't relax, you won't clear the height," Ryan said matter-of-factly. "I try to stay calm and remain humble."

Ryan's plans didn't always include excelling in the high jump. His first love was always basketball. Ryan even transferred to Omaha South his sophomore year to pursue a career in hoops.

But he soon realized a basketball career was not in his future, and he competed in track that spring.

"I didn't really do anything at state that year," Ryan said after topping out at 6-2 his sophomore season. "But whenever I saw (Papillion-LaVista track) coach (Joe Pilakowski), he told me I'd be a state champion if I came back. I didn't get it done last year, but I think I have a good shot this year."

Ryan improved by leaps and bounds in his first season back at Papillion-LaVista. First he made it over 6-4. Then he conquered 6-5. Once he cleared 6-7, he knew he was going places in the event. Scoring that height drove him to get better. Reaching that height made him realize that, not only could he get back to state, but that he had a real shot at winning the whole thing.

"My (jumping) coach (Sean McGlothlin) went 6-6 when he jumped," Ryan said. "He would always kid us. He would tell us, ‘you guys might be good, but you're not better than I am.'"

Ryan eventually topped out at 6-9 his junior season and has since raised the bar to 6-11 this season. But 7-0 has become somewhat of an obstacle for the Bellevue Breeze athlete. Although the Monarch coaching staff was witness to Ryan clearing 7-0 while competing at lower heights, and told him so, several official attempts at 7-0 have fallen short.

"When we set the bar at 7-0, he tries too hard," Pilakowski said. "He just needs to relax and let it happen. When he's cleared 6-10, 6-11, we've pulled him aside and told him, ‘that's a 7-1 high jump. He just needs to go out and be himself and do what it is that he does at the lower heights, and 7-0 will come.

"He's learning to be more patient in the high jump. He's learning to be more patient over the bar. We're trying to get him to hold a little longer over the bar, finish, and let it happen."

In an attempt to help his team win a state championship, Ryan has added the triple jump to his workload. Although he has struggled to ditch his high jumping form when it comes to the triple jump, he is inching closer to 44-feet.

By the time the state meet arrives in late May, Ryan is hoping for a 46-foot leap.

"Being a high jumper, he has a bad habit of wanting to go up instead of out," Pilakowski said. "But we're working with him on that. We'll get it right. He's already gone (almost) 44, and we're hoping he can get 46 at state, which we think would place him, getting us closer to a championship."

At the conclusion of his prep career, Ryan is headed to Iowa Central Community College, arguably the top junior college track and field program in the nation. But first he hopes to have a date with destiny at the state meet in May and at nationals over the summer.

Ryan's biggest challenge at state track may come in the all class gold medal chase with Concordia (Omaha) standout Jon Greene and Malcolm's Antonio Flores, Class B and C competitors respectively, each making it over the bar at 6-8. In Class A, Omaha North's Payton Nelson and Millard North (Omaha) jumper Seth Houfek are his closest competition at 6-6.

"You have to raise the bar, definitely," Ryan said of competing at nationals. "You're going up against the top competition in the nation, not your state. Your game plan has to be it's you against them, and then you have to give it your all. I was surprised at what I did last year, but I feel if I keep doing what I'm doing, I could win it all this summer.

"I'm also looking forward to getting to the state meet. I'm looking forward to going for 7-0 there and hopefully getting the record."