Following national outdoor leading high jump performance of 5-10.25 (1.79m), versatile junior standout looks to make history in New York by becoming first California female competitor in event to capture national indoor crown

By Pete Marshall for DyeStat

Meagan Humphries is a jumper, literally and figuratively.

The junior at Castaic High in California is a standout in the high jump, long jump and will be eventually in the triple jump. It’s such an integral part of her DNA that she’s “MsJumphries” on social media.

But she’s also had to jump over some challenges in life to get her to the point where she finished second in the high jump and ninth in the long jump at the California state finals last season and got off to a great start to this year with the top outdoor high jump clearance in the country of 5 feet, 10.25 inches (1.79m) on Feb. 4 at the California Winter Championships at Arcadia High.

Humphries will look to continue her momentum, as she is scheduled to compete this weekend in the high jump, long jump and 200 meters at Nike Indoor Nationals at The Armory in New York, which will be the first indoor meet of her career. Humphries is the top seed Friday in the high jump final.

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Track and field are clearly in Humphries’ blood as her father Will was an all-state track athlete in Indiana in the 400 and 800 meters and competed at Jackson State. He is now an assistant coach at Castaic after Meagan transferred from Golden Valley High a couple of months ago.

Humphries began competing in track at age 6, but as a youth, it was more fun than hardcore competition. That feeling changed when she entered Golden Valley as a freshman. 

Humphries successfully made the transition to high school, but growing pains limited her to just one event: the high jump.

“Growing pains were so difficult to deal with,” Humphries said. “Sometimes I was wondering if it (competing) was just a waste of time.”

Despite being limited to the high jump, she made an impact. She broke the Golden Valley school record with a jump of 5-4 (1.62m), later she went 5-6 (1.68m) and tied for the top mark by a freshman in the state during the 2021 regular season.

With growing pains subsiding, she was able to compete in more events as a sophomore, adding the long jump, triple jump and 200 meters to the high jump.

Four times in the regular season last year, Humphries recorded marks of at least 18 feet in the long jump, although she rarely won with senior teammate Kylee Davis being a far more experienced competitor. Davis went at least 19 feet seven times in the regular season. Humphries produced a PR of 18-10 (5.74m) at the CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet, eventually finishing ninth in the state.

Humphries wasn’t as successful in the triple jump, achieving a PR of 38-0.75 (11.60m) at the Arcadia Invitational, but didn’t compete in the event after the middle of April.

The 200 meters was a success, as Humphries posted the top time in the state for a sophomore when she ran 24.42 seconds at the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 finals, eventually advancing to the Masters meet.

But her signature event, the high jump, was a struggle for most of the regular season. Before the Foothill League finals, she only reached 5-6 once: and that was in February. Frequently she wouldn’t even attempt heights at 5-6 or higher.

“The timer (between jumps) was a big mental block,” Humphries admitted. “I can’t always tell how fast the clock is ticking down. Last year, there were times I’d say, ‘I’m going to jump this time.’ But I didn’t. That definitely happened a couple of times.”

The timer was part of it, but she also had doubts as to whether she could clear the bar.

“She did plateau. She was not confident in her ability,” said Lonnie Davis, Humphries’ former coach at Golden Valley, who now coaches at Cathedral High in Los Angeles, but still remains in contact with the family.

Davis said Golden Valley coaches would even raise the bar in practice without her knowing so she wouldn’t psyche herself out.

“All I was doing was just trying to PR,” Humphries said. “At one time, I was crying. For all I knew, I couldn’t jump. Things people were suggesting I’d already tried. It was all mental.”

And the mental struggles were only limited to the high jump.

“Surprisingly enough, it didn’t affect my other events,” Humphries said.

After helping Golden Valley win the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 title, she overcame her high jump struggles at the most opportune time, qualifying for the state meet when she cleared 5-9 (1.75m) at the Masters Meet.

Afterwards, Humphries posted this on instagram: “FInally breaking through this barrier I’d built at 5-6 feels so incredibly freeing. … I remember earlier this year after struggling to make 5-6 for several weeks in a row, I thought that maybe high jump wasn’t really for me. … Earlier this season, I never really thought I would get this far, but I’m grateful to have such an incredible support system.”

Humphries did not clear 5-9 again at the state meet, but did clear 5-6. She finished second after failing in three attempts at 5-7 (1.70m). But the fact that she took all three attempts at 5-7 on a cold, windy day was proof the mental block was gone.

Humphries even added another event, albeit temporarily, at state. Will Humphries said that Kylee Davis was unable to run in the 4x100 at state prelims, so Meagan filled in for her. Golden Valley’s result was 45.82 seconds, the top performance in the state last season.

Humphries’ success has already carried over to this season. 

While she didn’t compete in the high jump at a recent three-team scrimmage, she did get a PR of 19 feet (5.79m) in the long jump, ran 12.32 in the 100-meter dash and ran a leg on the 4x400 team that clocked 4:14.6.

Overall, Humphries is in a much better mental state and doesn’t believe that winning is the only thing that matters.

“I’d say my goal no matter what is to PR even if I’m injured,” Humphries said. “I’m coming to a meet to perform my best. If I PR, I’m doing my best and if I don’t win, there’s not much I can do about that.”

Humphries has definite marks she’s looking for this season: 6-0 (1.83m) in the high jump, 20 feet (6.09m) in the long jump, 40 feet (12.19m) in the triple jump and “low 23s” in the 200..

Since she transferred to Castaic, which opened in 2019, following Lonnie Davis’ departure for Cathedral, Humphries is required by section rules to sit out the first five weeks of the outdoor season, and will officially compete for Castaic for the first time March 25 at the Simi Valley Invitational.

Humphries, who is attempting to become the first California female athlete to win the high jump title at the national indoor meet that began in 1999, will compete unattached again in New York, just like she did at Arcadia a month ago.

But the future is bright for Humphries, who will eventually add hurdles to her resume, with the idea of becoming a heptathlete at the collegiate level

“I think she’s very coachable, listens, asks questions and wants to be reassured she’s doing the right thing,” Lonnie Davis said.

Humphries has demonstrated she’s headed in the right direction so far this year. The rest of the country will have an opportunity this weekend to see just where Humphries’ potential can take her.