CHEYENNE – Kaliff Guevara grew up loving basketball, but made the hard choice to give up the sport last winter.
The Cheyenne East senior’s efforts at the 2019 Class 4A outdoor state track and field meet convinced him to focus his attention on that sport. He checked in at 42 feet, 11 inches to place seventh in triple jump, and hoped a winter spent focusing on track would help him crack the 43-foot mark.
Guevara didn’t break 42 feet during the first meet of his junior season. He chalked it up to a lack of training, and was sure he made the right choice to compete indoors. That season would prepare him for the outdoor campaign.
Guevara flew right past 43 feet at his next meet, notching a lifetime-best of 44-7¾ to place third at the Air Force High School Indoor Open in Colorado Springs, Colorado. That meet includes more than 90 schools from four states.
“That really blew my mind,” Guevara said. “It was such a huge breakthrough.
“There were a lot of people in the crowd, there were a lot of good athletes there, and it was a lot of pressure. I love that pressure. Doing that well at such a big meet really made me feel great.”
Guevara outdid himself at the state indoor meet, winning the championship with a leap of 44-10¼. It was nearly two feet better than the state runner-up.
“He had such a spectacular meet at Air Force, and you could see that it really boosted his confidence 10 times over,” East indoor track coach Amanda Brinkman said. “It was really amazing to watch him last season.
“He has worked on every single phase of his event. We don’t have sand here, so we have to do phase work in the hallways and gym. You could see his progression and how much more comfortable he was with his speed on the runway.”
Guevara hoped his success indoors would lead to another breakthrough outdoors that would help him get to 46 feet. However, the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the outdoor season after just two practices.
Guevara was disappointed, but also determined.
He has spent the past nine months doing whatever he could wherever he could, sometimes to his parents’ chagrin.
“When I’m bored, I’ll stomp around the house, trying to work on my foot placement,” Guevara said. “My parents get pretty annoyed sometimes. I want my foot to be right where I want it, and I need to get comfortable in that position.
“Some days, I’ll go outside and do some bounding to keep that sharp.”
Guevara also has studied the best triple jumpers in the world on YouTube.
“There are so many things I’ve changed from my sophomore year to this year,” he said. “I have improved so much, but I still have so much room for improvement. I have to find a way to put it all together.”
East is limited to three meets this winter because of COVID-19 health and safety guidelines, and the size of indoor track venues. They won’t take the track until next week in Gillette. Cheyenne Central and Cheyenne South open their seasons today.
The state meet will be limited to the athletes and relay teams with the top eight times and marks in each event. The girls and boys state meets also will be held on different weekends.
“We’re going to have to leave a lot of people behind, and that’s gut-wrenching,” Brinkman said. “There are kids who aren’t going to get many chances to compete and see their improvement.”
