When Liam Reynolds was a sophomore, his interest in the high jump took a giant leap after jumping all the way to the MHSAA State Finals. Ever since then the Salem senior has been dedicated to becoming one of the best in the state, and that’s exactly where he has landed.

As a freshman at Salem, Reynolds’ best was 5 feet, 8 inches.

“The next year I went 6-2 and that was my breakout year,” he said. “I had a big PR from 5-8 to 6-2 at regionals and went to states for the first time. That was the year I got really serious with high jump.”

Reynolds finished top 10 at the MHSAA Division 1 Track and Field State Finals last year at East Kentwood High School. He landed tied for ninth with a jump of 6-3.

Finishing top 10 as a junior was a “rewarding” experience for the Salem athlete.

“I was content with it,” he said. “Towards the end of the year I got into a bit of a slump, which made it feel a little worse since I knew I could've done better there. But top 10 is exceptional and I used that to motivate me.”

Let’s jump back to the beginning.

“I started in eighth grade when I did track for the first time,” he said. “I ended up doing it because I was already pretty good at jumping because I wanted to dunk a basketball. The biggest challenge early on was figuring out what exactly I was doing wrong in my form, and making the adjustment in real time. When you jump, you're barely in the air for even a second and have to make so many small movements so it's very difficult to fix issues.”

Fixing those issues comes through hard work and dedication.

“For me, practicing jumps and watching videos of them has helped me the most,” Reynolds said. “You can break down what you're doing wrong much easier. Leg training to increase your vertical is also key because it’s very important to be able to actually get off the ground a bit.”

Reynolds wants to get off the ground and land back at the state finals. This season, Reynolds was first overall and went 6-6 at the St. Francis Knight Relays on May 1. He also went 6-4 in the opening meet against Brighton on April 14.

“My goal this year is to win,” he said. “I'm tied for top three marks in the state so I'm definitely capable of accomplishing my goal. I just need to make sure that I execute when the time comes.”

Reynolds also was a key contributor to the Salem basketball team. The Rocks went 16-8 this past season, a huge improvement from the previous year.

“Of our 13 guys this year, 12 were returning so we all knew how to play with each other and we had major improvements because of it,” said Reynolds, who was usually the sixth man coming off the bench and led the team in steals and field-goal percentage.

Liam, 17, is the son of Marvin and Katie Reynolds and has a 3.6 GPA. He is heading to Michigan State University in the fall, where he will study mechanical engineering.

“I picked MSU because that is where my close friends are going and it has also been my favorite college since elementary school,” he said. “I don't have any plans to do high jump in college but that may change later. Despite that, I don't plan on letting go of high jump completely. I will still try to find somewhere I can improve and continue to work.”