'I just love high jumping': First season for Xavier Williams has been one to remember

One meet was enough proof that Xavier Williams made the right decision.

Now the Canton South senior hopes the final month of his high school career is one he will always remember.

Williams is one of the area's top high jumpers. His season-best jump of 6 feet, 6.25 inches ranks No. 1 in Stark County.

Here's what's unique about that jump. It came in the first meet of the season. It also was the first high school track and field meet of Williams' career.

"I was so excited," Williams said. "I just want to go to state and see how that would be."

The sky's the limit for Williams, a talented multi-sport athlete at South. In football, he was a receiver for an offense capable of scoring at any time. He also played cornerback for the Wildcats, who shared the PAC-7 championship last fall.

Williams wants to play football in college. He thought being active in the spring would help make it possible.

"I thought track would help me get better with football," Williams said. "I tried high jump and ended up being pretty decent at it."

Williams' career-best jump came at the season-opening Fairless Invitational. His winning height broke the meet record. He beat the rest of the field by over a foot.

"I initially got 6-4 and was pretty happy," Williams said. "I just wanted to see how high I could go. I attempted the record, which was 6-6. I just wanted to bump it up a bit."

Setting a high bar right away has made beating his career best difficult for Williams. Any attempts after winning would be at least 6-7.

"I had 6-4 like five meets in a row," Williams said. "I think I got 6-5 one time but haven't hit it again."

One of Williams' 6-4 jumps came at the Dover Tornado Relays. He won in a tiebreaker. Williams also won the county title when he cleared 6-2.

Williams will return to Fairless again Thursday at the PAC-7 Championships. He wants to win there again. He hopes a league title fuels a successful postseason run.

"I feel like I can do pretty good at this and come in at least third at state if I really put my mind to it," Williams said.

Whatever happens, Williams' successful 2023 track and field season could open a few more doors at the next level.

"I have just been so happy," Williams said. "I just love high jumping. I might even go to college for track. It depends."

Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @mpopovichREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Sky's the limit for Canton South's Xavier Williams in high jump