Jequan Hogan Aiming at Slice of History in Triple Jump

By Brent W. New for DyeStat

Jequan Hogan is landing closer and closer to the triple jump record in Colorado. It’s just a matter of time, he believes, before his name gets etched into high school history.

The Fountain-Fort Carson senior, who already won a national championship indoors last month, and then landed an early season US#1 less than a week later, isn’t done with what he hopes is a memorable farewell tour to high school.

“I want to leave my mark on every meet I go to,” Hogan said. “Like when I graduate, and I’m gone, I want people to be like ‘Who has the meet record? Who has the state record?’ And they say my name.”

Hogan, whether it’s a sincere belief or a mindset he uses to get a mental edge, believes he’s still a relative unknown among the track and field world. 

He points out that he wasn’t the favorite in the triple jump coming into New Balance Nationals Indoor in March. And yet he left with the title, beating Pennsylvania’s Treyvon Ferguson in a tiebreaker with a leap of 49 feet, 6.50 inches (15.10m).

His jumps coach, Sir Harry Knight, says no one has seen the best from Hogan, who only picked up the triple jump a few years ago.

“These kids who are watching go ‘Oh man, he’s jumping 50 feet,’ and they don’t see the hard work he’s put in,” Knight said. “He’s been constantly working and he’s only going to get better.”

Hogan led his high school team to a state title last year, finishing the meet as the team’s top individual point scorer. He won the high and triple jumps by large margins while setting the school record in the triple at 50-7.25 (15.42m), along with taking third in the long jump and fifth in the 110 hurdles. 

By May, his expectation is to lead his school back to gold while going 4 for 4 in his own events. That includes setting the state record in the triple jump, a mark of 51-0.25 (15.55m) that has been held by Harrison’s Victor White since 1973. Ken McClendon of George Washington jumped a wind-aided mark of 52-2 (15.90m) in 1974 and also jumped 51-9.75 (15.79m) indoors that year.

Either way, Colorado hasn’t had a triple jumper like Hogan in four decades.

“His confidence is there to do it,” Knight said.

Last year, Knight used his tape measure to plot out Hogan’s goals in the event, placing one cone where Hogan was jumping and another at the state record mark. Since then, the gap has been shrinking. 

Hogan has leapt over 50 feet a few times over the past 12 months, including a flight March 17 of 50-8.25 (15.45m) at the ThunderRidge Invitational. The mark was good for personal and meet records, and, at the time, it was the top jump by a high schooler in the nation.

Last week, Keyshawn King of Liberty SC jumped 51-3 (15.62m). When asked, Hogan already knew all about it.

"I’m not stressing since his jump wasn’t wind legal,” Hogan said. “But I don’t want anyone to have any doubts about the nation’s top spot.”

The Trojans will be one of the significant favorites to win another Class 5A state title this year in Colorado. Hogan is currently 3 for 3 in wins this season. 

The best, however, he vows is yet to come.

“I always come in thinking I want to do something spectacular,” Hogan said. “I want to do something that people are going to ‘Wow’ about. Like ‘Wow, Jequan did that? Jequan Hogan? I’ve never heard of him. Let me look him up.’”