Tim Magennis didn’t know at the time that his final time landing in the sand would establish a standard that has endured for more than four decades.
As a Whiteland senior, Magennis long jumped 23 feet, 3 inches at the 1977 boys state track and field Meet, good for fourth place. It remains the Warriors’ standard, one of two from that season along with Marc Adams’ time of 4 minutes, 17.7 seconds in the 1,600-meter run.
Magennis, now 61, is surprised his mark has withstood the numerous attempts of Warriors athletes attempting to break it the past 42 seasons.
“Very much so. Records are made to be broken. They normally don’t last that long,” said Magennis, who continues to live in Whiteland and works for the United States Postal Service. “They’ve had people at Whiteland that I thought were able to break it. It just didn’t happen.”
Magennis, who in those days stood 5-9 and weighed 155 pounds, was also part of the Warriors’ football team as a defensive back and slot receiver. Besides being a long jumper, his contributions during track season often included the 100-yard dash, some hurdles races and being in the sprint relays.
Long jumping, however, was his specialty.
“It was the quickness, I guess. I was probably at top speed by three to five steps,” Magennis said. “My dad (Jim) saw that I had a pretty keen interest in it, and one day he brought home some sand to make a pit in our back yard. It was cool. I probably used it a few times a week.”
At the 1977 state meet, Gary Roosevelt sophomore Charles Jones won the long jump with a top leap of 24 feet, 1¼ inch. Two other jumpers barely finished ahead of Magennis, going 23-3½ and 23-3¼.
Magennis, who entered high school track and field’s biggest pressure-cooker having never jumped farther than 22-8, saved his best for last.
“The prior year, I had made it to the state meet, too,” Magennis said. “Really, it was pretty cool seeing all of the people. Everybody was nice and I got to be friends with a lot of the jumpers I was competing against.”
He was fourth that day, but at Whiteland, Tim Magennis is still first.
