Aaron Whitehead has come full circle. After a 2nd place finish at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association State Track Meet in 2021, Aaron found himself once again making the trip to Baton Rouge to arrive at Bernie Moore Stadium on the campus of LSU for the 2023 LHSAA State Track Meet. Back to 2021, the 10th grader jumped very well. However, there was a three-way tie for 2nd place and due to a clerical error, Aaron wasn’t even on the podium. Awards are presented immediately following competition at the state meet. But after a review the following day, Whitehead was declared to have finished 2nd since he had fewer misses than the other competitors. What many people are unaware of though is that Aaron told his coaches that “the other kid deserved it because he was a senior and wouldn’t get another chance. I’ve got two more years.” That’s not the only time Aaron has had empathy for fellow competitors. This year Aaron’s good friend and high jumping partner, Dannen Roark, missed out on a state run because he had an off day. Dannen finished in 4th place with a jump of 6-0 but had one miss at that height. That miss kept him from joining Aaron in competition at LSU. Aaron jumped 6-4 to win the Regional Meet and although he was excited about that, he was devastated that Dannen would not be competing with him at state. Once again his words were, “It won’t be the same. We were both looking forward to state.” But that’s athletic competition for you. Some days it just doesn’t happen. We all know that Dannen is an excellent jumper as well (as shown by his 6-6 jump at the Quitman Track Meet earlier in the year). Backing up to April 26th at the District Track Meet, Aaron and Dannen finished 1st and 2nd respectively with Aaron jumping the 6-6 mark and Dannen clearing 6-0. So, let’s understand how rare it is for a school to have two high jumpers that can clear 6-6. And while you are at it, put a piece of tape on the wall at 6-6 and imagine jumping over that…….it’s way up there. After sitting out the 2022 track season due to being ineligible (Aaron got a little lazy, but a life lesson learned), Whitehead returned to the track in 2023. He jumped 6-4 at the Quitman Meet, took 1st place at district, regional, and then returned to LSU and claimed the LHSAA Class 1A State Championship in High Jump with a height of 6-4. Something to note here is that, though most sports are now split from Select and Non-Select schools, in Track and Field all of the schools in each class compete against each other. That means that Aaron was competing against athletes from private schools all over the state as well as public schools.