GUILDERLAND — Harrison Bickmore and Zaviir Berry have gotten accustomed to sharing first place in the high jump. If Bickmore wins, Berry is second, and vice versa.

Bickmore and Berry went about their jumping business for Guilderland without much competition during the Section 2 winter indoor track season. It culminated with a fifth and seventh place showing — Berry jumped 6 feet, 4 inches, and Bickmore 6 feet, 2 inches — at the state championships as the two athletes look forward to jumping higher during the spring outdoor track season.

“We were the best,” said Berry, a junior, who has a personal record of 6 feet, 4 inches.

“We could do really bad and probably still get first,” added Bickmore, a senior; his personal record is 6 feet, 6 inches.

However, being the best in Section 2 doesn’t necessarily leave Bickmore and Berry satisfied. They have potential to clear a much higher bar.

“We know that we can get better than 6 feet, 2 inches,” Berry said.

Bickmore, who jumped on a bad left ankle all winter, told The Enterprise that he wants to clear 6 feet, 10 inches in the spring. Dutch Coach Dick Usher said that Jarmin Blanton set Guilderland’s high-jump record (6 feet, 7 inches) 24 years ago. Bickmore is 6 feet, 7 inches tall.

Hasani Rathan, of William Floyd, cleared 6 feet, 10 inches to win at the state championships on March 7. Watching Floyd may have inspired Bickmore and Berry.

“I have to be faster on the curve, get my knee up higher, and really hold the arch,” said Bickmore.

Berry can jump wide as well as high. He broke Guilderland’s indoor triple-jump record this winter with 43 feet, 8.5 inches. The outdoor record is more than 46 feet.

“I just want to dominate,” said Berry. “As long as Harry and I are first [in the high jump], I’m happy.”

The competition between Bickmore and Berry is nothing but gracious. Call it a friendly jump-off.

^{_{Looking at the bar as he jumps over it is Guilderland’s Zaviir Berry during the Division I Championships on Feb. 21. Berry, a junior, cleared 6 feet, 2 inches for second place, and then followed that up with a fifth-place finish at States on March 7 with 6 feet, 4 inches, which is his personal record. The Enterprise — Michael Koff}}

“I want Zav to try his best; if he beats me, I’m fine with that,” Bickmore said.

Berry doesn’t care if Bickmore jumps higher than he. “When Harry makes it over the bar before I do, then it just makes me want to go two times as hard,” he said. “It makes me want to come in first.”

The two elite jumpers give each other boosts of confidence to clear the next height. The encouragement and support adds to the fun.

“I’m proud and happy if he gets first,” Bickmore said of Berry. “I don’t mind as long as he tries his best.”

Jumping was just something Bickmore and Berry both did while growing up. For Bickmore, it was jumping over “lawn bags, whatever,” and for Berry it was jumping rope. Berry said that he got abnormally good at high jump and triple jump in high school, but doesn’t even know how.

Both Bickmore and Berry keep their high-jumping approach without much variation. It’s plain and simple, they say.

“Any variation to the approach will cause fluctuation in your height,” Berry said. “As long as my approach is the same every time, then I can get the height.”

The line of attack to the bar is called a “J”; the athlete runs in the shape of a “J” as he approaches the bar. Berry says that he runs straight for about seven steps, and then curves for the last three. It’s 10 steps, and on the last one, “You jump over the bar,” he said.

Bickmore and Berry have had a steady increase in their height clearance over the years. This is attributed to their work on speed, technique, back arch, and leg power. A high jumper relies on the combination of momentum in the arms, power in the legs, approach, speed — a lot of things can go right or wrong at the same time; height is always in flux.

Before the winter indoor season, Coach Usher suggested that Bickmore and Berry should start spending more time in the weight room. Following Coach Usher’s word, Bickmore and Berry hit the weight room twice a week, and had a very productive season.

Bickmore and Berry weren’t jumping on Tuesday; it was a slow day. They said that pulling out the high-jumping apparatus would take just five minutes, but Coach Usher wasn’t going to allow it.

“They have the desire,” said Usher. “And the work ethic, most of the time, is very good.”

^{_{Laid back: Guilderland senior Harrison Bickmore is second all-time in the school’s history for high jump with a personal mark of 6 feet, 6 inches. Here, he competes at the Division I Championships on Feb. 21; he won with 6 feet, 6 inches. Bickmore placed seventh at States on March 7. The Enterprise — Michael Koff}}