Jordan Carter’s versatile athletic talent enables him to make quite an impact. One look at his Vista del Lago High resume — football, basketball and track and field — and he’s obviously an in-demand talent.
Carter’s high school graduation was June 5, but it came after he produced a fitting end to the athletics side of his time at Vista del Lago with a track and field season to remember.
A highly capable sprinter and versatile enough to shine in the 300-meter hurdles and high jump, Carter’s coaches kept him in the 200 and 400 meters, but placed him in the triple jump and long jump in April. Normally, April is when many athletes, after weeks of training and practices, settle into core events to compete in key meets to build and enhance their skills prior to May’s CIF postseason schedule.
Placing Carter in the long and/or triple jump is not uncommon for a sprinter. It’s a chance to utilize their speed and overall athleticism. But putting Carter, a 6-foot-5 and 180-pound athlete, into jumping events beyond the midseason point might have seemed a bit too risky.
Not for Carter.
“I wanted to try it,” he said. Add in a dash of confidence. “A goal I have in my life is that I want to be the very best I can at everything I do.”
Carter’s shift was energized by a belief in his ability and athletic sensibilities. He took the change to heart to record the best triple jump mark in California and, ultimately, a second-place finish in the triple jump at the CIF State Track and Field Championships.
“Just being at the state meet was a blessing, a great opportunity for me to see how it is — and it was amazing,” said Carter, who has been selected as the 2024 IE Varsity Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.
Had Carter won the triple jump, he would have been the first Vista del Lago state champion since 2018 when Jaden Ellis won the 110-meter hurdles.
But what Carter did accomplish was a visible display of hard work, dedication and a focused mindset to be at his best. A healthy dose of athletic talent, of course, helps too.
His impact was immediate. The school record in the triple jump was 44-7. In his first meet, an Inland Valley League dual with Lakeside, Carter went 44-5.
Gaining jump experience with meet marks between 41 and 43 feet, he went 42-11 1/2 to win the IVL triple jump, one of four IVL title-winning efforts alongside the 200 (22.23w seconds, PR), 400 (50.06) and long jump (20-8 1/2).
When May arrived, Carter did as well. He went 44-7 1/2 in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 preliminaries to set the school record. He increased it to 46-7 1/4 and won the CIF-SS Division 2 title. A 46-6 leap produced a second-place showing at the CIF-SS Masters Meet, established consistency in big meets and, best of all, gave Carter his first state meet berth.
It was a breakthrough moment. Sophomore year, Carter was fourth in the Division 2 high jump but did not advance to the Masters Meet. Junior year, he reached the Masters in the 400 but came up short of advancing to state. This year, in Carter’s third different event, he delivered. Add perseverance to this long list of Carter’s successful characteristics.
“I was so happy to finally make it,” he said. “I liked being excited to be there, but I also didn’t want to show that too much. Others see it and know this is my first time at state. Of course, being a senior, it was going to be my last time, too.”
In the state preliminaries, he delivered a major moment with a 48-6 3/4, a personal best that held up as the state’s best mark of the season.
“The crowd was hyped when I got that 48,” Carter recalled. “I like it when I do something good and it gets everyone else hyped.”
The next day, Bishop O’Dowd’s Brandon Rush went 47-5 in the finals to win the state title. Carter’s wind-aided 47-2 1/4 mark was good for second place. It wasn’t a state title win, but it was more than enough to demonstrate Carter’s capability to make an impact.
Next stop? Riverside Community College is a favorite and there’s already thoughts of attempting a football-basketball-track triple there. It’s a rare feat, but then who’s to say he can’t try.
— RYAN T. BLYSTONE
IE VARSITY COACH OF THE YEAR
Derrick Matthews, San Gorgonio
Matthews guided the Spartans to a fifth-place finish at the CIF Southern Section Division 3 finals, the program’s best finish in more than a decade. San Gorgonio finished that meet with 36 points, which was triple the amount of points when the Spartans tied for 18th place at the 2023 Division 3 finals. San Gorgonio won all three of its league dual meets, and the Spartans won six individual events and one relay race at the Sunkist League championship meet. Jaevin Sawyer claimed the Division 3 title in the 100 meters, the program’s first section champion since 2012.
— ERIC-PAUL JOHNSON
IE VARSITY FIRST TEAM
Daniel Agbelusi, Beaumont, Sr.
Nicolas Alexis, Great Oak, Jr.
William Isaiah Bright, Murrieta Mesa, Jr.
Westin Brown, Great Oak, Jr.
Jordan Carter, Vista del Lago, Sr. (Athlete of the Year)
Arthur Celestine, Murrieta Mesa, Sr.
Jayden Epps, Paloma Valley, Sr.
Jeremiah Harris, Roosevelt, Sr.
Juan Juarez, Liberty, Jr.
Benjamin Lingenfelter, Yucaipa, Jr.
Jaden McKee, King, Sr.
Kosi Nwafor, Vista Murrieta, Sr.
Exzavior Oliver, Grand Terrace, Jr.
Jack Paradise, Great Oak, Jr.
Cayden Roberson, Roosevelt, Sr.
Rodney Sermons, Rancho Cucamonga, So.
Dontae Smith, North, Jr.
Maximo Zavaleta, King, So.
IE VARSITY SECOND TEAM
Cory Butler, Centennial, Jr.
Miking Cash, San Bernardino, Sr.
Michael Cullen, Redlands, Jr.
Drew Harisay, Etiwanda, So.
Julian Moore, Vista Murrieta, Sr.
Jackson Morgan, Temescal Canyon, So.
Tyrus Murguia, Beaumont, Sr.
Ethan Nuechterlein, Vista Murrieta, Sr.
Donovan Ralls, Patriot, Sr.
Amari Reed, Santiago, Sr.
Andrew Robinson, Great Oak, Sr.
Gabriel Rodriguez, Great Oak, Sr.
Jaevin Sawyer, San Gorgonio, Sr.
Cameron Sermons, Rancho Cucamonga, Jr.
Eyan Turk, Woodcrest Christian, Jr.
Joab Vela, Vista Murrieta, Jr.
Jeremiah Wiley, Elsinore, Sr.
Daniel Wimbush, Rancho Cucamonga, Jr.
