As Malik Allen prepared to launch himself down the runway in an Edwardsville Tigers jersey for the final time, he knew it was now or never.
Read about the St. Louis area's top high school boys track and field athletes and their accomplishments throughout the 2024 season.
The Edwardsville High senior hadn't broken the elusive 50-foot barrier in four years and was determined to knock down that final wall.
"It was just, 'Here's the time to do it,' " Allen said.
As Allen sailed down the runway, a sense of calmness overtook him through each phase.
He had the utmost confidence his final jump would be the one that broke the barrier.
"I wasn't too scared," Allen said. "I was confident in the work I've put in throughout practice and preparing for it. I feel like I prepared great for it. I wasn't worried."
Just like his junior season where the final jump of the year claimed his first state championship, Allen's final jump achieved the personal mark he set, landing 50 feet and 6 inches away from where he started.
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It also helped the Tigers to a Class 3A team championship.
"Just to see him raise that trophy knowing that he was a major part in that championship, you couldn't ask for a better way to end your senior year," Edwardsville coach Chad Lakatos said. "It was priceless for him and the kids."
The 2024 Post-Dispatch All-Metro boys track and field athlete of the year was undefeated in the triple jump, claiming six individual championships. His 15.39-meter jump (50 feet, 6 inches) broke a 42-year outdoor school record and ranks as the nation's fourth-best according to trackandfieldnews.com. He also claimed a conference championship in the long jump with a jump of 6.83 meters.
It was the first year he competed in the long jump.
Before joining the track and field team as a freshman, Allen excelled on the football field and basketball courts. Tigers assistant coach Carry Bailey used this to recruit Allen to the highly successful track program.
"It's just a good selling point, 'Hey, come out, run fast and it'll help on the football field,' " Bailey said. "Jump high here and it'll help you on the basketball court.' That's always been a big selling point."
Allen already had an excess of athleticism bleeding from his long frame, and the Edwardsville coaching staff used that to start honing his triple jump skills.
"Take some of those skills from those athletic backgrounds and put them together, and you've got one heck of a track athlete," Bailey said.
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Edwardsville senior Malik Allen leaps into the pit during the Winston Brown Invitational on April 20, 2024 at Edwardsville High School in Edwardsville, Ill. Paul Halfacre, Post-Dispatch
All-conference recognition as a senior on the basketball court was just a precursor to what he would unleash on the track. After basketball, Allen won the Illinois Top Times Indoor Championship in triple jump with a school record of 48-9.5.
His three years on the Edwardsville football team and four years with coach Dustin Battas on the basketball court were the best workouts Bailey or Lakatos could come up with.
"That's as good a workout as you can give a kid, so go out and be a competitor," Bailey said.
Though being a multi-sport athlete was a boon to the Edwardsville coaching staff, it shortened his time as a triple jumper.
But Bailey wouldn't trade the last four years of seeing him in other sports.
"As a coach, I'd like to be greedy and have him year round, but I think taking a break and playing other sports kind of developed other skills that help you," Bailey said. "Now, he's got some big decisions to make and his career will definitely be focused on jumping from here on out."
After an individual state championship as a junior but no team trophy, Allen was brainstorming how he could help his team bring home some team hardware as a senior.
"I knew I was going to do what I could in the triple jump, but I wanted to get the team to win, and I was willing to do whatever it took to win," Allen said.
Allen even joked that he would have learned how to throw the discus if that's what it took to win the team title.
"As an Edwardsville Tiger, lifting that trophy is a special moment," Bailey said. "In the dorm room the night before, with that trophy, your picture will hang in Edwardsville High School until it no longer exists. We have a special opportunity, and he saw that."
Though he has had some official visits with schools including Indiana University and the University of Illinois, Allen hasn't officially committed anywhere.
But Lakatos knows precisely what a university will be getting in his 50-foot jumper.
"The college is getting an athlete who will be loyal to the program," Lakatos said. "He's hungry to compete, and he's a winner. I believe that Malik can step right in and score in whatever conference he goes to. He's going to medal, and he'll potentially score big points in the triple jump for them."
And as eye-popping as he's been, Bailey has heard the term "raw" come up a lot when talking with college coaches about Allen.
"As good as he is in the triple jump, he can get so much faster and make some major strength gains in the weight room," Bailey said. "One of the coaches called me and said he loved him and described him as a diamond in the rough. Whatever university is the final choice is getting someone who may be back at Eugene next year as a qualifier for the NCAA."
Hearing this and knowing that he's still got some untapped potential doesn't scare Allen.
It's another barrier for him to break down.
"With a little bit of practice and the weight room, it'll be pretty scary to see what happens," Allen said. "But I'm not scared. I'm looking forward to seeing it."
Read about the St. Louis area's top high school boys track and field athletes and their accomplishments throughout the 2024 season.