How Topeka High's Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton has emerged as one of the state's best jumpers

TOPEKA — Track and field is often a lonely and anxiety-ridden adventure. The athlete is alone on the track, runway or ring trying their best to succeed with hundreds of eyes watching. There is no escape.

Topeka High’s Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton welcomes this challenge. The freshman jumper is not avoiding the pressure or the lonesome feeling, she is thriving off it. Rayton is not your typical freshman track and field athlete, she is not working her way through junior varsity hoping to excel as an upperclassman. She is ready to compete for titles now.

“When I have people surround me with positive energy and telling me that I can do this,” Rayton said. “It gives me motivation to keep going.”

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Rayton is the No. 3 ranked triple jumper in the state and hit her personal best of 37 feet, 8 inches on April 12. She also secured a jump of 37 feet ,7 1/2 inches in Monday’s Seaman Relays. Plus, Rayton ranks inside the top 20 in long jump.

The Topeka High freshman didn’t follow the usual course of succeeding in middle school jumping programs. She just started learning the techniques of the triple jump in early March on the first day of practice. Rayton, a starter on the Trojans varsity basketball team, wasn’t focused on jumping during the winter offseason.

“The first day of practice is when I learned,” Rayton smiled. “It wasn’t really good. I talked with my dad, who showed me the technique. I showed him the video and he said it wasn’t bad and that we were going to work on it.”

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Flying across the runway is ingrained in Rayton’s blood. Her father was a former jumper and her cousin, Auna Childress, is one of the best to ever do it. Since 2000, Childress has held the second-best triple jump mark in state history. The Lawerence Free State alum hit her best mark of 40 feet, 9 inches in 2020 at the Kansas Relays. She has also excelled with her time on the Pittsburg State track and field team.

Rayton acknowledges the great jumpers around her life. She shared how she is soaking up the knowledge which is only helping her improve.

On Monday, Rayton competed against Shawnee Mission North’s Rosjai Curtis. The senior and Park University signee is ranked as the second-best triple jumper. Curtis broke her school record a few weeks ago. Curtis jumped two feet further than Rayton for the title at the Seaman Relays.

Rayton came in second place, but the Topeka High freshman wasn’t discouraged at all. Rayton watched keenly every move that Curtis accomplished in hopes of using her techniques to her advantage in the future.

“We do different forms. I do two arms and she does one arm,” Rayton explained. “In her third phase, she gets so much height on it and so much distance. In my third phase, it is just flat. I learned that I need to work on my third phase.”

Rayton will be competing in Friday’s Joe Schrag City Championship. The top Topeka-area athletes will face off and Rayton is ranked as the number one triple jumper and long jumper. The freshman has lofty goals not just for Friday, but for the rest of the season.

“I want to PR again at City. I want to go 37-9 or above,” Rayton said. “Winning state is a goal, but I know it is going to take hard work and dedication to get that.”

Liam Keating covers high school sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka's Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton emerging as one of best KSHSAA jumpers