As 2015 draws to a close, MileSplit revisits the Top 10 Upsets of the Year... Stayed tuned to this page as the countdown continues every day this week.
4. Vashti Cunningham Sets National Record, No Heights, Ends Year As Best Pro Or Prep High Jumper In Nation
Vashti Cunningham ranked No. 3 on the U.S. All-Time List in the High Jump as just a sophomore with her 10th-grade PR of 6-3, pegging her as a nearly certain candidate to take the 22-year-old National High School Record by her graduation in 2016.
This spring, she catapulted past the 6-4 mark set by Amy Acuff in 1993 and tied by Toni Young in 2009. Cunningham improved the standard to 6-4.25 at the Mt. SAC Relays in early April. But not all was rosy from there, as she did not clear the opening height at the Nevada State Championship for the first time in her career.
The Bishop Gorman junior returned to form at the end of the season and soon reached her peak in the summer. She won the USATF Jr. Nationals (6-0.5), AAU Club Nationals (6-3), then the Pan-American Junior Athletics Championship with a new National High School Record of 6-5.25.
By summer's end, her 6-5.25 record not only ranked her as the No. 1 Youth in the World, but the No. 1 athlete in the United States (including youth, collegiate, professional performers) and tied for No. 9 in the World. She has achieved the Olympic 'A' Standard and could feasibly compete for a spot to represent Team USA at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.
Cunningham is the daughter of former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham.