KING CITY — Santa Lucia Elementary School teacher Jim Van Horn earned the All-American Standard in the high jump this summer by jumping a personal best height of 1.28 meters (4-2).
The 66-year-old Van Horn attained the mark while competing in the USA Track and Field 2020 Masters Virtual Summer Challenge that took place Aug. 3-17. Because of Covid-19, the virtual event replaced the National Championships for USA Track and Field.
Van Horn competed in the men’s 65 to 69 age group and did his actual jump on Aug. 7 in Atascadero. Van Horn had to record his own jump and send the video tape and the measured height to USA Track and Field.
“This was my second virtual meet,” said Van Horn, a resident of Atascadero. “I was scheduled to jump in Visalia in late March, but that meet was canceled due to the pandemic. I did the decathlon in college, which includes the high jump. I set a goal to be All-American and met that in the Summer Challenge.”
Van Horn teaches enrichment classes at Santa Lucia Elementary School in King City to fourth- and fifth-grade students, focusing on their social and emotional skills.
