Thompson’s strong debut for Wildcats not at all surprising

You could make a strong case that in the spring of 2013, Alyssa Thompson of Salpointe Catholic High School produced the greatest performance for an female athlete in Tucson prep history, any sport. She won state championships in the long jump, triple jump, 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles. She had earlier signed with Wake Forest, where as a freshman she set a school record in the pentathlon (seven indoor decathlon-type events). Over the summer, Thompson transferred to Arizona and on Friday she had quite a debut. In an indoor meet in Flagstaff, Thompson long-jumped 19 feet 11¾ inches, a personal best; threw the shot put a personal best 35 feet one-half inch; and tied her personal bests in the 60 hurdles and high jump. She is now working with UA jumps coach Sheldon Blockburger, who has coached NCAA champions Brigetta Barrett and decathlete Jake Arnold, among others. If you convert Thompson’s Friday times/distances and add her average 800 meters time, she would’ve scored 3,941 points. How good is that? Last year 3,927 points won the MPSF heptathlon women’s championship, which includes all Pac-12, Mountain West Conference and West Coast Conference schools. 

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