Josiah Garcia watched the Colorado High School State Track Championships from the stands in 2025. This year, he aspires to view that same crowd from atop the podium in Lakewood.  

Garcia enters Jeffco Stadium for Thursday’s 4A boys high jump finals as the No. 1 seed with a height of 6 feet, 7¼ inches. This is one year after Mesa Ridge’s Garcia concluded the season ranked 32^nd in the event.

“I know I can clear certain heights because I’ve done it before,” Garcia said. “I just have to keep my mind right, get my steps in and get all the negative out of my head.”

Garcia hadn’t reached 6 feet prior to this season and the Grizzlies high jumper ended 2025 at 5-11, which served as his previous best. That height placed him third at the Legend Titan Track Clash on April 7, 2025, his then-best placement.

Outside of his third-place finish in Parker, Garcia placed fourth, sixth, seventh, 29^th, third and eighth. Respectable spots for a sophomore, but Garcia craved more.

“I found out coach Browning was going to be my coach and they were hyping him up,” Garcia said. “I was happy because I had someone who could finally show me how to get over 6 feet.”

Joshua Browning, Mesa Ridge jumps coach, spent more than a decade coaching track and field at Mitchell before joining the Grizzlies. Browning was a part of the Marauders’ staff, along with Tracy Babers, who coached Daryon Wilson to the 4A long jump title in 2021 at 23-5.25. The title was the first individual track and field championship in more than a decade at Mitchell.

That was the push Garcia sought and the one he received. Garcia had a few indoor track and field reps and reached 6-1 at the Colorado United Invitational in Boulder on Jan. 11.

Garcia parlayed that to immediate success in the outdoor season and set another PR and won the Wolfpack Invite on March 7 at 6-4.

“We just focus on a lot of approach stuff and you’ve seen what we’ve done in long jump and triple jump in the past. It’s the same practice and mindset,” Browning said. “You have a kid who’s explosive and can compete. Now you have to fine-tune things and it’s the same as coaching any of the other jumps. … I knew 6-4 was a bar we could get over at the first track meet and when we hit that, he didn’t barely make it, he skyed 6-4. So I’m like, ‘We have something here.’”

Browning then “pushed the threshold” and watched as Garcia set another best at the Colorado Springs All City Meet on April 20 at 6-5 and followed with a school record at the District 2 Invitational on April 25.

Akil Gibson’s record mark of 6-7 stood at Mesa Ridge for 18 years. Browning and Garcia felt that record could fall.

“You’re ranked third in the state at 6-5 … let’s push this a bit,” Browning said. “He jumped 5-11, then 6-1 and we went to 6-7¼. His first jump was a little shaky. His second jump was beautiful and he barely missed it. But the third jump, we got the video of it and it was flawless.”

That quarter on Garcia’s jump was also vital for placement. That extra oomph gave Garcia the top mark in the state, regardless of class, and put him just ahead of Palmer Ridge’s Nathan Moller, who’s seeded second at 6-7 and was sixth last year.

It also serves as a healthy “game within the game” competition between two Pikes Peak region athletes. Palmer Ridge track and field coach Daniel Russell also coaches jumps for Colorado United Track Club, where Garcia and Moller competed during indoor season.

The two will compete against a field of 18 other competitors, including Coronado’s Lyrik Smith, who’s at 6-6.

“Nathan is a really good athlete and that’s my boy,” Garcia said. “We both come from the same club and whoever wants to compete that day is going to compete that day.”