Athlete of the Week: DeBeque’s Scottie Vines

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - Scottie Vines is a sophomore at DeBeque High School, one of the smallest schools on the Western Slope. He’s only 16 years old, but Scottie just broke a state record with an astounding 6 foot 10 high jump.

He set a personal best - and the best mark in Colorado - at the Frank Woodburn Invitational. Vines jumped nearly a full foot higher than the second place finisher. At the time, it was the fifth-highest jump in the entire country.

The sky is literally the limit for this DeBeque native. Scottie Vines is a great hurdler, one of the faster track stars in Colorado, and he’s now a national sensation in the high jump.

“He has potential to do really amazing things,” says Melissa Rigsby, head track & field coach at DeBeque High School. “That day that he hit the 6′10 everything just came together.”

Vines broke the state record on April 9th at Stocker Stadium. Later that week he got his drivers license. He’s still really young, improving by the day, and Coach Rigbsy says his work ethic is unmatched for just a sophomore in high school.

“There’s a lot of work I still need to do,” Vines told us. “High jump has always been my passion...everything was perfect that day. My run up was perfect, my timing was perfect. But there were also some things I could have done to jump 7 feet. I just missed that.”

The DeBeque track & field team has one more league meet coming up this weekend. Scottie Vines has one goal in mind - to break his own record.

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