Rapid Riser: 7-foot clearance puts Central’s Keithon Womack atop high jump
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
CENTRAL – Two years ago, Central High jumps coach Affrica Mayes suggested to two-sport standout Keithon Womack that he consider adding a third sport to his repertoire.
Her idea? The high jump.
“I didn’t really know what the high jump was at first,” Womack said. “I’m still learning. Coach Hayes was begging me and wouldn’t let go until I tried.”
Mayes was intrigued by Womack’s intellect and athletic ability.
She taught him freshman history and observed Womack on the basketball court, where he was part of the Wildcats’ back-to-back teams that went to the Division I non-select state tournament.
“I knew he was smart; he has a 3.7 GPA,” Mayes said. “I also saw him dunk a basketball. I knew he could jump.”
The road to becoming a successful high jumper is paved with plenty of layers, from the approach toward the landing pit to the timing and explosion off the ground and over the bar.
Womack was simply a novice when it came to track. He was an adept wide receiver on the football field and a valuable member of Central’s backcourt as a guard, but the 6-foot-1, 175-pounder, with Mayes’ help, took baby steps toward equaling any of his previous athletic accomplishments.
Mayes’ patience paid off. She started with a scissors – or feet-first approach – and Womack cleared 5 feet, 6 inches, in his first practice before the 2025 season.
The more he settled into a routine and listened to Mayes’ instructions, which later brought the ‘Fosbury Flop’ – a method of jumping backward head-first and landing on his back – Womack’s career literally took off.
Womack reached 6-4 during the season, peaked at 6-8, and qualified for his first LHSAA state track and field competition, where he finished fourth place at 6-5, which trailed the winning jump of 6-9 ½.
“I had no background,” he said. “I didn’t even know how to go backwards. I had to go to practice multiple times and not be scared of it. I didn’t know how good that was after two or three weeks. She told me that it was impressive. From her coaching, it obviously improved me a lot from then until now, and I’m still learning about the sport. When I got to 6-8, it made me realize that I could do something with this.”
Flash forward to this year’s outdoor season, and Womack is viewed in a whole new light. The senior is coming off a career-best 7-foot clearance at last week’s regionals, making him the nation’s No. 11 high jumper and No. 1 participant going into Saturday’s Class 5A state meet and LSU’s Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
Womack is scheduled to begin competing in the high jump at 1:30. He will also be in the long jump at 2:45, where his 20-11 ¼ mark is less than a foot behind the fourth-best entry.
“We split it up at practice,” Womack said of the week leading up to the state meet. “I just want to relax. I’m not trying to think this is state. I have to do good. I just think that it’s another meet. This is a meet with all of the top people. I’ve got to go get it. It’s not something to get too worked up over.”
Womack has made a name for himself on both of Central’s football and basketball programs.
The Wildcats won the school’s first state football championship in 58 years under coach David Simoneaux Jr., shredding state power Ruston, 42-0, for a 13-1 record to finish the 2024 season.
Womack was a big factor in Central’s offensive juggernaut, beating eventual LSU cornerback signee Aiden Anding on the game’s first play for a 59-yard touchdown. He caught six passes for 113 yards and 2 TDs from quarterback Jackson Firmin, his team’s MVP in the game.
The Wildcats advanced to the state quarterfinal round last season, falling 31-27 to Zachary.
Womack, a second-team All-District 4-5A choice in ’24 and first-team selection in ’25, had 94 receptions for 1,437 yards and 14 touchdowns the past two seasons.
The Wildcats were 24-4 in that span.
Central’s basketball program under Scott Osborbne made major strides, reaching the state championship game in 2024-25 and state semifinals this past season.
The Wildcats, with a 49-12 record the past two seasons, were the state runner-up to Zachary, 44-37, and were stopped in the semifinals this past season by Ruston.
Womack, an honorable mention choice as a senior, averaged 9.3 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.0 rebounds. He was also the team’s leader in deflections.
Mayes, a native of DeRidder and college cheerleader at Tuskegee University, developed a background for the high jump, coaching her own sons at the youth track level. She’s always impacted the success of others in the area at the high school level.
“I was part of the U.S. Express team in 2009,” she said. “They didn’t have a high jump coach. I had a son that was 5-9 with no form.”
Mayes also obtained her master’s in sports psychology, and her fondness for teaching made her a natural at explaining the high jump and the mindset behind it. She went beyond the steps of the approach, further delving into the physics of the sport that put her on the cutting edge.
“My athletes say that I’m always teaching,” Mayes said. “I tell that’s because I want them to understand. There’s always a teachable moment in coaching.”
Womack came to Mayes upon the completion of last year’s terrific run in basketball, with five weeks until the district meet.
“He didn’t know anything about the high jump,” Mayes said. “I told him I could teach him. He’s a great kid that listened.”
That began with the rudimentary approach to ‘scissoring’ over the bar. Womack did that for two weeks, getting a baseline of 5-8 to build from. Once he gained the confidence necessary to go over the bar backward, he began to ascend.
Womack’s first clearance at 6-4 was an indication of his potential. By the time the district meet was held, he’d become a 6-8 jumper that advanced to his first state meet, where he was fourth.
“Some athletes aren’t coachable because they things don’t make sense,” Mayes said. “He doesn’t care that I’m 5-3 ¾. I’ve had an athlete tell me no one’s going to listen to you because you’re a woman. He listens. He doesn’t argue.”
Womack left last year’s state meet more than annoyed that he didn’t reach the podium (for the top three finishers) instead of celebrating his rapid rise in an event that he had no prior knowledge of five weeks earlier.
“She (Mayes) and my mom were trying to tell me I had only been doing it for five weeks,” Womack said. “I didn’t care. I wanted to win. I wanted to at least place third, knowing I was right under, kind of sucked.”
Another deep postseason run to the state semifinals didn’t allow Womack to train or compete during the indoor track season. He made another quick entry into the start of this year’s outdoor season.
After a week off to recover from a 30-game basketball season, Womack’s first meet at the Zachary Invitational resulted in a 6-4 clearance.
“As soon as we lost in the semifinals, I took a week off to rest my legs, and it was right back to it,” he said. “I had a meet that same week coming back.”
Womack was making his way to the winner’s circle with regularity, winning both the high jump (6-6) and long jump (21-1 ¾) at Live Oak’s Easter Classic. He added another title the following week in the Ponchatoula Classic with a 6-7 mark.
“I was determined to clear 6-8,” Womack said. “I kept failing around that height. I kept jumping more and more and getting the technique down.”
His persistence paid off with a 6-9 clearance at the Catholic High Grizzly Relays against a field of formidable foes.
“I heard it was the best jumpers from around the state,” he said of the meet. “I’m a competitor, so once I knew I was just against the best, I really showed up.”
Womack was just getting started. He returned to Pete Boudreaux Track Stadium at Catholic High and captured the District 4-5A title with a personal best of 6-10 ½.
“I looked at the 6-9 jump and thought I was way over the bar, that I could get up higher,” Womack said.
A week later, he went to another level that resulted in national notoriety.
The competition for regionals, which was held at Zachary, began at 6 feet and progressed in two-inch intervals.
Womack made five straight jumps until missing on his first attempt at 6-10. Although he had already defeated Denham Springs’ Angel Moreaux (6-8) for the championship, Womack cleared 6-10 on his second attempt, moving the bar to the magical 7-foot standard.
“It was a relief,” Womack said. “I didn’t want to go out at 6-10.”
Womack missed his first two tries at 7 feet before a successful clearance on his third attempt in which he appeared to graze the bar on his way down to the pit.
With the long jump competition still ongoing, Womack decided to shut down any further attempts in the high jump.
“If I didn’t have long jump as well, I would have tried again,” he said.
Because she was so confident in his approach on the third attempt, Mayes didn’t even watch Womack complete the jump. She was already on her way to meet him at the long jump area.
“I can tell by the approach whether someone will make a jump or not,” she said. “If the approach is off, then the jump will be off. Once I saw his approach, I walked away and didn’t even watch the jump because I needed to go to the long jump.”
The nation’s No. 1 high jumpers are Maddox Kretzer of South Garner, N.C., and Julian Brown of Myrtle Beach, S.C., who have both cleared 7-4 ¼.
Womack finds himself ranked 11th nationally. He has set his sights on a state championship and Class 5A and composite record of 7-2 held by J.J. Barton of Lafayette High, set 30 years ago.
“My personal goal is to get the state record and to move up nationally,” Womack said. “Whenever I first heard I was ranked nationally, I didn’t know I was up there.”
With his success in the high jump, competing in track is now a viable option along with his love of football. He remains uncommitted, but open to schools that would allow him to compete in both sports.
“It’s part of what I want to do in college,” he said of track. “I had two schools that reached out during the past couple of weeks and asked if I wanted to do track. I also want to do football as well.”
Womack’s competed on the state’s biggest stages has to offer, so a second straight trip to Bernie Moore Stadium won’t faze him. He’s at complete ease catching passes in the Caesars Superdome or scoring points and causing havoc on defense in Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles.
“It’s not a new environment to me,” he said, “There’s a lot of people. It still excites me. It’s just amazing with all of those people watching.”
Womack understands the solidarity that comes with competing in singular events in track. Coaches have to cheer from the stands and are not permitted on the track or around the areas in which their athletes are competing.
In that respect, Womack has to trust the preparation and the things Mayes has instilled to reach state championship gold.
“I’ve got to focus on what I’m doing,” he said. “I have to figure things out as it’s going.”
Mayes admires Womack’s all-around ability.
“He plays three sports at a 5A school,” she said. “He not only played three sports at a 5A school, but he’s also excelled in all three. Nothing affects him at all. I’m so proud of him.”