Brett Bence Recounts Being Among Only Two Boys Long Jump Record Holders in 83 Years at Auburn High

Editor’s note: This is the oldest track record at Auburn Senior High School; Brett Bence is an OD, FAAO Partner, Director of Optometry, Northwest Eye Surgeons, Seattle, Washington, Past President, American Academy of Optometry.

When a freshman at Auburn Senior High School in 1969, I marveled at the long jump record. Why? The record was 21 feet 11 inches, set in 1935 by Wayne Schaffer. It must have been an awesome distance for that time. However, this was the second oldest track and field record at AHS that year, superseded by the 100-yard dash mark of 10.4 seconds that had been set in 1931 by Herman Jurgensmeier. It was tied in 1971 by Bill Norvell and in 1972 by Tim Collin. Mark Sapp subsequently broke the record in 1973 by clocking a 10.3 second time.

As a freshman side note, I watched junior Roybert Rose long jump 19 feet, 3 inches and win at an AHS dual track meet. He will never know this, but that jump was inspirational. Even at 2 ½ feet less than the existing record, the height, length, and beauty of his jump catapulted my inner drive to advance as a track athlete. He became my mentor, although he never knew it. And how often in life does that happen? More than we realize.

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