The state meet is rapidly approaching this weekend (May 14-16, at BYU) and the Layton Christian senior is just 3 inches from the Class 3A record set by Eric Magleby of Timpview in 1979.

LCA wouldn’t open its doors until 1993, and Bod himself wasn’t born until later. He’ll soon walk alongside the school’s 33rd senior class, but not before leaping at the state high jump record.

“I didn’t plan to go to state or to win a state championship this year, but here we are. We’re going for it,” Bod said.

Bod came to Utah from Ivry-sur-Seine, France, located in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, to play basketball. While he says that’s still the plan, the upsides to competing with the track and field team came to light.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

High jump, an event largely influenced by an athlete’s approach and curve, is an event Bod said interested him due to the parallels to his conditioning for hoops and moving about the hardwood.

“Basketball, really, is about going downhill and going on a drive,” Bod said. “I know I’m an athletic player, so I wanted to keep that (athleticism) part of what I’m doing for the high jump.”

Despite his novice status in track, Bod already holds the state’s best mark this season of 6 feet, 10 inches, which hit during the Region 12 championships last weekend. Bod also helped the Eagles win the 4×100-meter relay and finished second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.31 seconds.

After school, Bod is interested in studying sport management like his older brother, Daryl Bod, a 6-foot-6 junior forward for NAIA Wayland Baptist in West Texas. The younger Bod said his elder brother was surprised when he learned about his track ambitions, but has become one of his biggest supporters.

“He always tells me to go as far as you can go,” Bod said. “You have the opportunity to study, and keep playing sports, even basketball. He’s happy for me, and I know he’s encouraging me every day.”

LCA will send 11 total athletes, including Bod, to the state meet this weekend before students return home for the summer.

“I take a lot of inspiration from the team around me,” Bod said. “None of us are especially track and field athletes, either, but we keep doing it, pushing every time, going to practice and getting better every day.”

Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net, X @ctbecker and Instagram @standardexaminersports.