Written by Byron Beers
Jarin Riggs-Brown has been one of Muskogee’s top performers on the track in 2023.
The standout junior has captured early-season titles in the long jump and high jump events and helped the Roughers to a 4×200 meter relay championship.
He brought home a high jump crown from the Tahlequah Tiger Track Classic on April 7 with a result of 6-02.00, and claimed a title in the long jump (21-03.50) at the 14th Annual Hornets Track Classic on March 31 in Tulsa.
Riggs-Brown had a second-place finish in the long jump with a 21-06.00 in Tahlequah. The 4×200 meter relay team won its championship with a time of 1:32.64 at the Hornets Track Classic.
Also a defensive back on the Muskogee football team, Riggs-Brown registered 20 total tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception and one pass breakup on a team that went 11-2 and advanced to the Class 6A-II semifinals in 2022.
He sets high standards for himself in both track and football. He wants to take two more steps and help Muskogee claim a gold ball next season in football and wants to break a school mark on the track, as well as win a state championship in the long jump.
“My goals this year for football are to win a championship and work hard everyday so I can achieve that goal, and for track, I want to beat my high school’s record of 22-11 in the long jump,” said Riggs-Brown, who has been involved in both sports since the age of eight.
Riggs-Brown, a big fan of New York Jets’ cornerback Sauce Gardner and American high jumper JuVaughn Harrison, enjoys doing the perimeter drill in football and is continually working on his speed and jumps on the track.
“My strengths are my athleticism and my confidence,” he said. “I feel like both of those have improved this year. This season, I feel like me as an individual is doing good in my events, but as a team we lack a lot of things and there’s a lot of things we can do better.”
Away from the daily grind of sports and school, Riggs-Brown likes lifting weights, going outside and running, and playing his PS4. If sports don’t work out after high school, he wants to become an engineer or entrepreneur.
“One thing I love about being a student athlete is the privileges and respect I get sometimes,” Riggs-Brown said. “The qualities I think that make someone a better teammate or leader are loyalty, respect and of course being a leader, not a follower.”
