The RoundHouse | 2/22/2018 2:35:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Wichita State's Jared Belardo and Rayvon Allen jump together and sing together. They're competitive when they jump. When they sing, Allen knows whose voice hits the mark.
 
Their favorite is "Same Girl," with Allen singing R Kelly's part and Belardo taking Usher's lines.
 
"He sings way better than I do," Allen said. "I just sing."
 
Wichita State's jumping duo is staging in Birmingham, Ala., on Friday and Saturday for the American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships at Birmingham Crossplex. The Shocker men expect to compete for the title, although they wouldn't rank as the favorite.
 
To beat the form chart, they need points from Belardo and Allen in the long jump and triple jump.
 
Belardo, a junior from Leavenworth, ranks second in the triple jump (51 feet, 4 ¼ inches) and fourth in the long jump (24-9 ¾). Allen, a freshman from St. Louis, ranks third in the triple jump (50-5 ¼) and seventh in the long jump (24-4 ¼).
 
Belardo, who owns three Missouri Valley Conference triple jump titles and two in the long jump, considers himself in the best shape of his career. He is over nagging ankle and hamstring injuries that bothered him as a sophomore and performing more like he did as a freshman, when he set the school record in the indoor long jump (25-9 ½).
 
Coaches no longer need to soften his training schedule to keep him healthy. His marks early in the season are ahead of his usual schedule and indicate to him bigger things are possible in Birmingham.
 
"I tend to wait to have my biggest performances at conference time," he said. "I've got more training under my belt. I'm in a lot better shape, a lot stronger, better endurance."
 
Allen helps. Belardo lacked training partners much of his first two seasons.
 
"It was really just me," Belardo said.
 
Most of the male jumpers of his caliber competed in the multi-events, so they practiced on different schedules. Belardo often trained with the female jumpers.
 
"He was jumping with the ladies all of the time," Shocker jumps coach Heidi Yost said. "He would be like 'Oh, I'll give you five feet.' Well, that's competition, but it's not head-on competition."
 
Allen's arrival gives Belardo a friend and competitor.
 
"When we measure jumps, he's got somebody at his level," Yost said. "If Jared jumps 22-6 from a short approach, then Rayvon is trying to go 22-7 and then they're talking about it and giving each other a hard time. And Jared doesn't want to lose to the incoming freshman, the young guy."
 
Belardo hosted Allen on the recruiting visit. Allen told him he expected to hit 51 feet in the triple jump during high school, which impressed Belardo. Sure enough, Allen went 51-7 for his personal best.
 
"That was his vision and that came through," Belardo said. "I knew he would be a good fit for our team. I really made a big push to get him here. I needed someone to push me in practice."
 
Allen and Belardo use their phones to video jumps and critique each other. When Allen wanted to jump in a prestige meet earlier this season, Belardo counseled him to save his legs for the conference meet. Belardo helps Allen with his landing. Allen helps Belardo with the early stages of his approach.
 
"It wasn't my strong suit in high school, and now I'm working on it," Allen said. "Get my knees up higher, hold it longer, and let the sand come to me."
 
That leaves time for the songs and laughs.
 
"I know that they dance around and be-bop and I have some video of that," Yost said. "It's great to work with those guys. It's fun for me as a coach. They're talented guys and I see that they get along and they're competitive and it's in a good way."
 
The Shockers head to Birmingham carrying the expectations of past teams. They swept the MVC indoor and outdoor titles last season for men and women. The Shocker women are redshirting a large part of the roster, so they don't expect to finish in the upper half of the American. The men want to battle with Houston and Connecticut for the title.
 
"It's a new, exciting challenge," Belardo said. "It's a big deal for us to stay on that winning track and we're known as a championship program."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.