State champion high jumper shares hidden talent

BEVERLY HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) -- If nothing else, Dartis Willis kept his track coaches busy over the last four years.

"We have a record board that we post prominently in the gym," Country Day Track and Field Coach David Wilson said.

"In the last several years, we've virtually rewritten the record board."

He set a new state mark in the indoor high jump and consistently crushed his opponents -- which sometimes made it tough to find motivation.

"You gotta be constantly looking to improve, whether you're in the back of the field, the middle of the field, or especially in the front," Willis explained.

The jump that won Dartis the State Championship measured 6 feet 11 inches. To put that in perspective, he could have jumped over Ben Wallace - minus the afro - and still had two inches to spare. Those kind of performances were par for the course and the reason college coaches came calling.

"The letters started to come in around the beginning of sophomore year," he explained. "But the real heavy recruiting started at the end of my junior year and beginning of my senior year."

He made a quick decision - choosing Stanford after one visit. And when's he's not competing, he'll be showing off another skill: the saxophone.

"I've been playing since I was in sixth grade, so that would be about seven years off and on. That part of me that loved music and jazz never really died. It was always in there, so whenever I could I'd pick it up and just play."

Willis' coach sums it up well.

"The numbers tell us a great deal about Dartis, in terms of his jumping and sprinting ability, but beyond that he's made everyone on the team better," he said.

Dartis has big plans for his future.

"I'm hoping college training could help me become an Olympic tier athlete," the Stanford-bound teen proclaimed.

One who jumps -- to a happy tune.