Sicklerville’s Priscilla Frederick Takes 7th in Olympic Trials High Jump

Priscilla Frederick wasn’t moping after tying for seventh in the Olympic Trials high jump Saturday in Eugene, OR. She was looking forward to an escape from New York and a shot at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

She called herself “a girl from Sicklerville, coming from nowhere” to make the finals in the biggest U.S. track meet of the year.

Frederick, who attended Paul VI High School in Haddon Township, equaled her all-time best of 6 feet, ½ inch in tying Tynita Butts of East Carolina University for seventh behind American record holder Chaunte Lowe and Brigetta Barrett, who both cleared 6-7, and 36-year-old Amy Acuff of California, who made her fifth Olympic team with a mark of 6-4 3/4.

A graduate student in sports management, with a year to go for her master’s degree, Frederick said she’s looking to leave behind a “crazy, hectic lifestyle” in New York City and join her coach in Marlton.

She was upbeat after competing Saturday at historic Hayward Field, saying: “You know—I’m here. I made the finals. I placed seventh.”

After missing her third try at 6-2 1/4, Frederick waved to the crowd and took a bow.

“I just put my heart into it,” said the recent St. John’s University star. “Now I got to get ready for next year—and then Brazil [in 2016].”