Carmelo Roper dreamed since he was a seventh grader that he would someday be a Division I athlete, either in basketball or in track and field.
Over a month after graduating from Timberline High School, his time was close to running out on that dream.
Roper, a three-time state medalist in the triple jump and a one-time medalist in the long jump, spent his summer searching for his future home before track coaches completed their rosters. He searched far, and he searched wide, but one factor trumped the rest at play in his decision.
He wanted to come home.
Roper grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and has lived in Washington for the last three years as his mother is stationed at Joint Base-Lewis McChord with the United States Army. But his mother will soon be returning to San Antonio, and Roper wanted to be home for college, too.
He accomplished those dreams by announcing his commitment Wednesday to Texas Southern University in Houston to continue his athletic and academic career.
“It means a lot. The work ethic, the long nights, the long days, the times where I let adversity get to me, it all really paid off,” Roper said. “Competing at the DI level was something that I always dreamed of. I felt like it was really impossible because to be DI, you almost have to be one of a kind. Getting that opportunity to show my talents on that type of stage, I couldn’t ask for anything other than that.”
Roper is coming off of a senior season in which he collected plenty of hardware. He won the Puget Sound League and the District 3/4 titles in both the triple jump and the long jump, and he finished second at state in the triple jump and seventh in the long jump. He set personal bests of 22 feet, 6.75 inches in the long jump and 47 feet, 5 inches in the triple jump, ranking second in school history in both categories.
This past season was transformative for Roper. It was just his third in track and field, and while he found some success in his first two, his skills and his mental approach skyrocketed along with his marks.
“My mentality changed because I was always told to have that next-play mentality. If something doesn’t go right the first time, always try again or think of another way,” Roper said. “Before, whenever I would underperform or I wouldn’t have a good meet, I would always hold my head down and let everything get to me. This past year, I told myself that this is my last time doing high school track. I told myself to hold my head up high and that adversity makes me stronger.”
Roper has been in communication with Texas Southern’s coaching staff for a year. He and TSU’s jumps coach Tristan Ham have been in constant contact ever since, with Roper passing along updates on his progress throughout his senior season. Communication increased after the season after multiple Texas Southern jumpers transferred, and Roper was offered a walk-on opportunity.
Roper took a visit to the campus on Wednesday and made his decision to commit while in Houston as deadlines grew near. Freshmen move in Aug. 9, and school starts Aug. 17. On the tour, he checked out the track facilities and the dormitories around campus. He had another campus visit to California State University, East Bay in Hayward earlier in the summer but opted to return to his home state.
“I felt like this would be my last opportunity at a school, so I just went with it. It was close to home, so all of my family could come visit,” Roper said. “It was the most cooperative choice for me.”
At Texas Southern, Roper will major in psychology with the goal of earning his master’s degree and pursuing a career as a mental health counselor after he hangs up his spikes. He was inspired to chase this career path after being introduced to Timberline’s mental health counselor through health class.
“People nowadays are so engaged in social media and technology. It’s hard for us to communicate in the real world,” Roper said. “We tend to hide how we feel deep down and keep our emotions to ourselves. I want to work with kids, adults, anybody, and I want them to communicate to me how they feel. I just want to be in their corner and make them feel better and always be there to help them however they need.”
Roper thanked the Timberline community for its support in his three years there, particularly his track coach Zandrea Edenstrom, who developed him into one of the best jumpers in the program’s storied history.
“Being part of that community meant a lot. Without their support, I wouldn’t be here. I’ve gone so far due to how they’ve treated me and how people have looked up to me as a role model,” Roper said. “I deeply appreciate it.”
