When North Brunswick’s Tyler O’Garro is healthy, few athletes can match his ability in the high jump.

After missing the indoor postseason with an Achilles injury, the standout junior returned on Saturday looking like himself again — and then some.

At 6-8, O’Garro missed his opening attempt but assured his coach to stay calm. On his next try, he cleared the bar with ease. The same pattern followed at 6-10: a miss on his first attempt, then a clean clearance to further extend his lead atop the state rankings.

O’Garro first made statewide headlines during the indoor season when he cleared 7-0 at the Armory Hispanic Games — the first New Jersey athlete to reach that mark since 2016. The jump also broke a Greater Middlesex Conference indoor record that had stood since 1977.

He appeared to be on a path toward a Meet of Champions title after winning at the Group 4 Relay Championships, but his season was cut short by the Achilles injury, sidelining him for the remainder of the winter, including a potential state title run.

“It was lowkey devastating”, said O’Garro on missing the postseason. “it’s crazy seeing everybody come and competing not seeing myself out there.”

Now back, O’Garro wasted little time regaining form. In his return at last week’s GMC Championships, he opened with a winning jump of 6-8, immediately reclaiming the top mark in the state.

“Coming into conference championship time, I just knew I had to prove myself again”, said O’Garro. “That’s the mindset that I came in with, I just had to show that I am who I am and that I was still capable of reaching those high marks.”

While he continues working his way back, there are still days when he’s unable to train at his usual level. Even so, O’Garro has remained consistent, making the most of every opportunity, staying composed and trusting the process.

The work behind his return has been evident, particularly as he began to regain momentum in practice, a clear sign that his progress was trending in the right direction.

“When I first started coming back, I didn’t have the bounce that I used to have”, said O’Garro. “I was hitting bars that I usually wouldn’t hit, so it took a lot of strength training, I had to get in the gym, I had to really get my leg back stronger, so that was that was big for me.

“Once I got that back, I started going 6-6, 6-8, sometimes even 6-10 and that was when I was like, ‘okay, I’m building back my momentum’ and I felt great.”

He made three attempts at 7-0 on Saturday but came up short. Still, with the postseason ahead, O’Garro’s progression suggests a return to that historic height — and perhaps more — could be on the horizon as competition intensifies.

“It’s just about being really controlled in the air”, said O’Garro, speaking on what he needs to do to reach the 7-foot mark once again. “A lot of it is just getting my knee up and just being like consistent with the curve, it’s all about consistency rep after rep at practice, and that will just build so I can get back to seven once again.”