Photo by Ethan Rissell
We are spending the next month or so counting down the top 20 moments of the 2015-2016 year in Pennsylvania track and field and cross country. Friday we brought you the 20th best moment of the year with Marianne Abdalah's third peat in PIAA Class-A XC and today we continue with our 19th best moment of the season.
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#19: Horizontal Jumps Heat Up at States
One word to describe the weather at the PIAA Track &
Field State Championships: hot.
But it also happens that those conditions are perfect for the athletes who stepped on the runway in the final week of May. Many of PA's best took advantage of the warm weather and heat up the horizontal jumps. During the two days of competition, we saw three PA#1s and a near PA#1 in the long and triple jumps. In the boys triple jump, six of the eight best jumps of the year happened at states. Simply put, the jumpers brought it.
For our 19th best moment of the year, we give you ALL the horizontal jump events from the outdoor state meet.
Photo by Kathy Leister
On Friday, the AAA boys' triple jump got things started in a big way. The reigning champ, Ravaughn Dillard of Gettysburg wasn't facing an easy task for the repeat. But Dillard pulled out the biggest jump of his life in his final attempt to put him in the lead and give him the win. His winning 48-7 was over a seven inch PR. Pittsburgh Central Catholic's Bricen Garner was second with a lifetime best of 48-4.75. Downingtown West's Darian Alston also PR'd with a 48-1.75 for third.
Also on Friday was a competitive AA boys' long jump. Schuylkill Valley's Brendan Sparr was just off his season best, but won in an epic duel with Delaware Valley's Jahmair Craig. Both jumped 23-9.5, but Sparr had the better second jump giving him the title. In the AAA girls' triple jump, Evelyn Berecz was an upset winner with a best jump of 39-5.5 to beat a talented field. Then Athens Area's Breana Gambrell made it two in a row to nab the win in the AA girls' long jump with a best of 19-3.75.
Saturday brought more drama to the table in the jumps. New
Brighton's Anthony Milliner. The
junior picked a good time to bust out his personal best in the triple jump. He
won the AA boys' triple jump with a jump of 48-5.5---two spots better than the
previous year, but over a three feet improvement over his sophomore year best.
Speaking of big PRs, Nazareth's Jahan Dotson jumped almost a foot and a half better than his previous PR from the District 11 Championships a week prior. Dotson's best jump was 24-4.5, joining an elite group of PA jumpers who have jumped past the 24-foot mark.
Pocono Mountain East's Khyasi Caldwell-Adams avenged a loss at Shippensburg from earlier in the season and picked up the win in the AAA girls' long jump with a leap of 19-5.5, just a half inch off her PR that she set a week earlier at the District 11 Championships. In the AA girls' triple jump, Fort Cherry's Koryn Jozwiakowski was a narrow winner over Salisbury's Lindsay Bauer. Jozwiakowski jumped 37-9 to take the win.