AAA Girls' Long Jump Preview
One of more wide open events for this coming weekend is the AAA girls long jump. A number of girls have jumped at or really close to the 19-foot mark, and should make for a close battle for the state's top spot.
The top seed is Natalie Kwortnik of North Penn. The senior leapt 19-00.5 to win the District 1 title this past week, a T-PA#2 jump. Kwortnik likes the big stage; she won the indoor state title with a jump of 19-3, so she'll be looking to add an outdoor crown to her resume.
Kwortnik is tied with Perkiomen Valley's Christina Warren for that PA#2 spot. Warren was fourth in District 1, but jumped 19-00.5 to win the PAC title a week before. Warren will be busy at Ship, but she should contend for the long jump win, too.
The WPIAL saw some big jumps last week. North Allegheny's Casey Burton leapt 18-9 for the D7 win. She put down a huge 19-6 jump last year to place second at the state meet and will look for a similar effort this coming weekend. Oakland Catholic's Jayla Ellis was second to Burton in the WPIAL, but has a best jump of 18-10.75 on the season. Look for both to be in it to win it.
Plenty of others are coming in with big jumps from their respective district meets. West York Area's Tesia Thomas leapt 18-5.25, a half inch off her season best, to win the District 3 crown. Wallenpaupack freshman Anna Ioppolo was one of the big surprises last week, jumping a foot PR of 18-2.25 to win the District 2 title.
Bethlehem Catholic's Liz Lieb, Cheltenham's Brianna Smith, Council Rock North's Marissa Hsu, and Central Dauphin's Gabriella Recce also jumped 18 feet or better at districts.
Depending on the weather, it could very well take a big PR by any of the girls in this field to leap to the top of the podium. It will be close!
ENTRIES:
Event 314 Girls Long Jump AAA
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NFHS Record: 22-01.75 1976 Kathy McMillan, RaefordHCHS,NC
PIAA Record: 20-03 2005 Nicole Smith, McDowell 10
NFHS Hnr Rol: 19-06
17-09.00 SQS
Name Year School Seed Mark Finals
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1 Kwortnik, Natalie 12 North Penn 01 19-00.50 SQS
2 Burton, Casey 11 No Allegheny 07 18-09.00 SQS
3 Ellis, Jayla 12 Oakland Cath 07 18-07.50 SQS
4 Thomas, Tesia 11 West York 03 18-05.25 SQS
5 Ioppolo, Anna 9 Wallenpaupack 02 18-02.50 SQS
6 Lieb, Liz 12 Bethlehm Cath 11 18-02.50 SQS
7 Smith, Brianna 11 Cheltenham 01 18-02.00 SQS
8 Hsu, Marissa 12 C R North 01 18-01.00 SQS
9 Recce, Gabriella 11 Cntrl Dauphin 03 18-00.25 SQS
10 Warren, Christina 12 Perk Valley 01 18-00.00 SQS
11 Engle, Meredith 11 Northern 03 17-11.75 SQS
12 Smith, Patrice 11 Mount Lebanon 07 17-11.00 SQS
13 Slaw, Kaia 11 Lehighton 11 17-09.50 SQS
14 Kolesar, Jessica 12 Norwin 07 17-08.75
15 Rawley, Devin 12 Spring Ford 01 17-08.50
16 Frazier, Darcie 12 Hollidaysburg 06 17-07.75
17 Evans, Katelyn 11 Methacton 01 17-07.75
18 Saunders, Aviona 12 Conestoga Vly 03 17-06.00
19 Sebwe, Kelsey 11 Arch Ryan 12 17-02.75
20 Laubach, Julia 11 Mifflinburg 04 17-02.75
21 Furtick, Taliyah 11 Simon Gratz 12 17-02.50
22 McKenzie, Emily 11 Northern 03 17-02.00
23 Johnson, Regan 11 Bradford Area 09 16-09.50
24 Fletcher, Mackenzie 10 Villa Maria 10 16-09.25