Above: Lewis soars to a New State Record at NBNO
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PHILADELPHIA - It's not often that Avery Lewis feels the pressure of being behind in a long jump competition.
However, there was no avoiding it Sunday afternoon at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on the final day of the 2023 New Balance Nationals Outdoor.
Juliette Laracuente-Huebner, a vertical and horizontal jump standout from Ohio, recorded one of the longest jumps in Buckeye state history in the opening round of the third and final flight of the Championship Girls Long Jump. Lewis responded in record-breaking fashion, landing an outdoor PR jump that was worthy of the victory and a new state outdoor record.
A third-round leap of 20 feet, 9.75 inches by Lewis broke one of the few marks still standing from the previous century, a 20-9 bound by Villa Maria Academy standout Angie Brown at the 1994 Golden West Invitational in California. Lewis, whose previous outdoor best was a wind-aided 20-8.5 from 2021, closed out the competition with a leap of 20-0.5 to record half of the four total marks over 20-0.
Laracuente-Huebner's first jump of 20-3.5 is a PR outdoors and just 0.25 off her best indoors from the 2023 season. Juliana Balon of Delaware matched that 20-3.5 mark on her final jump but lost the tiebreaker by 1.5 inches in a tight competition as the top six had at least one jump at 19-8.25 (6 meters) or longer.
Sunday's win completed the 2023 New Balance Nationals double for Lewis as she was the victor back in March in Boston with a best of 20-5.