In Buckingham, on Friday afternoon at Central Bucks East, the cold and wet conditions were not great for the long jump competition. However, Destini Smith from Souderton knew the important factors for success.
She mentioned, "I believe staying warm before jumping is important. And maintaining good form, not getting distracted by the weather."
Smith achieved the top girls score at the Suburban One League Colonial Division Track and Field Championships, securing the gold in long jump with a distance of 17 feet, 9.75 on her first jump in the finals.
“It was six inches less than my personal record but not bad considering the conditions,” Smith commented. “Certainly, I could have aimed for better technique, but I think it was good given the conditions.”
Madison Gee from North Penn came second at 17 feet, 3.25 inches, while Erika Dombroski from Central Bucks South took third place at 16 feet, 4 inches.
In addition, Souderton also clinched first place in the boys long jump, with senior Vaughn Cole achieving a winning distance of 20 feet, 4 inches on his final jump in the finals.
Brady Rogers from Central Bucks East finished second at 20 feet, 3.5 inches, and Chase Marshall from Pennridge secured third place at 20 feet, 2.5 inches.
The boys from Central Bucks West and the girls from Central Bucks East emerged victorious in the 4×800 relays, while North Penn junior Zianna Dobson won the girls discus event.
The SOL Colonial meet will continue on Saturday at East’s 1st Lt. Colby J. Umbrell Field at Patriot Stadium. Smith is scheduled to participate in the high jump, triple jump, and also run in the Indians’ 4×100 relay. Therefore, she was pleased to have completed the long jump event despite the wet weather on Friday.
Smith expressed her concerns, stating, "I was worried because I'm participating in all three jumps, so I thought, ‘Uh, I don't want to do all the jumps on the same day.’ But I'm glad it happened today.”
Last year at the SOL Colonial meet, Smith came third in the high jump. She only started competing in both the high jump and triple jump during the indoor season and has excelled in both during the spring’s outdoor campaign.
She explained, "My coach encouraged me to try the long and triple jumps. Initially, I was hesitant and only wanted to focus on the high jump because I was doing well in it. However, after trying it, I found out that I was pretty good at it.”
Smith has broken Souderton school records in high and triple jumps, which had both stood since 1980. At this April’s Penn Relays, she finished seventh in the High School Girls’ Triple Jump Championship with a distance of 40 feet, 8.25 inches.
Regarding the second day of the division championship, Smith expressed confidence, saying, "I'm quite confident in the triple jump, as I'm the top performer in the state. As for the high jump, although I haven't participated much this season, I'm also confident. I believe that even on a not-so-good day, I can perform well, similar to today. I'm also planning to participate in the 4×1 relay tomorrow.”
The Central Bucks West 4×800 relay team secured their Colonial title, with the team of Richard Newell, Nathan Terry, Benjamin Fuhrmeister, and Nate Fehrman finishing in a time of 7:46.23.
The group of four from West came in third place at the Penn Relays’ Championship of American 4×8 with a time of 7:45.99. Newell, Terry and Fehrman were also part of last year’s winning relay team that secured the SOL Colonial gold in 7:59.23.
Souderton (Lance Midboe, Justin Stauffer, Thomas Fedesco and Aidan Kearns) finished second in the boys 4×8 with a time of 7:53.78. North Penn (Matthew Connelly, Brady Sweeney, Musa Herzi and Kyle Gordon) took third place with a time of 7:56.87.
The Central Bucks East team of Madison Epstein, Eleanor Swidorski, Lilly Norcross and Ava Mignon claimed first place in the girls 4×800 relays, finishing in 9:26.23.
Pennridge’s Jessica Lackner, Kaegan Smith, Alyssa Gobrecht and Ashley Landis secured second place in 9:32.72. Central Bucks South (Emily Schaab, Taryn Kotsur, Grace Waibel and Riley Rooney) finished third in 9:37.06.
Dobson clinched her second consecutive SOL Colonial title in the discus, taking first place on Friday with a throw of 120 feet, 2 inches. The junior secured victory in 2023 with a throw of 114 feet, 1 inch.
CB East’s Mia Rivera took second place at 103 feet, while North Penn’s Fiona Engleman secured third place at 97 feet, 6 inches. At last year’s division meet, Engleman came in second and Rivera in third.
