By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
While plenty of competitors have found it hard to produce a best at the Meet of Champions, Kian Jackson saved his top time for last.
The West Windsor-Plainsboro North senior medaled when he placed sixth in the boys 1600 in a new personal record 4:15.22.
“That was exciting,” Jackson said. “I was hoping to win. I just waited a little too long to start kicking.”
Nonetheless, it was another improvement in time for Jackson. It’s the third meet in a row that he lowered his mile time.
“I think it was because of my coach and how he tapers us at the end of the season so we keep improving every meet,” said Jackson, adding, “I improved a lot over the whole four years that I was running.”
Jackson was thrilled just to be able to conclude his in-state career at the MOC. He has come along steadily through the years and finally reached the pinnacle of New Jersey meets.
“It felt really cool going there,” Jackson said. “That was my first time going to Meet of Champs outdoor. That was my goal at the beginning of the season. I felt pretty good about that.”
Jackson also qualified in the 800 meters. After competing in the 1600, he came back to place 23rd in the 800 in 2:00.06.
“I was really happy I got through for both,” Jackson said. “I like the mile and the 800.”
While Jackson was winding down his Knights career — he will run at Rutgers University next year — on a high note, John Owens was just beginning to set up a bright future. The WW-P North sophomore placed fourth in the boys long jump at 21-11¼. Knights’ senior Aathreya Thuppul was also a long jump qualifier and he placed 20th in his first time at MOC.
“John is such a great competitor,” said Knights head coach Brian Gould. “John and Kian both placed higher than they were seeded. I think that’s a great indicator of success. John’s just a competitor. He wills himself forward. That fourth-place jump was his sixth jump. It was six or seven inches farther than he had jumped. He’s another kid that thrives under pressure. He’s humble and hungry. He wants to do every event. He’s a special talent and he’s has a special personality.”
Gould is excited to see that the future will hold for Owens, who has been a consistent force for the Knights all year. Gould also was thrilled to see the way that Jackson has evolved.
“He just kept getting better and better, not just this year, but over the four years,” Gould said. “He continued to mature and work harder and train harder and set bigger goals. The thing I love about him, whatever the challenge is he always rises to the occasion and performs his best under the spotlight. In the biggest races, he competes at his best.”
Jackson’s training had been encouraging through the year. He came off a solid indoor track and field season and was able to post promising results when the spring began.
“He split a really good 800 at Mercer County Relays, and then he did get sick the day before counties,” Gould said. “Leading up to that, he looked great. He rebounded from that. He ran well enough at sectionals to get through, then ran well at groups and ran his best race of the year at Meet of Champs, which is the goal.”
The MOC was a big spot for him to make a tough call. Jackson had to decide which of his two events that he would put his main energy into, and he went with the mile.
“The mile was first,” Jackson said. “I like the mile a little bit more. Since that one was first, it made sense.”
Jackson gave up a chance to go after the school 800-meter record in favor of the mile. He was happy to be able to show off his improvement. Earlier this year, he missed a chance to compete at the Mercer County Championships due to illness. He recovered to come on strong down the final three weeks to finish his best year of running.
“I was a lot more consistent with my training,” Jackson noted. “In the past years, sometimes I’d have some good workouts and bad workouts. This year, for the most part, they were all good workouts.”
Those workouts gave him confidence in being able to compete against the top middle distance runners in the state. He was poised and focused for the MOC.
“He doesn’t really get rattled in big races,” Gould said. “That’s what enabled him to improve every week. He stays very cool. He’s a very good competitor. I thought he had a good season.”
It’s not quite over. He will compete in the sprint medley relay at outdoor nationals with Owens, Malik Thompson and Miles Fye-Moore. It will be his final race for the Knights, and as she showed in the MOC, he’s best in the biggest moments.
Said Jackson: “Because I hadn’t gotten there before and it was my senior year, I felt really motivated to go get it.”
