By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Abrianna Barrett went into the Meet of Champions knowing she had a chance to win the high jump. The sophomore lived up to her own expectations as she cleared 5-feet, 10-inches to equal her season best and come away with the gold medal at last Saturday’s MOC at Northern Burlington High School.
“The day didn’t start out too well,” Barrett said. “I didn’t think it would be the day I would jump 5-10. The weather was nice but I thought it might be a little too hot and I would be drained of energy leading up to the jump. When i was jumping the lower heights I was clearing on my second or third attempt and everyone else was clearing on their first, so I wasn’t sure how the day would go.”
The day wound up going as well as Barrett could imagine as she regrouped and came away with the high jump title. As the bat got higher, Barrett became more and more confident that she could win the event.
“It made me a lot more confident because I knew I was the only one who had jumped 5-10 in the past and I knew I could do it again,” Barrett said. “I had done it before. I knew I could do it again and I did. When we got to 6-foot my first attempt was not that close but by the third attempt I was very close. I just have a few little things I need to correct. I feel like getting that extra jumping in at that height gets me more experience and will help me in the future.”
For the Montgomery boys, Ryan Cashman was fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 46-5.75 and Tobi Sonaike finished 15th in the triple jump. The Cougars also finished 18th in the 4×100 relay.
But this day belonged to Barrett, who is just starting to reach her potential as a sophomore.
“At sectionals and groups I didn’t see my coach those weeks and didn’t get that practice in and only jumped 5-4,” Barrett said. “So I didn’t do as well as I could have. I was nervous going into the Meet of Champions. I wasn’t seeded where I know I could have been. I saw my coach the week before the meet and that gave me a lot of confidence.”
Barrett, who will compete in the East Regionals in North Carolina this weekend, will continue to work and hopefully put herself in a position to repeat at the MOC next year.
“I don’t have any meets planned for the summer,” she said. “I will be attending some camps and go back to jump lessons outside of school with Mike Pascuzzo, who coaches high jumpers at Vertical Adventures. I go there on Sundays pretty regularly.”
That work has paid off for Barrett, who now has a title at the Meet of Champions.
For Princeton High, Nils Wildberg finished sixth in the long jump with an effort of 22-9.5, while Paul Brennan finished seventh in the discus with a 160-4 effort. Alex Roth finished eighth in the 3,200 meters, while Simon Schenk was 11th in the pole vault. Will Hare was 24th in the 1,600 meters. The Little Tigers finished 17th in the boys 4×800 relay, while the girls 4×400 relay finished 21st.
