Track and Field: Episcopal trio jumping over performances at Delcos
SPRINGFIELD — The weather was perfect and so was the atmosphere at the Delaware County Girls Track & Field Championships Thursday at Springfield High School.
The best part for Episcopal Academy’s Saige Forbes, Avery Elliott and Maya Bright is that they got to do it together.
“I love jumping with these two,” Elliott said of Forbes and Bright. “We’re so close. We don’t jump much together because we all do a ton of events, but it was really great being together.”
All three were entered in the long jump, one of three finals contested on the first day of competition, and the trio put on quite a show. They dominated the event, finishing first, second and fourth, respectively
Forbes, a junior, leaped a personal best 19 feet, 4½ inches to take home the gold medal and shatter the meet record of 18-7¾ set by Upper Darby’s Claudine Andre in 2014. Andre went on to be named the Daily Times Athlete of the Year in girls track that season.
That’s Forbes’ third jump of 19-feet or better this season. She leaped 19-1 to win the long jump at the Kellerman Invitational and went 19-4¼ earlier in the week in a dual meet with Penn Charter.
Forbes needed that kind of performance in what turned out to be a highly competitive event. The top four jumpers, Forbes, Elliott, Academy Park’s Kaila Bright (18-7), and Maya Bright, all went 18-5 or better. All four of their jumps rank in the top 10 in the state, according to pa.milesplit.com. It took a leap of 17-6¾ or better to earn a spot on the medals stand.
“I think the atmosphere really led to me jumping well,” Elliott said. “Being here at Delcos with all the different schools together made it really exciting.”
Elliott, a junior, topped her personal best by nearly 10 inches with a leap of 18-10½. She went 18-0¾ to win the event at the Coatesville Invitational last month. Her effort Thursday also would have topped the meet record had it not been for Forbes. This is her first year doing the long jump.
Bright, a sophomore, wasn’t far behind. She jumped 18-5 to top her previous best of 17-9. That’s not bad for a first time track athlete.
“I play soccer and everyone said that I was so fast that I should try track,” Bright said. “This year I finally decided to do it. I’m glad I did. I like it.”
Forbes and Elliott were busy. Forbes also qualified for the finals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, recording the third-fastest time in each event in the trials. She’ll also be a member of EA’s 4 x 100 team Saturday. Elliott advanced to the finals in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles with the third fastest qualifying time in each event. She’ll also be running on a relay team on Saturday.
Thursday, though, was a chance for the trio to compete – and medal – in the same event and they cherished the moment.
“We push each other to do better, in a friendly way.” Forbes said. “We all help each other and that helps us make us better.”
“We all know what it’s like running back and forth from one event to another so being there together was great,” Elliott said. “We were just supporting each other, saying, ‘You got it,’ and things like that. Having that support makes us better.”
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Strath Haven’s Alexa Brown had a huge smile on her face as she accepted the gold medal for winning the shot put with a heave of 44-3, which was two inches off her all-time best.
This is familiar territory for the two-time All-Delco. It’s the third straight year in which she’s won the shot put at the county championship.
“I watched all these girls come through here and leave with their medals and I never thought I would be one of them,” Brown said. “I’m just so proud of what I’ve been able to do.”
Brown is not done yet. She has the Central League championships next week, followed by the District 1 championships and, hopefully, another trip to Shippensburg for the PIAA Championships, where she is a two-time medal winner. She won a silver medal in the shot put last season and finished seventh as a sophomore.
“I’m excited about moving forward because I feel my mind is in the right place and my body is in the right place,” Brown said. “All I have to do is go out and throw.”
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Abigail DeFruscio had a unique way of preparing for the javelin at the county championship. Instead of working on her technique she decided to take a few days off.
The strategy worked as the sophomore from Haverford unleashed a career-best throw of 108-10 to win the javelin.
“My arm was very loose and I think that helped,” DeFruscio said. “I also went in with a lot of confidence.”
That self-assurance showed as she topped her previous best by more than three feet.
“It was amazing,” DeFruscio said. “I’m so happy with what I did today.”
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NOTES >> The meet concludes Saturday with the remainder of the field events starting at 3:30 p.m. and the track events beginning with the 300 hurdles at 5 p.m. … Three other athletes are going for a three-peat. Haverford’s Morgan Elliott is the two-time defending champ in the 400, Notre Dame’s Therese Trainer has won the 1,600 in the last two county championships and Radnor’s Sophia Hill is the two-time defending titlist in the pole vault and the meet and county record holder in the event.
