With the State Meet just 2 weeks away, it is time to highlight some of the athletes who can challenge for the KHSAA Class 1A Track and Field State Championship. In this week's edition, we will focus on the Class 1A jumpers. Regardless of the current season best, this article highlights returners who will challenge for it all.
High Jump
The Class 1A Girls High Jump is going to be the field event to watch at the State Championships this season as the top 6 athletes have all jumped between 5 feet and 5 feet 2 inches. The KTCCCA Class A Indoor State Champion has cleared 5 feet this season and is currently tied with 5 athletes for 2nd. This is Cassidy Cline of St. Henry District. Cline is also the State's leading returner placing runner-up at the 2022 Class 1A Track and Field State Championships. However, she will be tested by the following athletes: Ansley Ova Turner, Freshman, Monroe County; Nacell Anderson, Junior, Newport; Natalie Svidal, Freshman, Walden; Jasmin Davis, Junior, Newport; and Gabbie Schulten, Junior, Louisville Collegiate. Any of these 6 athletes could bring home the State Championship making this event the event to watch this season.
Long and Triple Jump
The Long and Triple jump events for the Girls is very top heavy with only 3-4 athletes who I think really can bring home the State Championship.
The athlete sitting atop of the Long Jump is Amelia Creason, a Senior from Green County. However, her State leading jump of 19 feet 5 inches is an outlier this season as she has eclipsed 15 feet only two other times. However, she does have the capability of hitting 19 feet, which is a mark that would be hard for any of the other athletes to match making her a major threat to win the Long Jump at the State Championship.
The next athlete on this list is Chloe Hein from Bishop Brossart. The Senior is one of the top sprinters in Class 1A, but she has an affinity for the long jump. Hein has the farthest average jump this season and currently has the second farthest jump this season. Hein is also the defending State Champion in this event and should be the favorite to repeat as Champion this season.
The next two athletes on this list are sisters. Both are excellent in both the long and triple jump events and will contend for the State Championship in both this season.
The first sister to mention is Amelia Svidal of Walden. The Senior finished runner-up in the Long Jump last season just behind Hein. However, Svidal did win the State Championship in the Triple Jump last season and has looked very good again this season. The Senior is currently 4th in the Long Jump and 2nd in the Triple Jump this season.
The final athlete on this list is Natalie Svidal. Svidal is only a Freshman but has learned a lot from her sister. Some would even say that she has made her sister too good. Svidal finished 3rd in the triple jump last season as an 8th grader which is a very difficult thing to accomplish. Since this moment, she has become one of the top jumpers in Class 1A. Svidal is currently third in the Long Jump and the State leader in the Triple Jump. It will be most watch television at State where we should see the Svidal sisters battling for the Triple Jump State Championship and should Hein falter, they both should be right there to contend for the Long Jump State Championship as well.