WESTFIELD — When Ally Parker of Mahar Regional School looked at the performance list for long jump, she saw she was seeded 21st.
Undaunted, Parker responded with the best jump of her season, a leap of 17 feet, 5-½ inches Saturday to secure seventh place at the All-States Track & Field Championships at Westfield State University.
She qualified for the New England meet, which was her goal going in.
“When I saw I was ranked 21st, I was a little nervous,” Parker said. “I can’t be disappointed getting seventh.”
Parker’s mindset was to go out and give it everything she had.
It was mission accomplished and then some.
“I just wanted a personal best,” Parker said. “Then I got a medal and it was exciting.”
It has been a great couple of weeks for Parker, a senior who did well in the sectional meets.
“I hadn’t jumped in the 17s this season and it was exciting to do that,” Parker said.
Parker won the long jump at the PVIAC meet and was third at Western Mass. She missed last season because of an ankle injury.
“Taking time off enabled me to get my ankle stronger,” Parker said. “It helped me come out and have a strong season.”
Nothing like saving your best for last.
“I was pretty motivated for my senior year, especially having my little sister (Delnaney) on the team,” Parker said. “The competition here was really strong and it just pushed me to do better.”
Parker wasn’t the only area athlete to earn a medal. Pioneer Valley Regional School’s Victoria Laskoski placed eighth in pole vault at 9-feet-6 inches on Thursday.
The future remains bright for Mohawk Trail Regional High School. Freshman Meghan Davis finished 13th in the 2-mile 11:32.03. Only two other freshmen had better times.
Katt Miner of Frontier Regional School finished 13th in the high jump. She matched last week’s Central/West winning leap of 5 feet, 2 inches, but this time, it wasn’t enough to enable her to qualify for New England’s.
Pioneer’s Danielle Devine placed 15th in high jump at 5-2.
Emily Casella of Athol High School had a busy day. She placed ninth in discus (106), 13th in shot put (35-11½) and 14th in javelin (108),
Silvian Popusoi of Greenfield High School tied for ninth place in pole vault (12-6). Teammate David Giugiu (12-6) was 12th.
But Vladimir Popusoi’s meet record of 15 feet, 6 inches, set in 2014, stood.
The winner, Erick Duffy of North Andover won the event at 15 feet, 6 inches shy of Popusoi’s record.
Owen Ortiz of Franklin County Tech was 12th in long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 2¾ inches.
Mohawk’s Jacob Cross was 11th in high jump at 6-2.