Franklin County has a second athlete heading west next week.
Josiah Nilsen of Northfield qualified for the 2016 USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships, which begin Monday and run through July 31 at Sacramento State University.
It’s an amazing accomplishment, considering the reason Nilsen got involved in the sport wasn’t even his choice.
“Originally in my first year (at Pioneer), my parents were like, ‘You’re going to do track,’ and I was like “No, not doing it.’ I was not willing to do track. So after like two weeks of arguing, I found myself in track.
“At Pioneer I wasn’t willing to do high jump for about a quarter of the season but eventually they got me to do it, and that’s really where I fell in love with the sport.”
Nilsen, who spent his freshman season at Northfield Mount Hermon School, said he will be heading to Sacramento on July 28 and compete on July 29. His mother will accompany him.
Nilsen and the Hoggers recorded an undefeated dual-meet season and captured the New England championship for the first time in over a quarter century. During the year, Nilsen cleared a career-best height of 6 feet, 4 inches in his chosen event.
Once the school season was over, the 5-foot-11 Nilsen — who has only been involved in competitive track and field for two years — decided to go the Junior Olympic route to keep in training.
He did more than that — he blew away the competition at the USATF Junior Olympic New England Regionals on June 18 at Fitchburg State University, eclipsing his career-best by clearing 6-7½ to win the event by more than a foot.
“The kid who went out second only got to 5-5, so I was jumping with 17s and 18s and beat all of them, too,” said Nilsen. “I cleared 6-6 on first attempt for my personal best, then went up to 6-7½ and cleared that on the first jump.
“I asked for the next height (Junior Olympic meets use metric measurements), so I tried 6-9 to go after the school record at NMH (6-8¾),” he added. “I actually cleared the bar on my first attempt, but caught it with my heel coming down.”
Nilsen said the experience was as emotional as it was exhilarating.
“When I walked away, I was almost in tears,” he said. “It was so crazy and such an amazing jump.”
Nilsen moved on to the USATF Junior Olympic Region I Meet at the University of Albany (N.Y.), which was held from July 7 through 10. On a rainy day during his competition, he cleared 5-10¾ on his first attempt and wound up winning by 3¾ inches.
Nilsen said he did try to clear 6-2 but said he kept slipping on his approach and never cleared it. Nonetheless, he had earned his spot in the nationals.
“I saw my dad and gave him the thumb’s up — we’re going to Cali,” he said. “That was my ultimate goal. I’m pretty excited.”
Based on his winning height in the New Englands, Nilson isn’t that far from the national age group record of 7-1, which was set in 2012 by Randall Cunningham Jr., the son of former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham.
Nilsen said he’s not focused on the record, though. He wants to make sure he puts forth his best effort regardless of the result.”
“My parents always ask me if I’m nervous, or how I’m going to do,” he said. “I just tell them the same line — that I’m not going to go to lose.
“It may sound cocky at first, but I’m just trying to do my best,” he added. “If I feel like I could have done a lot better and I didn’t, or I couldn’t have pushed through something. That’s a loss to me, even if I happened to win. … If I have really good jumps and there’s another kid who’s absolutely amazing, it would be an honor to watch him.”
This will be the last competition for Nilsen as a county resident. His family is moving to Baltimore, Md., in early August and Nilsen will continue his education at St. Paul’s School in nearby Brooklandville, Md.