Brockport, NY - The mark has been a long time coming. For Lanae-Tava Thomas (Rush-Henrietta), one of the premiere jumpers in the country, the only thing that had been standing in her way of the Long Jump State Record had been the wind. Or more simply, a way to measure it.
For marks in the short sprints, as well as the horizontal jumps, to count for official records, wind must be recorded. With the proper equipment costing up to $2000 or more, plus a dedicated official needed to operate it, many HS meets go without.
For Thomas, she had surpassed the State Record twice before. Once this year, at the Monroe County Champs, she jumped 21-0, but without a wind-gauge. The summer before that, she jumped 21-3, but again, no gauge. That 21-3 would have become the new Sophomore National Record. Her best legal jump came at the New York State Meet, where she broke the meet record, hitting a strong 20-7.5, good for US #4 as well.
However, Thomas knew she had more in the tank. With a 20-5 jump at States that was two feet behind the board, it was just a matter of hitting her mark to reach the record. She had run out of time in the regular season, opting out of going to New Balance Nationals. Entered into the USATF Region 2 Outdoor Championship. she had another chance. And this year, there was a wind gauge.
The mark not only takes down the Overall Record, but takes down the Junior Record as well. That means Thomas has one more year to repeat the feat, and take down the senior record. While she is atop the legal jumps list, she is still NY #2 in All-Conditions marks. Keyon Soley (Uniondale) still holds that mark at 21-6.75. Soley also holds the Indoor State Record, at 21-1.25
Top All-Time Marks
