Girls #2 - Alex Kelly (Rocky Point)
Grade: Junior
Highlight Performance: 41-1.5 for NY #1 in the Triple Jump
Pre-Covid - The shutdown was easier on the distance runners than other events, with Cross Country naturally being an outdoor event, and club events easier to find. For field events, it was harder to stay involved, with no sand pit in the backyard. Alex Kelly saw a big jump in those intervening months of lockdown, but was not stranger to the jumps. Starting in 8th grade, Kelly had always been good, aided by her height. In the super competitive Long Island scene, she was holding her own, with bests of 38-6.5 coming at the 2020 Indoor State Meet, placing 5th. No one would blame her if the jumping would come back rusty after a few months off, but it seems the opposite is true.
Now - With a modest 36-9 in the Polar Bear Indoor Season Suffolk County provided, Kelly launched out in the triple jump once the weather warmed up. She now has two jumps over 40-feet in the Triple Jump, and an average of 19feet in the Long Jump. Her best is a mark of 41-2.75, but will not count for records as there was no wind-gauge present. 19-10.75 is agonizingly close to the 20-0 barrier too. Get her in a legally recorded meet, and Kelly could suddenly chase that Junior Class State Record of 42- 0.25 set recently, just back in 2017.