It may have only been the qualifier for the big show, but Section 5 wasn't playing around in the pits of Nazareth for their State Qualifier. Two marks went down as the All-Time greatest ever.
Corintia Griffith (Webster Schroeder)
Overall State Record - 43-3 - US #8 All-Time
This season has been a steady ramp up for the reigning State Record Holder. She set that mark of 41-11.5 as a Junior, in the same pits at Nazareth. She went on to win the State Title that year, as well as repeating Outdoors. Not to be outdone, she had already returned to Nazareth as a Senior, and exceeded that mark by a near foot, hitting 42-11 on February 11th, good for the time mark in the Nation.
But the Season wasn't, and still isn't, over just yet. Her last time competing at the pits of Nazareth (which are as flush to the runway as you are going to get outside of NYC), and Griffith didn't disappoint. She capped off her regular season with an outstanding 43-3 win, the longest of any New Yorker Indoors or Out. It now stands as the top mark in the country by quite a bit, and is the 8th furthest jump Indoors All-Time, for the US. Her mark would rank her 18th in the NCAA. She is currently committed to attend Harvard University in the Fall.
Aiden Bryant (Midlakes)
Sophomore State Record - 48-8 - US #3 All-Time for Soph
This is a story we keep coming back to, but the narrative has changed. While all eyes were on the Long Jump competition, and it's chase of the Soph State Record, Bryant saw an opening in the Triple Jump, and unleashed a massive personal best to capture the win.
The competition was tough, with two other athletes over 45-feet. But Bryant capitalized on the pressure, and unleashed a huge 48-8 performance to solidify the win. The attempt was more than a full 2-feet personal best for the Sophomore, slingshotting past the State Record. The former record is one of the oldest on the books, set by Jermaine Johnson (White Plains) in 1989, when he leapt 47-8. That mark is now gone.
Both athletes will be representing Section 5 at Ocean Breeze next week, where the runway is fast, and the potential is endless.
