Track and field | Sophia Falco harnesses raw ability to become contender in high, triple jumps for Lakewood Ranch

LAKEWOOD RANCH -- Every leap Sophia Falco takes tends to blow Mark Napier away.

She can go back to her freshman year, when she was just the latest in a line of stars for Lakewood Ranch.

She was just a raw athlete at the time -- mostly a sprinter -- and during her first season for the Mustangs her long jump was at 17 feet.

The next season, she switched from jumping off her right foot to her left and picked up a couple more feet.

By the start of this year, Falco's junior season, Napier wanted her to try the triple jump.

Her ambidexterity as a leaper made her a natural fit.

The head coach started her with a short approach -- just a couple dozen feet.

She hopped with one leg, bounded with her other and then flung herself into the sand pit. Napier measured it at 36 feet.

"I was like, 'What the heck just happened?'" he remembers.

Falco went again. This time it was 35. Again. She was back at 36. Napier pushed her back to 50 feet, still a short approach, and she went 39 feet.

Two years earlier, Sophia's sister, Talia Falco, won a state championship at 38 feet, 2 inches. Sophia's raw ability was unprecedented even for Napier, who expected her to eventually devel

op into a state title contender there, too.

Instead, Falco is a region champion in the triple jump to go along with her position as the Class 4A favorite in the long jump.

Falco is slated to compete in the maximum four events at the state championship, which begins at noon on Friday at IMG Academy Stadium. She was also a Class 4A-Region 2 runner-up in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes Saturday in Kissimmee, and she's among the favorites in both of those events this week at IMG Academy, as well.

Despite battling a case of shin splints, which sidelined her for most of March, Falco is probably the area's clearest favorite to win a state championship at home in Bradenton when she participates in the long jump at 6 p.m. on Friday.

"I'm hoping. My fingers will be crossed," Falco said. "Not even in a single event, maybe as a team."

Falco enters the weekend not only as the top seed in 4A in the high jump, but second overall in the state and sixth in the country.

She set a new personal record at the region meet with a jump of 20 feet, 1 inch, an improvement of nearly two feet on the 18 feet, 4 1/2 inches she hit in last year's Class 3A championship in Jacksonville.

Her progress isn't particularly unusual for Ranch, which won five individual region championships at Osceola High School and a girls team title. Sam Jackson will try to build on his region title in the discus throw, Olivia Ogles will try to follow up hers in the pole vault and John Rivera will follow his in the 800 run.

Lakewood Ranch has particularly stood out in the field this season. Kristine Akervold and Olivia Ogles helped the Mustangs sweep the top three spots in the region in the high jump. Cree Lotterer's performance in the pole vault let Ranch sweep the top two there, and Reide Ryans and Michael Petruzzi give Lakewood Ranch two more qualifiers in the high and long jumps, respectively.

"I've learned so much more technical ability through them," Falco said. "I was surprised at what I could do, and then they take my ability and turn it into something."

The training programs which have let the Mustangs churn out state contenders, however, haven't applied much to Falco in the triple jump. Her shin splints have led Ranch to instead focus on her other events she has more experience in. Her in-season progress is more visible there.

Falco's season-best triple jump of 37 feet, 5 1/2 inches leaves her a bit behind Wellington jumper Kirstina Lee's best of 39 feet, 2 1/2 inches and most likely fighting for medal position this season based on her natural ability alone. When she gets some time to develop, she's shown she'll become a state-championship contender.

"We really haven't had much time to train for it. We'll do a little bit of stuff, but very little to nothing compared to what triple jumpers usually do," Napier said. "She's a 44-, 45-foot triple jumper out of high school."

David Wilson, Herald sports writer, can be contacted at 941-745-7057 or on Twitter @DBWilson2.

This story was originally published May 5, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Track and field | Sophia Falco harnesses raw ability to become contender in high, triple jumps for Lakewood Ranch ."