Lakewood Ranch’s Sophia Falco repeats as Class 4A long jump champion

The only thing that could potentially hold Sophia Falco back from a second straight Class 4A championship in the long jump was a strange fit of fouls as she jumped into the pit.

Falco became one of the best long jumpers in the nation as a junior in 2016 by using her prodigious sprinting speed and then launching herself into the sand with her left foot. As a senior, though, her precision waned. The Lakewood Ranch jumper started stepping over the takeoff line, suffering disqualified jumps when there was no need to. At the Manatee County Varsity Championships, she didn’t even place after fouling out.

“So we switched (her takeoff foot) and said let’s go with that,” Mustangs head coach Mark Napier said, still sort of surprised by how the season played out.

Napier and Falco made the slight tweak about a month ago, and on Saturday she cruised to her second straight state championship in the long jump at IMG Academy Field anyway. Falco leaped 19 feet, 8 1/4 inches during preliminaries, a distance good enough that she didn’t even need to attempt a jump in the finals at IMG Academy. Her closest competitor, Lake Minneola’s Javonia Ellis, managed 19-5 1/4 inches.

It was as good a start to the weekend as Falco could have hoped for. She’s a finalist in three more events Saturday in Bradenton after taking home four medals in 2016. Not only did she win her first state title in her quest for a quad — she didn’t it convincingly enough to stay rested.

“We’re not concerned about throwing big marks out there,” Napier said. “We want to make sure we get through all the events as best we can.”

Her final day at IMG Academy will begin at 11:15 a.m. with the triple jump, an event she won silver in last year despite competing in the event for the first time as a junior. During the afternoon she’ll run in both the 100-meter and 200 dashes after finishing third in the preliminary races for both Friday. Falco also won a silver medal in the 100 last year and finished fifth in the 200.

She was one of three county girls to win medals Friday. Palmetto’s Elizabeth Atkinson won bronze in the Class 3A discus, and Bayshore’s Alexus Norman finished fifth in the Class 2A high jump.

There’s a chance for more on Saturday with Falco and Out-of-Door Academy’s Saraiah Walkes. The eighth-grade sprinter will be the top seed in the 100, 200 and 400 in Class 1A.

For Falco to top her stellar performance from last year, which helped Lakewood Ranch’s girls win the Class 4A team title — one of the only paths is another gold medal Saturday.

“Winning long jump definitely boosts my confidence,” Falco said. “It’s going to be exciting, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

The triple jump is perhaps her best shot. She was wildly inexperienced in the event when she came to the state championship meet a year ago and still finished second with a jump of 40-2. She was only four inches shy of winning the state title. During the summer, she went four inches farther at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor meet.

Falco hasn’t matched that number yet this season, though. But a light day Friday has set her up to go for a personal best and a second gold medal.

“I’m excited to see with all this competition,” Falco said, “what jump I can pull out.”

This story was originally published May 5, 2017 at 10:16 PM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch’s Sophia Falco repeats as Class 4A long jump champion."