SIOUX FALLS — Ashton Massey was left with a feeling a deja vu.
En route to a Class B girls state triple jump championship in 2023, Massey fouled on each of her first two attempts before recovering to qualify for the finals and win the competition.
Back at Howard Wood Field on Thursday afternoon, the Menno senior faced an identical challenge after scratching on her first and second attempts, leaving any hopes for a finals berth, let alone a title defense, to a single jump.
Yet with the pressure on, Massey delivered once again, producing a leap of 35 feet, 1.5 inches, the top jump in the competition to that point.
After another scratch on her first jump of the finals, Massey upped the mark to beat to 35 feet, 9.75 inches. From then on, the only jump that threatened the No. 1 spot was Massey’s own last attempt, which checked in at a modest 35-3, giving her the top three overall marks in the field.
ADVERTIsem*nT
“It was the same story as last year, I scratched the first two and they both felt like pretty good jumps, so I was a little disappointed,” Massey said. “My coaches really helped me calm down — there were a lot of deep breaths — and kept me focused and grounded.
“We moved my starting mark around to try to get another mark in, but 35-9 is not my best,” Massey later added. “I wanted more so bad, it just didn’t happen today, but I’m still really thankful for how it went.”
Adam Thury / Mitchell Republic
Gayville-Volin’s Jolie Westrum finished as the event runner-up at 34-8.75, with Britton-Hecla’s Abigail Lee (34-4.5) in third and Philip’s Amya Camp (34-0.25) in fourth as the other jumpers to eclipse 34 feet. Hitchco*ck-Tulare’s Emma Schneider (33-5.75), Freeman’s Cadence Hofer (33-5), Aberdeen Christian’s Maggie Fites (33-4) and Potter County’s Kayden Cronin (33-2.75) rounded out the top eight podium finishers.
As Massey moves on to try and defend the other two event titles she holds from last year — she qualified No. 1 overall in the prelims of the 100-meter hurdles and owns the No. 1 seed time ahead of Friday’s 300-meter hurdle prelims — she has more time to catch her breath and focus on each event.
Last season, the finals of all three events fell within a narrow window on Saturday, so having a more balanced schedule is something Massey hopes to take advantage of Friday and Saturday.
“Mentally, it makes it so much easier and it’s much less of a daunting task,” Massey said. “(Winning the triple jump) makes me feel a lot better because now I can focus on (the hurdles) and not worry about anything else. We’ll see how it goes.”
Dierks covers prep and collegiate athletics across the Mitchell Republic's coverage region area. His focus areas include: Mitchell High School football and boys basketball; area high school football, volleyball, basketball, baseball and track and field; and South Dakota State football. He is also at the forefront of the Mitchell Republic's podcasting efforts. Dierks is a Mitchell native who graduated from South Dakota State University with his bachelor's degree in journalism in May 2020. He joined the Mitchell Republic sports staff in August 2021. He can be reached at ldierks@mitchellrepublic.com and found on Twitter at @LDierksy.
