PICKERINGTON – Highland’s Juliette Laracuente was down to her last jump.
After two fouls, she faced elimination in the long jump in the OHSAA Division II state track and field championship at Pickerington North. That was when she made the most important leap of her sophomore career, flying 17 feet, 2.75 inches and landing in the jump final on Saturday, June 5.
Once Laracuente hit that jump, her confidence took over. She hit all three of her jumps in the finals, including one of 17-11.75 that landed her on the very top of the podium and in the history books as Highland’s first female state champion.
“I thought that (last preliminary jump) might be my last jump of the season,” Laracuente said. “I ended up moving a whole foot back from my original starting point. I made sure my steps were kind of shorter so I could hit the board perfectly or be behind it. I ended up being three to four inches behind it and made my way into the finals.
"I was looking down at the foul line when I jumped. I had to or else I would have fouled again. I had everybody watching me, including my family, my boyfriend, my coaches and friends. I ended up doing what I needed to do. All my training came out.”
Highland girls track and field coach Chip Wentz could only watch.
“Her two fouls to start the high jump gave us a heart attack early on,” Wentz said. “After she hit her third (preliminary) jump, she relaxed, let loose and went after it in the finals.”
Laracuente, who had state berths in four events, placed third in the high jump (5-5) on Friday, June 4. She was scheduled to run in the 200-meter dash, but she was battling a head cold and some leg pain and decided to drop out of that race.
Most of all, she wanted a good run in Saturday’s 4x100 relay with junior Brylinn Tuggle and seniors Makenna Belcher and Payton Carpenter. They all stood on the podium, finishing sixth with a time of 49.78 seconds, breaking their own school record.
“I really wanted to do my best for that event,” Laracuente said. “We have two seniors on the team and that was our last time ever running this event and we just gave it our all.”
Carpenter’s last go-round was bittersweet.
“I’m just really glad of everything we accomplished this year, especially after we didn’t have a season last year,” Carpenter said. “We made up for lost time, which was one of our biggest goals. It was definitely a great four years.”
Highland’s Caden Holtrey was 17th (48-0) in the shot put, and Landyn Albanese was eliminated in the preliminary rounds of the 100- and 200-meters. His ninth-place finish in the 200 preliminary (22.60) was just two one-hundredths of a second shy of reaching the finals.
The Highland girls team had 19 team points, finishing 11th out of 67 scoring teams, behind winner Oakwood (53). Peninsula Woodridge won the boys meet with 43 points, ahead of 77 other scoring teams.
Fredericktown’s Elsa Hoam was 13th in the 1,600-meter with a time of 5:25.37.
“I really like the experience of getting a chance to run in outdoor state,” Hoam said. “There’s a different feel to it because there’s tons more people. I really like their track. It’s nice. I’m excited for next year. I hope I come to state next year with my whole team.”
Fellow Freddie Ashley Cockrell placed 14th in the preliminary in the 300-hurdles (48.55).
