REGION TRACK: Long jumper Jackson helps Silverado boys leap into first

Silverado’s Vernon Jackson didn’t need to give maximum effort in the last flight of the long jump on Saturday. The senior already had hit 22 feet, 10 inches in a previous jump and was leading the field by a large margin.

But he wasn’t taking any chances for a spot at state.

“I had to make sure I secured my spot,” said Jackson, smiling.

Jackson proceeded to win the long jump with ease with an effort of 23-2, and Silverado’s boys track team scored 43 points to take a 15-point lead over Green Valley after the first day of the Division I Sunrise Region meet at Del Sol.

“At first, I thought it was going to be 22 (feet) again,” Jackson said of his best jump. “But then everyone was looking at me like, ‘Oh, that’s it. That’s the jump.’

“It’s a good steppingstone for state. I can gauge it from here, get better and know what I need to correct at practice.”

Jackson had the best jump of either region and set a personal record. His jump was 10 inches better than that of runner-up Isaiah Johnson of Canyon Springs.

Legacy’s Jamal Britt won the Sunset long jump at 22-7¼.

“It’s a good feeling, because out of all this time, I’ve never hit 23 (feet),” said Jackson, whose previous best jump was 22-11¼ as a junior. “I was so close last year, but now I finally got it. I’m just happy my team’s happy. It’s a good day.”

Jackson wasn’t the only jumper to score big for the Skyhawks.

Junior Mikayla Kelley knocked off Valley’s Eimainei Thomas-Palmer, the defending Sunrise Region champion, in the triple jump to keep the Silverado girls team in the hunt. Liberty leads the Sunrise girls with 36 points, eight ahead of Silverado.

Kelley broke a school record in the triple jump by going 38-3½ on her final attempt. Thomas-Palmer was second at 37-5¼.

“I was a little worried about the last two jumps because I was afraid I was too tired,” Kelley said. “But I ended up doing it. This is just going to keep pushing me to work harder in practice.”

Liberty had the top three finishers in the boys discus. Cyrius Vea was first at 175-2, followed by Nick Tapuala (169-4) and Corey Moore (157-1).

“We do a lot of extra stuff that no one sees,” Vea said. “We put in like six hours a day. Not a lot of people know that. I guess our work shows, but we’re never satisfied. We’re always looking to surpass our marks and keep going forward.”

Litia Orquist won the girls shot put at 34-7½ for the Patriots. Arbor View’s Reina Martin had the top shot put (38-8½) of either region.

“I just had that mentality of wanting to win,” Martin said. “It’s all mentality. Working hard, putting in extra practice this week. I’m pretty excited. I feel amped, but I have more to work on.”

Bishop Gorman leads the Sunset boys with 37 points, and Centennial’s girls are comfortably ahead with 50 points.

The second day of the Sunset and Sunrise Region meets is next Saturday at Del Sol.

Contact reporter Ashton Ferguson at aferguson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0430. Follow him on Twitter: @af_ferguson