A. Jablonski Is Top Ranked AA Freshman
Alina Jablonski, a freshman at Jasper County High School (JCHS), earned two top ten finishes at the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Girls State Track Championship last weekend.
Competing in division AA, she was also ranked the number one freshman on MileSplit, a national network for high school track and cross country runners.
Jablonski qualified in the 3200m and 1600m runs. Against strong
competition last week, she claimed a spot on the state podium for the 3200m, placing sixth overall with a new personal record of 12:32.28. In the 1600m, Jablonski placed tenth with a time of 5:49.76.
As the only AA freshman to break into the top 10 of either event, Jablonski is now the number one ranked female freshman in the state for both events in the GHSA AA. She credits Hurricane track distance coach Gary Cooper for helping her develop enough speed to be competitive in her events.
“I’ve always been comfortable with long endurance runs, but shorter distances like the mile and 2-mile that have to be run fast have been tougher for me,” explained Jablonski.
“I’ve developed some bad habits in my form over the years too. Coach Cooper looks at everyone on the team as individuals and works on making each of us our best, both for racing now and developing long-term strength.”
She added, “Of course trying to keep up with runners like Brandon [Stewart] and Denzel [Sands] for as long as possible in practice is helping me a lot too!”
Heading into summer, many runners are looking forward to conditioning for upcoming cross country competition in the fall.
“I’m excited,” said Jablonski. “I’m going to put some good mileage in but still come back to the track now and then. A local friend, Luis Urteaga, has been helping me on weekends to get the timing right on my splits. Luis competed as a pentathlete in the Summer Olympics back in 1992 and is still incredibly fast! I’m just really grateful to have so many talented people around me.”
Six members of the Cane boys track team qualified to compete at the boys state championships in Jefferson this week.
The state championship meet brings together top athletes from GHSA schools across Georgia. Earning the opportunity to compete requires placing in the top four of an event at the region level, and then in the top eight of that event at the sectional level, where region winners compete against others from a four-region area.