With the majority of Springfield Central’s athletes set to perform on day two of the Division I track and field state championships this Saturday, the Golden Eagles only had three members of their team compete on day one on Thursday afternoon.
Highlighting the three Central participants was Marsani Clark. Clark has been a force in the triple jump throughout the 2022-23 indoor and outdoor seasons for the Golden Eagles, and she carried that momentum into the state championships.
Clark was seeded 10th heading into Thursday, and jumped up one spot with a 35-04.75 in the triple jump to place ninth.
In a Central meet against Ludlow just earlier this month, Clark jumped 33-01.25, which was still good enough for first in the meet. Clark catapulted ahead over two feet since then, and saved one of her best performances of the season for the right time.
Elsewhere for the Golden Eagles, Anisha Ricketts ran a solid race in the girls 400-meter hurdles. Ricketts, only a sophomore, placed 20th – five spots ahead of her original seed – with a time of 1:14.59.
Jadah Stokes rounded out the third and final Central athlete to compete on Thursday. Stokes tossed a 79-10 in the discus, good for 22nd place.
With the Golden Eagles being the only Division I team from Western Massachusetts competing in the event, all eyes are on them as they will represent the entire region once again on Saturday during day two. 16 more athletes from Central will give it a go in their respective events on day two of competition.