EDWARDSVILLE • Alton junior LaJarvia Brown re-wrote the record book Saturday at the Southwestern Illinois Relays.
Brown set a pair of meet records in the triple jump and 300 hurdles while the O'Fallon girls loaded up on relay victories to win the girls team title at Edwardsville High School.
Brown, who captured the Class 3A title in the triple jump last season, soared 39 feet, 2.5 inches to take the gold. Her jump was over two feet longer than the previous meet best of 36-8 set in 2006. Brown also took the long jump (18-02) and her meet record in the 300 hurdles was 45.38. It edged the old mark of 45.40 set by Claudette Day of Belleville West in 2011. The mark also set a school record.
"I felt good today," Brown said. "I had a lot of energy. I warmed up well and had some good jumps."
Brown's early-season exploits have coach Terry Mitchell excited about what she can accomplish this season.
"She is off the charts," he said. "She's a great athlete, great student and a great person. She has overcome a lot of adversity in her young life. We're hoping she can reach 42 in the triple jump and 19 feet in the long jump. In the hurdles, I'm not sure what to expect. She doesn't have that much experience, so we don't know how low she can go."
Brown also has some lofty goals.
"I want to repeat as state champion in the triple jump and I want to get the state record," Brown said. "I'm satisfied how I did today. I jumped 40 in the triple jump last year and I'm almost already there."
Brown scored 30 of Alton's 68 points. The Redbirds placed second to Southwestern Conference foe O'Fallon, which finished with 126.5 points. Edwardsville was third with 65, followed by Rock Island (64.5), Summit (49), Belleville West and Cahokia (41), Wheaton North (40.5), Belleville East (40), Collinsville (35), Granite City (21), Althoff (16), Ladue (8.5) and Hazelwood West (7).
O'Fallon picked up victories in the shot put by junior Jasmines Spearman (36-04), 100 meter dash by sophomore Kersten Douglas (13.02), in the 3,200 relay, the 800 relay, the girls distance medley and in the 1,600 relay.
"The kid wanted to come out, get a solid performance in and see where we are against competition," O'Fallon coach Neil James said. "We're so young on our sprints, mostly sophomores, but many of them ran last year so they are staying more focused."
O'Fallon finished 19th in the team standings at last year's Class 3A state meet and figures to do much better in 2015.
"We lost a few, but we have great depth," James said. "And high hopes for what we can do."
Other individual winners Saturday included Alton freshman Katie Mans in the high jump (5-02), Summit senior Cailin Collins in the pole vault (9-0), Catherin Jakich, a senior at Granite City in the discus (119-01), Summit's Melissa Menghini won the 1,600 (5:13.73).
Belleville West won the 800 sprint medley and 400 relay and Cahokia took the 400 shuttle hurdles relay.
