NEW YORK STATE GIRLS TRACK & FIELD: A SURPRISE QUALIFER, S-VE'S SQUIER COULD BE A PODIUM CONTENDER (2019-06-06)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — S-VE’s Jenna Squier wasn’t expecting to be competing at the NYSPHSAA Track & Field Championships this weekend. And now she even has an opportunity to reach the podium.

“It’s exciting,” the Panther senior said. “I didn’t expect it, but it’s exciting.”

“Honestly, we never saw us getting to this level, so the expectation is just to do the best that we can, just perform the best that we can,” added S-VE girls coach Dana Bennett.

Squier is in a five-way tie for the seventh seed in Division II with a height of 5-2. Danielle Fisk of Honeoye Falls is the top seed in D-2 and overall at 5-6 3/4. There are D-2 jumpers ahead of Squier at 5-6, 5-5 (Section IV champion Catalina Zaloj of Lansing), 5-4 and 5-3, and while its unlikely she’s going to out jump them all, picking up another inch or two is not beyond the realm of possibility.

“I’m not expecting to be the best, but just competing is great,” Squier said. “It would be cool to be on the podium, but even if I don’t, I’m still going to be pretty happy.”

She went into the state qualifier with a seed height of five feet even, making her the fifth seed, but she cleared 5-2 to take second in Division II. The event winner goes to states, but others can qualify if they meet the state standard in their event.

If Squier can add another two inches she will probably make the podium.

“I think I could if it’s a good day,” she said, adding that good weather would be the major factor. Tioga County athletes haven’t seen very many “good weather” days this spring, but Saturday’s forecast looks good (knock on wood).

Squier has been preparing mentally as well as physically this week for her event.

“I think a lot of it is mentally getting myself over the bar,” she said. “I’m just going to try to remmebre that I did make it here, so I have the ability to compete.”

The physical preparation involves tweaking what’s aleready been successful for her.

“W’eve been doing lifts that are conducive to jumping as well as working on any holes that we have in our game, all our drills and form work,” Bennett said.

The high jump begins at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Middletown High School.

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IN PHOTO: S-VE’s Jenna Squier. … PHOTO BY TIM TAYLOR.