ELSAH – Sammy Hentrich, a junior from Alton Marquette, is starting her 2022 track and field season off right as she grabbed a first-place long jump medal at the Jersey Winter Thaw Meet on Saturday, March 12.
The huge track event featured 15 different schools and hosted both boys and girls events. The Explorers girls track and field squad had a big day in multiple events, led by Hentrich's long-jump performance. A story is to come on the Explorers' success on the day.
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Hentrich took part in three events with the highlight being her first-place finish in the long jump with a mark of 15’ 10”. She did so on her first attempt of the day and only beat second place by an inch. She made it look easy, but Hentrich claims the long jump takes a lot of hard work.
“It looks easy but there’s a lot to it really," she said. "It takes me pretty much 10 times to just run through and get my steps right, and then once from there, you got to get the jump right. It’s a pretty long process but it’s fun to do.”
After the long jump event, she had a long wait before she took place in the 60-meter dash but missed out on the finals.
“Honestly, it’s harder. I just take that time to rest and it kind of takes away my energy,” she said regarding the long gaps in between events.
She had another long period of time to kill before her final event of the day, the 200-meter race. She finished that event with a time of 28.87 seconds. That time was good enough for 9th out of a 21-girl field.
Hentrich will look to repeat her top performance in the long jump next weekend when the Explorers head to the University of Illinois for the Gene Armer Indoor Invite. That event kicks off at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 19.
