COLUMBUS — As she stepped onto the runway for her third and final preliminary flight attempt, Madison Henkel closed her eyes, took a deep breath and steeled her nerves.
Shelby’s junior long jumper fouled on her first two attempts during the final day of the Division II state track and field championships inside Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. A third foul would bring a stunning end to her state tournament.
“My heart was racing. I knew I needed one on the board,” said Henkel, who placed fifth at state in the long jump as a freshman and third as a sophomore. “As I was getting ready to jump, if you looked close you would have seen my arms absolutely shaking.
“I didn’t want to have a tragic incident where I fouled all my jumps and didn’t make it to finals.”
Henkel avoided tragedy with a leap of 18-feet, 6-inches on her third attempt, earning a spot in the finals and an additional three jumps. Once there, she improved on her final preliminary leap with a jump of 18-9.25 on her fifth try to win the state championship.
Bellefontaine’s Kylie Adams (18-7.75) was second.
“Once I got the the finals I was able to relax a little bit,” Henkel said. “The 18-6 I hit on the final jump of the prelims was a good jump.
“I knew it would get me a place on the podium, but I had bigger goals than that.”
Adams was the top seed coming into Saturday’s competition after her leap of 18-10.75 to win a regional title last week. Henkel won the Lex regional with a jump of 18-7.75.
“We were definitely going back-and-forth,” Henkel said. “It’s honestly good to have a competition like that. I’m lucky to be able to compete with someone who jumps in the high-18s.”
Henkel joins a short list of Shelby girls to win individual state track championships. Allison Booth, who swept the shot and discus in 2003, was the last.
“I literally was like crying and shaking afterwards,” Henkel said. “I asked my coach, ‘Is this real? Did I just win?’ It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I’m very excited.”