It’s Preview Time!
With the outdoor track & field season licking off, it’s time to spotlight the top athletes who could dominate this spring. We’ve based our projections on performances from the 2025 outdoor season, results from this past winter campaign, and some inside knowldege.
Here we feature the girls’ jumping events, which include the long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault.
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LONG JUMP
It’s not often that a freshman wins a state title, but that’s exactly what Westford Academy’s Kaitlyn Boakye-Yiadom accomplished this past indoor season. She saved her best for last, following up her Division 2 title with a gold-medal performance at the Meet of Champions, where she leaped a personal best of 18-2.25.
The talented underclassman, who finished No. 10 in the state rankings, proved that anything can happen in this event. Could we see lightning strike again this spring for Baokye-Yiadom?
Last year’s outdoor campaign featured a dozen athletes who exceeded 18 feet, with two – Lexington’s Aubrey Deardorf and Natick’s Emmanuella Edozien – surpassing the 19-foot mark. Expect similar depth this season.
Deardorf is the top returner from 2025. She captured individual honors at the Meet of Champions and went further than 19 feet six times, including an all-time best of 19-9 to place fifth at New Balance Nationals.
Deardorf recorded a season-best of 18-3.25 during the indoor campaign, finishing third at the Division 1 meet. Of note, that mark matches what she achieved as a junior prior to her breakout outdoor season. The Lexington senior certainly can’t be ruled out from producing similar results in her final year.
The competition will be strong this outdoor season, with five athletes surpassing 19 feet either last spring or during the indoor campaign. Edozien captured the Bay State Conference title with a personal best of 19-5.5. During the winter, two more reached that mark, with Oliver Ames’ Lavender Kozaka jumping 19-3.75 to place seventh at Nike Indoor Nationals and Masconomet’s Mara Siewko hitting 19-2 in a league meet victory in mid-January.
In all, 11 athletes exceeded 18 feet during the indoor season, underscoring the depth in this event. The talent is there for a strong outdoor season -possibly a very good one.
TRIPLE JUMP
Graduation took our top two finishers with Lincoln-Sudbury’s Gabrielle Pierre and Holliston Kaitlyn Quealy taking the top two spots. Bit there’s plenty of talent coming back in what could eventually be a hotly-contested event at the Meet of Champions.’
Among the top returners are Newton North’s Blake MacNeal (38-0.50), Reading’s Isabelle Lightbody (37-8), Wellesley’s Leila Eccher (37-4), and Cardinal Spellman’s Annaikiah Donahue-Wilfrie (37-0.75).
HIGH JUMP
Expect an exciting season in the high jump, with no clear-cut favorite and several athletes capable of winning it all.
Three athletes have cleared at least 5-6 – Attleboro’s S’Staarr Parham (5-6.25) and state champion Ella Turner (5-6) during the indoor season, along with Violet Roche (5-6) from her runner-up finish at last spring’s Meet of Champions.
In terms of consistency, Turner has demonstrated the most. She cleared 5-4 nine times this past winter, went 5-5 on three occasions, and first surpassed 5-6 a month before claiming her individual state title. She lost just once against her Massachusetts rivals and was the state’s top finisher at the New England Championships, placing fourth at 5-5.
Keep an eye on Lincoln-Sudbury’s Aluel Mayen. She was second to Turner at the Meet of Champions at 5-4 and had a season-best of 5-5 at the New England Championships, where she placed sixth overall.
Six athletes were tied for No. 4 in the state behind Parham, Turner, and Mayen, which should make this event both competitive and unpredictable this season.
Six athletes were tied at No. 4 in the state behind Parham, Turner and Mayen., which should make this event a competitive, and often an unpredictable one this season.
POLE VAULT
If our research is correct, the state has had just eight athletes exceed 12 feet in this event during the outdoor season, including Acton-Boxborough’s Emerson Gould, who reached the milestone to win the Meet of Champions last June. Gould has since graduated.
But not Kinsley Kline.
The Parker Charter senior, who placed third at last year’s championship meet, has a legitimate shot to clear 12 feet this season. After all, she already achieved that mark this past winter.
In one of seven meets during the indoor campaign, Kline soared to an all-time best of 12-1.5 to take second at the USATF New England Track & Field Championships on Feb. 22. She also surpassed 11-5 on three other occasions.
In 2025, Kline cleared 11-6 four times and recorded an outdoor personal best of 11-8 at the Mother’s Day Mania PV Meet. She has proven herself to be a vaulter with the kind of consistency that produces wins at championship meets.
Among returnees, Ipswich’s Kameya Perron appears to be the biggest threat to Kline. She’s the only other athlete that has gone 11 feet. hitting the mark at the Henry Sheldon Invitational last May. Four more have done 10-feet even.
