From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank

Mainland’s McKenna Pontari hit 17 feet for the first time and broke the school record, and teammate Emma Crozier-Carole was just a few inches behind in the long jump competition at the Ocean Breeze Holiday Festival in Staten Island.

Pontari and Carole, who are both seniors, placed 1st and 2nd in the long jump at Ocean Breeze and moved into the No. 8 and 9 spots on the all-time Atlantic County indoor performance list.

And they both did it on their final attempts.

Pontari, who missed all of last year with a Lysfranc foot sprain, had a PR of 15-10 ½ from the 2021 Atlantic County Championships at Buena. She matched that in her first indoor meet this winter, the Bishop Loughlin Games, also at Ocean Breeze.

On Tuesday, she PR’d four times – 15-11 ¾ on her first attempt, 16-8 on her second, 16-11 ¼ on her third and then she 17-footer on her final attempt. She also had jumps of 16-0 ¾ and 16-7 ½, so she averaged 16-6 ½ on six legal jumps after bringing a PR of 15-10 into the meet.

Crozier-Carole, a budding heptathlete, has a long jump PR of 17-7 from a dual meet against Holy Spirit in the spring of 2021 and had a big-meet official PR of 16-5 from her 6th-place finish at Group 3 sectionals at Delsea. This is her first season of indoor track and her first season overall since outdoors her sophomore year.

On Tuesday, Crozier-Carole hit 16-0 on her 4th jump and 16-3 ¾ on her 5th before moving up from 5th place to 2nd with her 16-8 on her final attempt.

Another Mainland jumper, senior Paige Bonczek, placed 6th with an indoor PR of 15-11 ½. She has an outdoor 16-7 to her credit from last spring’s Cape-Atlantic Championships at Bridgeton as well as a 17-1 in a dual meet.

Mainland is going to score some serious long jump points this year!

Mainland’s indoor school record before Tuesday belonged to Crozier-Carole, who jumped 16-2 ¼ last week at the Bishop Loughlin Games.

Mainland’s big-meet outdoor school record is 17-5 by Victoria Henry from the 2014 Rowan Invitational. Some schools choose to include dual meet marks in school record lists.

Atlantic County indoor all-time performance list
18-6 ½ … Asia Young [Holy Spirit], 2016
18-5 …… Claudine Smith [Atlantic City], 2019
18-4 ¼ … Gabrielle Germann [Egg Harbor Twp.], 2020
17-11 ¾ … Angela Clyburn [Egg Harbor Twp.], 1991
17-11 ½ … Frances Bundy [Pleasantville], 1998
17-10 ½ … Shameka Marshall [Oakcrest], 2001
17-8 ¼ … Nia Ali [Pleasantville], 2006
17-0 … McKenna Pontari [Mainland Reg.], 2023
16-8 … Emma Crozier-Cartole [Mainland Reg.], 2023
16-5 ¾ … Alex Romanelli [Abegami], 2009