You may recall an earlier article about the NDA Track team and the variety of events that come with the program. With all of the possibilities, records have chances to be broken, and a school record standing for 32 straight years has been surpassed.
Sophomore star Kingston Allen has set a new school record of 21 feet, 9 inches in the long jump, in which he surpassed his previous record from a few days before. The record was set at the St. Norbert Elite Meet on Friday, April 25.
Coach Cassidy McGowan has been closely monitoring Allen’s progression throughout the early goings of the season and is very complimentary of the standout sophomore.
“Kingston is a valuable member of the track team. He leads by example, has high standards for himself and is always looking for improvement,” said McGowan. “It is a pleasure to coach Kingston. d All of us coaches are thrilled for this experience.”
Allen has been jumping since 7th grade, but this is his first time jumping in high school. A broken ankle before the start of his freshman season halted his quest for history.
“Coming into this year, I knew that I would break the record–I just didn’t know when,” said Allen. “I would say it was a goal but a small one in the grand scheme of things to come.”
Kingston has quiet confidence and a humble nature which can be rare for athletes with his amount of talent.
“(Kingston) wasn’t cocky about it, but he did tell me last week that he was going to break it, and, lo and behold, he accomplished that goal,” added McGowan.
When considering what the record meant to him, Kingston was quick to call out the longevity of the previous record holder Eric Martin.
“The part of my name being on (the board) that means the most to me is that the long jump record was the oldest record, boys or girls, that we had still standing as a track program,” he said.
Coach McGowan also credited Martin’s record for holding up so long, especially with the modern-day advancements in technology.
“(Kingston) has endless possibilities on and off the track,” stated McGowan.
As of the publishing of this article, Allen has jumped two times and has set a new threshold each time.
“If that’s not a sign of great things to come, I don’t know what is,” concluded Allen.
