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During the Ohio Cardinal Conference track meet on Friday at Ashland University, Ashland's Dakota Kruty was raising the bar for himself in the long jump.
Looking explosive on his jumps from the start, Kruty jumped 22 feet and three inches on his third attempt on the day. Not bad. However, he did one even better in his next jump, as the junior leaped his way to a season's best and personal record of 22-04.25 that paved the way in him winning back-to-back long jump titles at the OCC meet.
More: Ashland's Jayden Goings, Vivian Walter make big jumps at renowned Mehock Relays
Coming into Friday's conference meet, Kruty's PR was 21-08.50 and he had been jumping pretty consistently in the 20-21 feet range all spring but never over 22 feet. Getting over that 22 feet hurdle was something he's been shooting for all season.
"This has been a long season," said Kruty, who was named OCC Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year after the meet. "I haven't PR'd in the long jump this season. It means everything. This season has been mentally challenging for me. The fact that I've been fouling like crazy in every meet. I've been knowing I can jump 22 feet and I've done it before. It's been a real mental block for me. Winning this meet, being able to break 22 feet and break that barrier makes me so excited for the rest of the season to see where it goes."
That 22-04.25 Kruty jumped got him even closer to the school record of 22-08.50, which he's hungry to get before his time is up at Ashland High School.
"We're getting closer," he said. "That's been the goal since freshman year."
If getting over the mental aspect in his preferred event was one thing, Kruty credits his productive indoor track season in helping sharpen his toolbox during the winter that he's transferred over to the spring.
At the Division II state indoor meet in Geneva in March, Kruty had two podium finishes, placing 10th in the long jump (20-3.5) and sixth in the triple jump (41-9). He also finished eighth in the long jump at the Adidas National Indoor meet. During his indoor season, Kruty said that he focused on two precise areas: speed and landing.
"The main thing was my speed. I've gotten a lot faster. The long jump is like an equation. It's speed times height times distance," said Kruty, breaking it down. "I've got the height part down but the speed part I really wanted to get faster. I feel like I have. I've PR'd in the 100 quite a bit this year. I did a lot of speed training. Working on my landing. Getting that full extension at the end like I did today. I executed that perfectly today, which was a big reason why I PR'd."
That speed work in the 100 and during indoor season Kruty called attention to, has been helpful in his long jumping, as he placed fifth (11.17) in the 100 meters on Friday. There's even more to the speed angle for him.
"There's speed jumpers and power jumpers," he said. "I've always been more considered a power jumper. I wanna break that standard and I wanna be a speed jumper and power jumper. I wanna take it to that next level you know."
Taking part in the long jump was one thing, but mixing in the triple jump during indoor season only added to the well-rounded jumper Kruty is aiming to be become.
"So, the triple jump, that's something I've never done," Kruty said, who's placed first twice, runner-up twice and third twice at track meets this season. "I've always joked with my coach about it. If we do indoor, let me try the triple jump. Because they don't do triple jump outdoors for high school at our school. We kind of messed around with it. I got a good mark and qualified for state. I think mainly in triple jump, it's a lot of bounding and having to jump off both legs.
"My eighth grade year I jumped off my right leg. I jump off my left leg right now. I know I had some power in my right leg where I could try triple jump out. That's something that I really want to focus on this offseason and get better at triple jump."
Asked if he thought getting pass 22 feet was doable this season and Kruty already was going into thinking mold on just how he needed to go about it.
"My dad and I always set goals every year. Before my seventh grade year season started, I wanted to hit 15 feet consistently. Then eighth grade, I wanted to hit 18 feet. Freshman year, I was consistently in the high 19-20 feet. This season, I wanted to consistently get in the high 20-21 feet and I wanted to pop a 22 feet jump by the end of the year," said Kruty, who stated his indoor experience gave him even more motivation coming into this season after going against athletes who compete all year around.
"I know I have it in me. I think the angle of my takeoff can be better and bringing my knees to my chest. If I work on those two things, I think I can get a little further."
Ain't nothing like putting in some good ol' offseason work to raise your level.
[email protected]
Twitter/X: @JamesSimpsonII
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland's Dakota Kruty repeats as OCC long jump champion
Continue reading...
Looking explosive on his jumps from the start, Kruty jumped 22 feet and three inches on his third attempt on the day. Not bad. However, he did one even better in his next jump, as the junior leaped his way to a season's best and personal record of 22-04.25 that paved the way in him winning back-to-back long jump titles at the OCC meet.
More: Ashland's Jayden Goings, Vivian Walter make big jumps at renowned Mehock Relays
Coming into Friday's conference meet, Kruty's PR was 21-08.50 and he had been jumping pretty consistently in the 20-21 feet range all spring but never over 22 feet. Getting over that 22 feet hurdle was something he's been shooting for all season.
"This has been a long season," said Kruty, who was named OCC Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year after the meet. "I haven't PR'd in the long jump this season. It means everything. This season has been mentally challenging for me. The fact that I've been fouling like crazy in every meet. I've been knowing I can jump 22 feet and I've done it before. It's been a real mental block for me. Winning this meet, being able to break 22 feet and break that barrier makes me so excited for the rest of the season to see where it goes."
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That 22-04.25 Kruty jumped got him even closer to the school record of 22-08.50, which he's hungry to get before his time is up at Ashland High School.
"We're getting closer," he said. "That's been the goal since freshman year."
If getting over the mental aspect in his preferred event was one thing, Kruty credits his productive indoor track season in helping sharpen his toolbox during the winter that he's transferred over to the spring.
At the Division II state indoor meet in Geneva in March, Kruty had two podium finishes, placing 10th in the long jump (20-3.5) and sixth in the triple jump (41-9). He also finished eighth in the long jump at the Adidas National Indoor meet. During his indoor season, Kruty said that he focused on two precise areas: speed and landing.
"The main thing was my speed. I've gotten a lot faster. The long jump is like an equation. It's speed times height times distance," said Kruty, breaking it down. "I've got the height part down but the speed part I really wanted to get faster. I feel like I have. I've PR'd in the 100 quite a bit this year. I did a lot of speed training. Working on my landing. Getting that full extension at the end like I did today. I executed that perfectly today, which was a big reason why I PR'd."
That speed work in the 100 and during indoor season Kruty called attention to, has been helpful in his long jumping, as he placed fifth (11.17) in the 100 meters on Friday. There's even more to the speed angle for him.
"There's speed jumpers and power jumpers," he said. "I've always been more considered a power jumper. I wanna break that standard and I wanna be a speed jumper and power jumper. I wanna take it to that next level you know."
Taking part in the long jump was one thing, but mixing in the triple jump during indoor season only added to the well-rounded jumper Kruty is aiming to be become.
"So, the triple jump, that's something I've never done," Kruty said, who's placed first twice, runner-up twice and third twice at track meets this season. "I've always joked with my coach about it. If we do indoor, let me try the triple jump. Because they don't do triple jump outdoors for high school at our school. We kind of messed around with it. I got a good mark and qualified for state. I think mainly in triple jump, it's a lot of bounding and having to jump off both legs.
"My eighth grade year I jumped off my right leg. I jump off my left leg right now. I know I had some power in my right leg where I could try triple jump out. That's something that I really want to focus on this offseason and get better at triple jump."
You must be registered for see images
Asked if he thought getting pass 22 feet was doable this season and Kruty already was going into thinking mold on just how he needed to go about it.
"My dad and I always set goals every year. Before my seventh grade year season started, I wanted to hit 15 feet consistently. Then eighth grade, I wanted to hit 18 feet. Freshman year, I was consistently in the high 19-20 feet. This season, I wanted to consistently get in the high 20-21 feet and I wanted to pop a 22 feet jump by the end of the year," said Kruty, who stated his indoor experience gave him even more motivation coming into this season after going against athletes who compete all year around.
"I know I have it in me. I think the angle of my takeoff can be better and bringing my knees to my chest. If I work on those two things, I think I can get a little further."
Ain't nothing like putting in some good ol' offseason work to raise your level.
[email protected]
Twitter/X: @JamesSimpsonII
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Ashland's Dakota Kruty repeats as OCC long jump champion
Continue reading...
