Seannah Parsons produced one of the greastest performances in New Jersey history on Saturday night when the senior at Randolph soared to victory in the girls' triple jump in the Under-20 Division at the 53rd Carifta Games at Kirani James Athletic Stadium in St. George's, Grenada.
On her second attempt, Parsons, competing for Trinidad and Tobago, secure the gold by bounding out to a massive PR of 43-0.5 into a 1.7 headwind, which is the second best mark in state history, tied for No. 10 in the world U20 rankings for this year, and is the No. 2 high school mark (all conditions) in the nation this season. The 43-0.50 qualifies Parsons for the World U20 Championships (August 5-9) at Hayward Field in Oregon. Her previous career best mark of 41-3.25 came when Parsons placed third at the New Balance Indoor National Championships last month.
The 43-0.50 triple jump by Parsons, who won the triple jump at the NJSIAA Indoor Meet of Champions last month, is second in NJ history behind another Morris County great, the legendary Keturah Orji. Orji, the current American record holder in the triple jump and a two-time Olympian, soared a wind-legal 44-11at the 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships. Parsons is also No. 2 in the nation (all conditiions) on the high school list for this season, less than inch behind junior Madison Cuplin of Marble Falls High in Texas, who went 43-1 (no wind reading) at the Johnny Lam Jones Relays last week.